Modernize Your Utility with an Online Customer Service Portal
If the past year has taught us one thing, it’s businesses can’t live without technology. Working from home, online payments, cloud computing are part of how we’re structuring our y world. With that change comes convenience for our community members. And they are now expecting online services to check their accounts on any device, anywhere, and anytime. So, improving your utility’s online customer service is vital to this new way of life.
Just think about the technology we didn’t have 5-10 short years ago — no Uber, no reusable rockets, no Alexa, and believe it or not, no iPad (2010). As the internet has grown and people have adopted online behaviors, technology connects us like never before. What’s now called the “Internet of Things” (IoT) links not only our work environments but our home life as well.
As we become more connected, the way you interact with your utility customer is changing. The people in your community want to be first in line when it’s convenient for them, not waiting in line in your office or your phone queue. They need to pay bills online, access usage data and perform ordinary tasks like move-ins and move-outs outside of business hours. As a consumer-facing organization for your community, you must learn to engage with your community when and where they need it.
So how do you meet and engage with your community on the Internet of Things? Here are 4 points to ponder when moving your utility customer services online.
Utility Self-service Is Powerful.
As a customer-centric business, you want to provide the best possible customer service for your community. After all, they are not just your customers; they’re your neighbors too.
Years ago, your customers wanted to see a smiling face at your brick-and-mortar location. Now they want to use online service portals to interact with your services at a time and place convenient to them. In fact, according to Microsoft, 90% of customers expect companies to have an online self-service portal.
With a utility web portal like SilverBlaze, the people in your community can use the device of their choice to pay bills paperlessly, make changes to their accounts, and set up pre-authorized payments. These online transactions are quick, easy and give your customers control of when and where they interact with your utility. Web portals are now the norm and not the exception, so providing one for your community is essential in modernizing your services.
2. Online Access Is Effortless for Utility Customers.
As people adopt more Smart devices, they become accustomed to their convenience and accessibility, making them demand this ease-of-use from all services. Your utility’s online customer service solution should feature a design that your customers can use on any device, any time, and anywhere.
A responsive web design provides your community with instant access, making a self-service web portal a convenience. For your web portal to function, the design must be clean, modern, and well-organized. With easy-to-navigate, on-demand features, your customers will find everything they need right at their fingertips. With drop-down menus, simple navigation, and well-organized information, your community will be able to engage with your services right from home.
3. Online Experiences Are Engaging for Utility Customers.
It’s not enough to have a way for your customer to access your services online. If your utility customer web service portal is difficult to use, your customers won’t use it. Having an engaging online web portal gives your customers the convenience they need and frees up your customer service representatives to deal with high-priority issues.
Instant access can not only be beneficial to your customers but to your utility as well. By having a web portal that can also push notifications to your community, you’ll be able to send payment notifications, service outages, energy usage threshold, and so much more. Customers know in real-time what’s going on with your services in your community. You’ll be able to engage with your customers where they are and share information vital to their comfort and safety.
4. Utility Web Portals Help You Do More with Less.
As your community grows, changes, and adapts to using new Smart technology, you need to decide to increase staff or find alternative ways to respond to higher call volumes. With a utility online customer service portal, you can do more with one new staff member.
With the right customer portal, like SilverBlaze, you have one customer service representative working for you 24/7/365. With SilverBlaze, your customers can manage their accounts, keeping your CSRs focused on high-priority tasks. For example, anyone in your community can change passwords, initiate move-in requests and set up online bill pay just by logging in at a time and place that is most convenient for them. They don’t need to go to your brick-and-mortar location or spend time in your phone queue anymore. All they need to do is log in.
Why Your Utility Needs a Customer Service Web Portal
As technology becomes more predominant, it is up to you as a utility provider to use this new functionality to your advantage. In doing so, you will provide a better customer experience, and you will see a significant return on your investment. SilverBlaze offers a feature-rich solution for e-billing, usage tracking, and account management and gives your utility a way to stay connected with your community all day, every day.
Are you interested in learning how you can use SilverBlaze in your community? Give us a call or click the button below.