Whether it’s electric power, natural gas, solar, wind power, or water supply, there are more than 54,000 utility companies in the U.S. alone (IBIS World). Each of these brands face unique waves of customer service challenges, particularly during peak usage periods and extreme weather events. Effectively managing these issues is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and market share.
1. Spikes in Contact Volume
Climate-related impacts pose a significant challenge for Energy and Utility providers, with weather contributing to the majority of over 94,000 outages affecting 177M+ customers in the United States since early 2024 (USA Today). These events often lead to sudden and unpredictable increases in customer contact volumes. Flexible resource management is essential to maintain service levels, reduce wait times, and provide timely assistance to customers.
2. Limited Communication Channels
While 62% of utility providers said improving customer experience is their top priority (Logic 2020), many of these companies lack modern, diverse communication options that customers expect, such as digital platforms, social media, mobile apps, and instant messaging. At a time where 45% of utility customers prefer digital channels for interactions (McKinsey), this limited range of communication channels hinders effective customer engagement and responsiveness.
3. Implementing Personalization
With 71% of utility customers saying a positive customer experience influences their brand loyalty (Accenture), personalization can be an organization’s greatest asset. However, personalization can be both daunting and overwhelming for an organization as they look to integrate advanced data analytics, update legacy systems, and manage vast amounts of customer data while ensuring privacy and security.
4. Collective Sustainability
When choosing an energy provider, 65% of U.S. consumers say sustainability is a key factor (EY). To meet customer demand, Energy and Utility providers need to consider sustainable practices throughout operations, navigate regulatory hurdles, and effectively communicate efforts to customers – essential activities for building customer trust.
Arise Manages Challenging Waves with Ease
Arise offers innovative solutions to address CX challenges faced by Energy and Utility providers effectively.
Flexible Support: The Arise® Platform delivers workforce solutions that enable Energy and Utility companies to scale their customer service operations quickly and easily. By leveraging a network of skilled, on-demand agents, the Arise® Platform ensures that companies can quickly ramp support during weather-related spikes in contact volumes.
Voice and Digital Channel Support: Arise integrates digital platforms, social media, mobile apps, and instant messaging into its customer service solutions increasing responsiveness and customer satisfaction.
Technology for Personalization: The Arise® Platform leverages highly secure technologies and best-in-class data management systems to store and analyze comprehensive customer information. Proactive customer service, sentiment analysis, and AI toolsets help to tailor interactions effectively and transform customer engagements.
Sustainability Above All: It is estimated that each year, the Arise® Platform eliminates 23.4 million miles from the roadways. This reduction saves 952.6 thousand gallons of gasoline, removing 8.6 metric tons in C02 emissions. Partnering with work-from-home agents also reduces energy consumption to the tune of 15.7 million kilowatt hours each year.
