Utility Week Live

UtilityWeek 10 | 20th - 26th FEbRUARY 2015 | UtILItY WEEK Trust Trust can be a game-changer Utilities need to walk the walk as well as talk the talk when it comes winning back customers' trust. For those that do, the rewards can be immeasurable. T here's more to be gained from win- ning trust than getting regulators off your back, says the Institute of Cus- tomer Service (ICS). Twice a year the ICS compiles the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), a cross-sector ranking of the UK's best and worst organisations through the eyes of their customers. ICS chief executive Jo Causon consistently and stridently speaks of the "direct correla- tion" between customer satisfaction and financial performance, pointing to the retail sector for some particularly clear demonstra- tions of this. She is also unequivocal about the importance of trust as a key contributing factor to customer satisfaction. "Trust has always been an important fac- tor, but over the past few years – the banking crisis, the pressures of recession – we have seen trust assaulted on a number of fronts. It is therefore particularly relevant in the minds of customers today," says Causon. According to ICS statistics, 75 per cent of satisfied utility customers in the UK give their supplier a high trust rating, while conversely, "among highly dissatisfied cus- tomers nought per cent say they trust their supplier". Focus on the customer through all parts of a business is the primary route to improv- ing trust, and consequently protecting the bottom line, says Causon. It is also the key to a secure and profitable future in which access to customer data, and permission to use it, will define commercial success. "If I don't trust an organisation, there's no way I'm going to give them my data," says Causon. "If I don't give you my data, there is no way you can personalise products and services for me." And without the abil- ity to personalise, Causon says companies across sectors will find themselves le out in the cold while cosy communities of "co- creation" develop between customers and trusted commercial partners. For utilities, this risk and opportunity is particularly per- tinent with the advent of widespread smart metering, Causon points out. In short: "Lack of trust will cut utilities out of future revenue streams." For those seeking to improve levels of trust in their brand, Causon advises three main approaches to measurement and says they apply both internally and externally, since "you'll never be trusted by those out- Research: why trust matters UKICS, JAnUARy 2015 side your organisation if your own employ- ees don't trust and respect you." The first measurement is simply to ask customers and employees if they trust the brand and why. The second is to measure loy- alty in the form of staff and customer churn. The third is to track recommendations. Do employees recommend your organisation as a good place to work and do customers rec- ommend you as an easy, pleasant and effec- tive organisation with which to do business? For real results, however, Causon stresses her favourite refrain. "Real return on invest- ment comes with a joined-up approach. Companies which are successful and con- sistently achieve high customer satisfaction do not treat trust or customer service as bits. They are linked elements in ra of measures that follow the flow of customer experience through all operations – measures that are reported at a board level." "if i don't trust an organisation, there's no way i'm going to give them my data," jO CAUSON, ICS mOST TRUSTEd UTILITIES Trust score uKCSI score yorkshire Water 7.5 77.3 united utilities 7.3 76.1 NIeS 7.4 75.6 mOST TRUSTEd fIRmS In ThE UK Trust score uKCSI score John Lewis 8.8 87.2 M&S (food) 8.6 83.9 First Direct 8.5 86.7 Waitrose 8.5 83.5 M&S (non-food) 8.5 81.8 aldi 8.4 81.1 amazon 8.4 86.7 Greggs 8.3 82.5 Skoda 8.3 82.9 Nationwide 8.3 83.8 72.0 74.1 75.2 75.6 76.7 77.3 77.4 78.0 78.2 77.9 77.1 76.3 76.0 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 Change in uKCSI score (Jan to 2014 Jan 2015) Sector score, Jan 2015 uKCSI down and remains below all- sector average Leisure Tourism utilities uKCSI up slightly and above all- sector average uKCSI up but remains below all-sector average 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 CUSTOmER SATISfACTIOn In 13 SECTORS uKCSI score ThE TREnd In CUSTOmER SATISfACTIOn ACROSS SECTORS 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 Jan 09 Jul 09 Jan10 Jul 10 Jan 11 Jul 11 Jan 12 Jul 12 Jan 13 Jul 13 Jan 14 Jul 14 Jan 15 Services Public services (national) Public services (local) Telecoms & media banks & building societies Transport Insurance retail (food) retail (non-food) automotive uKCSI down but remains above all-sector average

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