Post on 20-Aug-2015
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilitiesAn Economist Intelligence Unit white paperSponsored by SAP
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 20091
Preface
Beyond transactions: Creating value through customer partnerships in utilities is an Economist Intelligence Unit report sponsored by SAP. The Economist Intelligence Unit bears sole responsibility for this report. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s editorial team conducted the interviews and wrote the report. The fi ndings and views expressed in this report do not necessarily refl ect the views of the sponsor. Dan Armstrong was the editor of the report and Dorian Benkoil as the author. Mike Kenny was responsible for layout and design. Our thanks are due to all of the executives who responded to the survey.
October 2009
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2009
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
2
Contents
Introduction 3
Key fi ndings 4
Conclusion 7
Appendix 1: Overall survey results 8
Appendix 2: Americas survey results 13
Appendix 3: Asia-Pacifi c survey results 18
Appendix 4: EMEA survey results 23
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 20093
Introduction
A half-century ago, when energy was cheap and conservation rare, electricity consumption grew on average by 9-10% per year. Today lower levels of economic growth, higher energy prices, greater conservation and the movement of people to warmer climates have reduced the level of growth to closer to 1% per year.1 As economic activity and the demand for electricity slows, power utilities need to work harder to understand the needs of customers in order to keep revenues and margins high.
Water utilities have more robust customer demand, but face different customer challenges. These include growing public concerns about water quality and supply, more recycling and re-use of water, and the need to raise prices to recover higher costs in an environment which is often heavily regulated.
Both types of utilities face pressure from regulators and consumers pressing for “green” alternatives that decrease carbon emissions. Utilities customers have more choice than ever, brought on by deregulation, government mandates, market forces, and new transparency in information and pricing. To survive and thrive, utilities companies need to deepen their understanding of existing customers to understand which are most valuable and how best to retain them. They must also develop a brand identity to differentiate their products from commodities.
About the survey
In a survey completed in September 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed 105 utilities industry executives on the challenges of getting customer-facing departments to work together more consistently and effectively. Respondents spanned
the globe, with 28% from the Americas, 24% from the Asia-Pacifi c region and the rest from EMEA. Electric power utilities made up the largest group of respondents, with 57%, followed by gas with 38%, and water, sewage and other types of utilities comprising the remainder. One third of respondents had annual revenues of over $10bn, and average annual revenues of respondents were approximately $5bn.
1. Rate of Electricity Demand Growth Slows, Following the Historical Trend, Energy Information Administration/Annual Energy Outlook 2009, US Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 2009
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2009
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
4
Building the brandWhile most consumers know the name of their utility provider, they may not have a sense of its brand—the image that differentiates it from other fi rms in the industry. Thirty-two percent of respondents to the Economist Intelligence Unit survey acknowledge that giving customers a consistent picture of the organisation is an activity most in need of improvement. Respondents also admit that they have not suffi ciently differentiated themselves from other utilities.
Building a consistent brand is critical in an era when customers know exactly how much utility services cost, can compare the costs of different providers on online sites, and can switch providers at will.
Mining customer informationOne of the best ways to learn about customers and their needs is by building longer-term relationships with them. Sixty percent of survey respondents say they have strengthened relationships with customers over the past year and 56% say they are more engaged in developing products or services collaboratively with them. Yet respondents also cite building longer-term relationships with customers as an activity in need of improvement at their organisation (33%), followed by giving customers a consistent picture of the organisation (32%), and gathering customer intelligence in the course of providing service (25%).
Customer information will be wasted if it is not shared across customer-facing departments. Nearly 80% of the utilities companies surveyed acknowledge less-than-full integration of information across marketing, sales and customer service in each of eight categories.
Key fi ndings
Building long-term relationships
Providing a consistent customer experience
Gathering customer intelligence in the course of providing service
Targeting the right customers in order to close a high percentage of prospects
Segmenting and profiling customers
Which of your organisation’s activities are most in need of improvement? (% respondents)
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit survey, September 2009.
33
32
25
24
21
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 20095
Improving online relationshipsIn an era where price comparisons are easy to fi nd on the internet, utilities are striving to provide customers with a richer online experience. This will not only enhance the brand and increase the perception of accessibility and openness, but can also reduce the cost of sales by making interactions more effi cient.
Utilities industry executives report empowering customers by improving online and self-service product support tools; improving usability, search and navigation on customer-facing websites, and building or supporting online customer communities. Forty-two percent of respondents also say they are developing a social media strategy.
Commoditisation conundrumSurvey respondents do not see pricing as a way to differentiate their products. A plurality says that they lack pricing fl exibility compared to their competitors, and seven out of ten suggest that pricing fl exibility is not necessary, since price is not the most important concern for their customers anyway. These results are not surprising in an often regulated and frequently oligopolistic industry. Without the ability to distinguish their products based on price, companies need to fi nd other differentiators.
Forty-eight percent of respondents admit their biggest challenge is that “customers see our products and services as commodities,” and 55% say customers view their organisation’s products and services more as commodities than fi ve years ago. Nevertheless, only about a quarter of survey respondents say they are good at using customer feedback to differentiate their offerings. In other words, nearly three-quarters of utilities companies—whose toughest challenge is perceived commoditisation of their products and services—do a poor job of using customer feedback to improve their performance in this area.
Customers see our products and services as commodities
Regulatory restrictions in providing services
Large infrastructure costs in fulfilling new orders
Perceived cost of switching (base is overly entrenched)
We have not sufficiently differentiated our brand
What are your biggest challenge in acquiring customers? (% respondents)
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit survey, September 2009.
48
30
24
19
18
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2009
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
6
How the regions differThe survey of utilities executives spanned three regions: the Americas, Asia-Pacifi c and EMEA. Each faces its own challenges.
The Americas Of the three regions, the Americas has the farthest to go in partnering with customers. Most fi rms in the Americas have neither used customer feedback to differentiate offerings nor developed products collaboratively with customers. The Americas is less focused on customer service, and most focused on operational excellence, and respondents in the Americas tend to say that margins are thin and pricing fl exibility minimal.
Asia-Pacifi c Asia-Pacifi c has made the most progress in partnering with customers. It is the antithesis image of the Americas: most focused on customer service and the least on operational excellence. Asia-Pacifi c fi rms are most likely to say that customer service, sales and marketing are well integrated in almost every category, and most emphatic in stressing the need to develop and share a unifi ed picture of customers.
EMEA Companies in all three regions cite reliability above all other factors in persuading potential customers to buy. But after reliability, companies in the EMEA region have the strongest focus on fl exible product offerings. This differentiator is higher ranked in EMEA than elsewhere.
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 20097
A recent Harvard Business Review essay said, “Electricity and gas customers—aided by the utilities themselves—are reducing consumption. Sales are already fl attening and they’ll only fall faster as governments put in place more incentives to control greenhouse gas emissions.”2 In this low-demand environment, utilities will need to reach out to customers to fi nd things that they will pay for—service, reliability, shared values—to maintain margins and keep them from switching providers.
That nearly half (49%) cites operational excellence as their core strength (rather than customer service or product innovation) is no surprise in a capital-intensive industry with long lead times and a focus on reliability. But there are limits to the customer benefi ts of operational improvements, especially when these improvements are not informed by customer intelligence. The biggest benefi ts may come from making better use of customer information, gathering it and sharing it across sales, marketing and customer service. Not only will companies be able to act on the information more quickly, they may be able to persuade regulators to provide more fl exibility.
To achieve the goals of information gathering and integration, utilities should:
l Integrate marketing, sales and service activities, sharing information among customer-facing departments, achieving economies and lowering the cost of sales
l Increase their understanding of customers, and their ability to market to them, based on their lifetime value
l Build a consistent brand image, and reinforce it in dealings with the customer
Customers take utilities for granted. Water fl ows from a tap; electricity comes from an outlet; waste disappears with the press of a button. But modern life would end without the services provided by utilities. Despite their underlying value, most utility companies are only noticed by customers when there is a problem.
To be noticed by customers, management needs to move beyond the operational mindset that has historically dominated the industry. Utilities need to better understand what customers value, share this information among customer-facing functions, and hammer home this value at every opportunity. More than the organisation itself is at stake: Healthy and profi table utilities are necessary for a growing economy as well as a clean environment.
Conclusion
2. Fix Utilities Before They Need a Rescue, Peter Fox-Penner, Harvard Business Review, July-August 2009
8 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Appendix: Overall survey results
49
36
12
3
Operational excellence: Creating highly efficient processes
Customer service: Providing superior service to clients
Product innovation: First to market with groundbreaking new products or services
Other
In your view, which of the following best represents the core strength of your overall business? Select only one.(% respondents)
0 20 40 60 80 100
1. No coordination; 2. Ad hoc coordination; 3. Some procedures 4. Procedures 5. Broad, systematic and Don’t knowunits are completely not systematic established, but not established, regular consistent integration of separate or consistent consistently followed interaction information and strategies
Generating, tracking and measuring leads
Developing and launching new products
Planning and executing campaigns
Analysing and segmenting customers
Gauging customer satisfaction
Measuring effectiveness of processes
Responding to customer demands or complaints
Incorporating customer feedback into products/services
Other
Each of the organisation’s customer-facing departments influences the customer via different channels. For each of the processes below, how closely do your marketing, sales and customer service units work together? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5.(% respondents)
3 10 28 32 17 10
2 13 20 38 15 11
3 10 23 41 16 8
5 10 27 28 19 11
5 9 28 30 24 4
4 12 35 33 13 5
1 12 16 42 25 4
7 18 24 32 14 5
5 5 26 16 47
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
9 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Building long-term relationships
Providing a consistent customer experience
Gathering customer intelligence in the course of providing service
Targeting the right customers in order to close a high percentage of prospects
Segmenting and profiling customers
Cross-selling or upselling customers
Ensuring that customer complaints are resolved quickly
Measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty
Involving customers product/service development (eg, co-creation)
Generating qualified leads
Creating effective collateral
Efficiently acquiring customers (eg, reducing the cost of sales)
Measuring/optimising effectiveness of marketing and promotional campaigns
Maximising the number of repeat sales
Other
Don’t know
In your view, which of your organisation’s activities are most in need of improvement? Select up to four. (% respondents)
33
32
25
24
21
20
20
19
18
17
15
14
11
11
4
8
Developing and sharing a detailed picture of customers, behaviour and preferences
Presenting customers with a consistent picture of the organisation
Making each unit aware of how the others have interacted with a given customer
Prioritising resources directed towards customers by total value over life of customer
Helping each function find and act on ways to support the others
Integrating customer tracking from lead through post-sales service
Establishing common definitions, assumptions and data
Measuring the probability that leads will turn into sales, and using these scores to guide sales
Our company sees no need to integrate our marketing, sales and service activities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
Which of the following would provide the biggest benefits in integrating your organisation’s marketing, sales and service activities? Select up to three. (% respondents)
31
30
30
28
26
25
18
9
4
4
12
0 20 40 60 80 100
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?(% respondents)
In chosing to do business with my organisation, price is the single most important factor most customers consider
Compared to our competitors, my organisation’s customers are more loyal
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
My organisation prioritises sales and marketing resources based on each customer’s lifetime value
We are currently developing a social media strategy
My organisation has more flexibility than its competitors in pricing its products
Despite the recession, my organisation has greatly strengthened customer relationships over the past 12 months
We are more engaged in developing products or services collaboratively with customers than we were 12 months ago
Customers view my organisation’s products and services more as commodities now than five years ago
Our margins are higher than the margins of most of our competitors
Agree Disagree Don’t know
31 65 4
52 27 21
41 42 17
34 40 26
42 34 25
36 48 17
58 27 15
51 36 13
55 27 17
27 46 27
10 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Global economic downturn
Significant demand shifts for our products/services
Finding access to credit/capital
Focusing on sustainability efforts
Emergence of new competitors
Changing customer requirements
Disruptive technology developments
Emergence of new markets for our products and services
Accessing key components or resources through our supply chain
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following trends have had the greatest impact on your business over the past 12 months? Select up to three.(% respondents)
65
28
27
23
21
21
16
11
10
7
3
Improving usability, search and navigation of customer-facing websites
Improving online or self-service product support tools
Making prices and sales terms more transparent for easy comparability
Investing in self-service tools across multiple channels (eg, web, mobile devices, e-mail, point of sale)
Building or supporting online customer communities
Other
Don’t know
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower its customers? Select all that apply.(% respondents)
38
38
37
31
28
4
10
Reliability
Customer service
Environmental “green” concerns
Price
Flexibility in changing offerings
Safety
Overall customer experience
Ability to scale quickly to meet demand spikes
Source of power generation (hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar, etc.)
Variable pricing (based on demand, season, etc.)
Convenience
Other
Don’t know
Given the trend towards increasing customer choice among differentiated utilities services, which factors has your organisation best presented to customers to influence purchase decisions? Select up to four. (% respondents)
65
41
38
32
30
26
25
18
18
17
12
1
3
2
25
57
12
4
Seamlessly
Very well
Somewhat
Poorly
Not at all
How well has your organisation made use of customer feedback to differentiate utilities offerings and make them appear less commoditised?(% respondents)
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
11 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Customers see our products and services as commodities
Regulatory restrictions in providing services
Large infrastructure costs in fulfilling new orders
Perceived cost of switching (base is overly entrenched)
We have not sufficiently differentiated our brand
Too difficult to compile and analyse leads from different sources
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following represents your institution’s biggest challenge in acquiring customers? Select up to two. (% respondents)
48
30
24
19
18
8
2
6
Western Europe
Asia-Pacific
North America
Eastern Europe
Middle East and Africa
Latin America
In which region are you personally based? (% respondents)
35
24
24
9
5
4
Power
Gas
Water
Sewage
Other
Which of the following services does your company provide?(% respondents)
57
38
8
5
34
Board member
CEO/President/Managing director
CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller
CIO/Technology director
Other C-level executive
SVP/VP/Director
Head of Business Unit
Head of Department
Manager
Other
Which of the following best describes your title?(% respondents)
2
10
6
2
4
12
5
23
30
7
12 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
27
17
13
10
33
$500m or less
$500m to $1bn
$1bn to $5bn
$5bn to $10bn
$10bn or more
What are your organisation’s global annual revenues in US dollars? (% respondents)
General management
Strategy and business development
Operations and production
Finance
IT
Marketing
Customer service
Sales
Risk
R&D
Human resources
Procurement
Information and research
Legal
Supply-chain management
Other
What are your main functional roles? Please choose no more than three functions.(% respondents)
35
35
21
17
13
11
11
10
9
8
8
5
3
3
2
5
47
12
41
Business-to-business
Consumer/retail
Both
Who are your organisation’s primary customers?(% respondents)
69
31
Consumer/retail
Business-to-business
Which perspective—consumer/retail or business-to-business—are you sharing in this survey?(% respondents)
13 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Appendix: Americas survey results
59
38
3
0
Operational excellence: Creating highly efficient processes
Customer service: Providing superior service to clients
Product innovation: First to market with groundbreaking new products or services
Other
In your view, which of the following best represents the core strength of your overall business? Select only one.(% respondents)
0 20 40 60 80 100
1. No coordination; 2. Ad hoc coordination; 3. Some procedures 4. Procedures 5. Broad, systematic and Don’t knowunits are completely not systematic established, but not established, regular consistent integration of separate or consistent consistently followed interaction information and strategies
Generating, tracking and measuring leads
Developing and launching new products
Planning and executing campaigns
Analysing and segmenting customers
Gauging customer satisfaction
Measuring effectiveness of processes
Responding to customer demands or complaints
Incorporating customer feedback into products/services
Other
Each of the organisation’s customer-facing departments influences the customer via different channels. For each of the processes below, how closely do your marketing, sales and customer service units work together? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5.(% respondents)
3 14 24 24 21 14
3 14 31 14 17 21
3 7 28 31 17 14
3 7 24 24 24 17
7 7 17 31 31 7
3 14 24 38 17 3
14 21 28 31 7
10 14 21 31 17 7
29 14 57
14 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Providing a consistent customer experience
Measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty
Involving customers product/service development (eg, co-creation)
Generating qualified leads
Targeting the right customers in order to close a high percentage of prospects
Building long-term relationships
Gathering customer intelligence in the course of providing service
Segmenting and profiling customers
Efficiently acquiring customers (eg, reducing the cost of sales)
Ensuring that customer complaints are resolved quickly
Creating effective collateral
Measuring/optimising effectiveness of marketing and promotional campaigns
Cross-selling or upselling customers
Maximising the number of repeat sales
Other
Don’t know
In your view, which of your organisation’s activities are most in need of improvement? Select up to four. (% respondents)
28
24
24
21
21
21
21
17
17
17
14
10
10
7
7
10
Presenting customers with a consistent picture of the organisation
Developing and sharing a detailed picture of customers, behaviour and preferences
Making each unit aware of how the others have interacted with a given customer
Helping each function find and act on ways to support the others
Prioritising resources directed towards customers by total value over life of customer
Integrating customer tracking from lead through post-sales service
Establishing common definitions, assumptions and data
Measuring the probability that leads will turn into sales, and using these scores to guide sales
Our company sees no need to integrate our marketing, sales and service activities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
Which of the following would provide the biggest benefits in integrating your organisation’s marketing, sales and service activities? Select up to three. (% respondents)
38
31
31
24
24
17
14
7
0
0
17
0 20 40 60 80 100
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?(% respondents)
In chosing to do business with my organisation, price is the single most important factor most customers consider
Compared to our competitors, my organisation’s customers are more loyal
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
My organisation prioritises sales and marketing resources based on each customer’s lifetime value
We are currently developing a social media strategy
My organisation has more flexibility than its competitors in pricing its products
Despite the recession, my organisation has greatly strengthened customer relationships over the past 12 months
We are more engaged in developing products or services collaboratively with customers than we were 12 months ago
Customers view my organisation’s products and services more as commodities now than five years ago
Our margins are higher than the margins of most of our competitors
Agree Disagree Don’t know
32 64 4
63 22 15
52 33 15
37 41 22
46 31 23
44 41 15
43 39 18
37 37 26
52 19 30
33 41 26
15 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Global economic downturn
Emergence of new competitors
Finding access to credit/capital
Changing customer requirements
Significant demand shifts for our products/services
Disruptive technology developments
Emergence of new markets for our products and services
Focusing on sustainability efforts
Accessing key components or resources through our supply chain
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following trends have had the greatest impact on your business over the past 12 months? Select up to three.(% respondents)
62
38
34
24
21
17
14
14
7
3
7
Improving usability, search and navigation of customer-facing websites
Improving online or self-service product support tools
Building or supporting online customer communities
Making prices and sales terms more transparent for easy comparability
Investing in self-service tools across multiple channels (eg, web, mobile devices, e-mail, point of sale)
Other
Don’t know
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower its customers? Select all that apply.(% respondents)
45
41
28
28
24
0
7
Reliability
Customer service
Environmental “green” concerns
Overall customer experience
Price
Ability to scale quickly to meet demand spikes
Safety
Flexibility in changing offerings
Variable pricing (based on demand, season, etc.)
Source of power generation (hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar, etc.)
Convenience
Other
Don’t know
Given the trend towards increasing customer choice among differentiated utilities services, which factors has your organisation best presented to customers to influence purchase decisions? Select up to four. (% respondents)
62
45
41
34
31
24
24
21
17
14
10
0
3
3
14
69
10
3
Seamlessly
Very well
Somewhat
Poorly
Not at all
How well has your organisation made use of customer feedback to differentiate utilities offerings and make them appear less commoditised?(% respondents)
16 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Customers see our products and services as commodities
Regulatory restrictions in providing services
Large infrastructure costs in fulfilling new orders
Perceived cost of switching (base is overly entrenched)
We have not sufficiently differentiated our brand
Too difficult to compile and analyse leads from different sources
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following represents your institution’s biggest challenge in acquiring customers? Select up to two. (% respondents)
45
38
24
17
14
7
0
7
North America
Latin America
Asia-Pacific
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
Middle East and Africa
In which region are you personally based?(% respondents)
86
14
0
0
0
0
Power
Gas
Sewage
Water
Other
Which of the following services does your company provide?(% respondents)
62
28
10
7
17
Board member
CEO/President/Managing director
CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller
CIO/Technology director
Other C-level executive
SVP/VP/Director
Head of Business Unit
Head of Department
Manager
Other
Which of the following best describes your title?(% respondents)
0
10
7
0
3
17
3
10
38
10
17 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
34
24
7
7
28
$500m or less
$500m to $1bn
$1bn to $5bn
$5bn to $10bn
$10bn or more
What are your organisation’s global annual revenues in US dollars? (% respondents)
Strategy and business development
General management
Operations and production
Finance
Customer service
Risk
Sales
R&D
Human resources
Marketing
Procurement
IT
Legal
Supply-chain management
Information and research
Other
What are your main functional roles? Please choose no more than three functions.(% respondents)
38
31
28
21
17
14
10
10
10
7
7
3
3
3
0
3
39
14
46
Business-to-business
Consumer/retail
Both
Who are your organisation’s primary customers?(% respondents)
58
42
Consumer/retail
Business-to-business
Which perspective—consumer/retail or business-to-business—are you sharing in this survey?(% respondents)
18 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Appendix: Asia-Pacifi c survey results
44
40
12
4
Customer service: Providing superior service to clients
Operational excellence: Creating highly efficient processes
Product innovation: First to market with groundbreaking new products or services
Other
In your view, which of the following best represents the core strength of your overall business? Select only one.(% respondents)
0 20 40 60 80 100
1. No coordination; 2. Ad hoc coordination; 3. Some procedures 4. Procedures 5. Broad, systematic and Don’t knowunits are completely not systematic established, but not established, regular consistent integration of separate or consistent consistently followed interaction information and strategies
Generating, tracking and measuring leads
Developing and launching new products
Planning and executing campaigns
Analysing and segmenting customers
Gauging customer satisfaction
Measuring effectiveness of processes
Responding to customer demands or complaints
Incorporating customer feedback into products/services
Other
Each of the organisation’s customer-facing departments influences the customer via different channels. For each of the processes below, how closely do your marketing, sales and customer service units work together? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5.(% respondents)
4 4 21 50 13 8
4 4 17 46 17 13
4 8 13 54 13 8
8 4 33 29 25 0
4 8 29 33 25 0
4 4 33 38 21 0
4 4 21 50 21 0
8 8 21 38 17 8
40 20 40
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
19 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Building long-term relationships
Providing a consistent customer experience
Targeting the right customers in order to close a high percentage of prospects
Cross-selling or upselling customers
Segmenting and profiling customers
Ensuring that customer complaints are resolved quickly
Gathering customer intelligence in the course of providing service
Generating qualified leads
Creating effective collateral
Measuring/optimising effectiveness of marketing and promotional campaigns
Measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty
Maximising the number of repeat sales
Efficiently acquiring customers (eg, reducing the cost of sales)
Involving customers product/service development (eg, co-creation)
Other
Don’t know
In your view, which of your organisation’s activities are most in need of improvement? Select up to four. (% respondents)
52
36
32
28
24
24
24
16
12
12
12
8
8
8
0
8
Developing and sharing a detailed picture of customers, behaviour and preferences
Helping each function find and act on ways to support the others
Prioritising resources directed towards customers by total value over life of customer
Establishing common definitions, assumptions and data
Integrating customer tracking from lead through post-sales service
Making each unit aware of how the others have interacted with a given customer
Measuring the probability that leads will turn into sales, and using these scores to guide sales
Presenting customers with a consistent picture of the organisation
Our company sees no need to integrate our marketing, sales and service activities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
Which of the following would provide the biggest benefits in integrating your organisation’s marketing, sales and service activities? Select up to three. (% respondents)
40
32
24
20
20
20
20
16
12
8
8
0 20 40 60 80 100
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?(% respondents)
In chosing to do business with my organisation, price is the single most important factor most customers consider
Compared to our competitors, my organisation’s customers are more loyal
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
My organisation prioritises sales and marketing resources based on each customer’s lifetime value
We are currently developing a social media strategy
My organisation has more flexibility than its competitors in pricing its products
Despite the recession, my organisation has greatly strengthened customer relationships over the past 12 months
We are more engaged in developing products or services collaboratively with customers than we were 12 months ago
Customers view my organisation’s products and services more as commodities now than five years ago
Our margins are higher than the margins of most of our competitors
Agree Disagree Don’t know
24 72 4
52 24 24
40 48 12
48 40 12
25 42 33
36 56 8
72 20 8
60 36 4
52 32 16
28 56 16
20 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Global economic downturn
Focusing on sustainability efforts
Significant demand shifts for our products/services
Emergence of new competitors
Finding access to credit/capital
Disruptive technology developments
Accessing key components or resources through our supply chain
Emergence of new markets for our products and services
Changing customer requirements
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following trends have had the greatest impact on your business over the past 12 months? Select up to three.(% respondents)
68
36
32
28
24
16
16
8
8
4
0
Making prices and sales terms more transparent for easy comparability
Building or supporting online customer communities
Investing in self-service tools across multiple channels (eg, web, mobile devices, e-mail, point of sale)
Improving online or self-service product support tools
Improving usability, search and navigation of customer-facing websites
Other
Don’t know
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower its customers? Select all that apply.(% respondents)
40
36
36
36
24
4
12
Reliability
Customer service
Safety
Environmental “green” concerns
Price
Overall customer experience
Ability to scale quickly to meet demand spikes
Variable pricing (based on demand, season, etc.)
Flexibility in changing offerings
Source of power generation (hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar, etc.)
Convenience
Other
Don’t know
Given the trend towards increasing customer choice among differentiated utilities services, which factors has your organisation best presented to customers to influence purchase decisions? Select up to four. (% respondents)
80
52
44
36
32
32
20
16
16
16
4
0
0
0
32
56
8
4
Seamlessly
Very well
Somewhat
Poorly
Not at all
How well has your organisation made use of customer feedback to differentiate utilities offerings and make them appear less commoditised?(% respondents)
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
21 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Regulatory restrictions in providing services
Customers see our products and services as commodities
Large infrastructure costs in fulfilling new orders
Perceived cost of switching (base is overly entrenched)
We have not sufficiently differentiated our brand
Too difficult to compile and analyse leads from different sources
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following represents your institution’s biggest challenge in acquiring customers? Select up to two. (% respondents)
40
32
32
28
24
12
0
0
Asia-Pacific
Latin America
North America
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
Middle East and Africa
In which region are you personally based?(% respondents)
100
0
0
0
0
0
Power
Gas
Water
Sewage
Other
Which of the following services does your company provide?(% respondents)
52
24
12
0
32
Board member
CEO/President/Managing director
CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller
CIO/Technology director
Other C-level executive
SVP/VP/Director
Head of Business Unit
Head of Department
Manager
Other
Which of the following best describes your title?(% respondents)
4
16
8
0
8
12
8
16
16
12
22 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
40
24
12
4
20
$500m or less
$500m to $1bn
$1bn to $5bn
$5bn to $10bn
$10bn or more
What are your organisation’s global annual revenues in US dollars? (% respondents)
General management
Strategy and business development
Operations and production
IT
Finance
Customer service
Marketing
Procurement
Human resources
Risk
Sales
R&D
Legal
Supply-chain management
Information and research
Other
What are your main functional roles? Please choose no more than three functions.(% respondents)
36
36
32
24
20
12
8
8
8
4
4
4
4
4
0
4
60
16
24
Business-to-business
Consumer/retail
Both
Who are your organisation’s primary customers?(% respondents)
80
20
Consumer/retail
Business-to-business
Which perspective—consumer/retail or business-to-business—are you sharing in this survey?(% respondents)
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
23 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix: Europe Middle East and Africasurvey results
47
31
18
4
Operational excellence: Creating highly efficient processes
Customer service: Providing superior service to clients
Product innovation: First to market with groundbreaking new products or services
Other
In your view, which of the following best represents the core strength of your overall business? Select only one.(% respondents)
0 20 40 60 80 100
1. No coordination; 2. Ad hoc coordination; 3. Some procedures 4. Procedures 5. Broad, systematic and Don’t knowunits are completely not systematic established, but not established, regular consistent integration of separate or consistent consistently followed interaction information and strategies
Generating, tracking and measuring leads
Developing and launching new products
Planning and executing campaigns
Analysing and segmenting customers
Gauging customer satisfaction
Measuring effectiveness of processes
Responding to customer demands or complaints
Incorporating customer feedback into products/services
Other
Each of the organisation’s customer-facing departments influences the customer via different channels. For each of the processes below, how closely do your marketing, sales and customer service units work together? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5.(% respondents)
2 10 35 29 16 8
18 16 49 14 4
2 12 26 40 16 4
4 14 26 30 14 12
4 10 35 29 18 4
4 14 41 27 6 8
14 12 47 24 4
4 26 28 30 10 2
14 14 14 14 43
24 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Providing a consistent customer experience
Building long-term relationships
Gathering customer intelligence in the course of providing service
Segmenting and profiling customers
Targeting the right customers in order to close a high percentage of prospects
Cross-selling or upselling customers
Ensuring that customer complaints are resolved quickly
Measuring customer satisfaction and loyalty
Involving customers product/service development (eg, co-creation)
Creating effective collateral
Generating qualified leads
Maximising the number of repeat sales
Efficiently acquiring customers (eg, reducing the cost of sales)
Measuring/optimising effectiveness of marketing and promotional campaigns
Other
Don’t know
In your view, which of your organisation’s activities are most in need of improvement? Select up to four. (% respondents)
33
31
27
22
22
22
20
20
20
18
16
16
16
12
4
6
Making each unit aware of how the others have interacted with a given customer
Presenting customers with a consistent picture of the organisation
Integrating customer tracking from lead through post-sales service
Prioritising resources directed towards customers by total value over life of customer
Developing and sharing a detailed picture of customers, behaviour and preferences
Helping each function find and act on ways to support the others
Establishing common definitions, assumptions and data
Measuring the probability that leads will turn into sales, and using these scores to guide sales
Our company sees no need to integrate our marketing, sales and service activities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
Which of the following would provide the biggest benefits in integrating your organisation’s marketing, sales and service activities? Select up to three. (% respondents)
35
33
31
31
27
24
20
4
2
4
12
0 20 40 60 80 100
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?(% respondents)
In chosing to do business with my organisation, price is the single most important factor most customers consider
Compared to our competitors, my organisation’s customers are more loyal
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
My organisation prioritises sales and marketing resources based on each customer’s lifetime value
We are currently developing a social media strategy
My organisation has more flexibility than its competitors in pricing its products
Despite the recession, my organisation has greatly strengthened customer relationships over the past 12 months
We are more engaged in developing products or services collaboratively with customers than we were 12 months ago
Customers view my organisation’s products and services more as commodities now than five years ago
Our margins are higher than the margins of most of our competitors
Agree Disagree Don’t know
33 63 4
46 32 22
35 43 22
25 39 35
47 31 22
31 47 22
59 24 18
55 35 10
59 29 12
24 43 33
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
25 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Global economic downturn
Significant demand shifts for our products/services
Changing customer requirements
Finding access to credit/capital
Focusing on sustainability efforts
Disruptive technology developments
Emergence of new markets for our products and services
Emergence of new competitors
Accessing key components or resources through our supply chain
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following trends have had the greatest impact on your business over the past 12 months? Select up to three.(% respondents)
65
29
25
24
22
16
12
8
8
10
2
Improving usability, search and navigation of customer-facing websites
Making prices and sales terms more transparent for easy comparability
Improving online or self-service product support tools
Investing in self-service tools across multiple channels (eg, web, mobile devices, e-mail, point of sale)
Building or supporting online customer communities
Other
Don’t know
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower its customers? Select all that apply.(% respondents)
41
41
37
33
24
6
10
Reliability
Flexibility in changing offerings
Environmental “green” concerns
Price
Customer service
Source of power generation (hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar, etc.)
Variable pricing (based on demand, season, etc.)
Safety
Convenience
Overall customer experience
Ability to scale quickly to meet demand spikes
Other
Don’t know
Given the trend towards increasing customer choice among differentiated utilities services, which factors has your organisation best presented to customers to influence purchase decisions? Select up to four. (% respondents)
59
41
37
33
33
22
18
18
18
16
14
2
4
2
27
51
16
4
Seamlessly
Very well
Somewhat
Poorly
Not at all
How well has your organisation made use of customer feedback to differentiate utilities offerings and make them appear less commoditised?(% respondents)
26 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
Customers see our products and services as commodities
Regulatory restrictions in providing services
Large infrastructure costs in fulfilling new orders
We have not sufficiently differentiated our brand
Perceived cost of switching (base is overly entrenched)
Too difficult to compile and analyse leads from different sources
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following represents your institution’s biggest challenge in acquiring customers? Select up to two. (% respondents)
57
22
20
18
16
6
4
8
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Middle East and Africa
Asia-Pacific
Latin America
North America
In which region are you personally based?(% respondents)
73
18
10
0
0
0
Power
Gas
Water
Sewage
Other
Which of the following services does your company provide?(% respondents)
57
51
6
4
45
Board member
CEO/President/Managing director
CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller
CIO/Technology director
Other C-level executive
SVP/VP/Director
Head of Business Unit
Head of Department
Manager
Other
Which of the following best describes your title?(% respondents)
2
8
4
4
2
10
4
33
31
2
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsCreating value through customer partnerships in utilities
27 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
16
10
16
14
43
$500m or less
$500m to $1bn
$1bn to $5bn
$5bn to $10bn
$10bn or more
What are your organisation’s global annual revenues in US dollars? (% respondents)
General management
Strategy and business development
Marketing
Finance
IT
Operations and production
Sales
Risk
R&D
Customer service
Information and research
Human resources
Procurement
Legal
Supply-chain management
Other
What are your main functional roles? Please choose no more than three functions.(% respondents)
37
33
16
14
14
12
12
8
8
8
6
6
2
2
0
6
45
8
47
Business-to-business
Consumer/retail
Both
Who are your organisation’s primary customers?(% respondents)
73
27
Consumer/retail
Business-to-business
Which perspective—consumer/retail or business-to-business—are you sharing in this survey?(% respondents)
28
Whilst every effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of this information, neither The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd. nor the sponsors of this report can accept any responsibility or liability for reliance by any person on this white paper or any of the information, opinions or conclusions set out in the white paper. Co
ver i
mag
e: S
hutt
erst
ock
LONDON26 Red Lion SquareLondon WC1R 4HQUnited KingdomTel: (44.20) 7576 8000Fax: (44.20) 7576 8476E-mail: london@eiu.com
NEW YORK111 West 57th StreetNew York NY 10019United StatesTel: (1.212) 554 0600Fax: (1.212) 586 1181/2E-mail: newyork@eiu.com
HONG KONG6001, Central Plaza18 Harbour RoadWanchai Hong KongTel: (852) 2585 3888Fax: (852) 2802 7638E-mail: hongkong@eiu.com