Challenger Energy Suppliers should improve their mobile experiences says new report

Using the Banks for inspiration

The study released by Publicis Sapient says that it has never been more important for energy suppliers to introduce high quality and seamless digital experiences across the various formats of mobile, web and voice to provide the best customer experience possible.

The report suggests that energy supply companies should look to the banking sector for inspiration on how to create and utilise mobile apps to win new customers.

Challenger energy companies have fallen behind on this front with most only offering basic apps that often just provide a simplistic method of managing payments. In contrast challenger banks use apps that offer a wide variety of options and features that allow them to manage their money quickly and easily.

New challengers in the banking sector, for example, use mobile apps to eat into the market share of established market players, while choosing not to invest in web or mobile web.

Retail banking and telecommunications companies have meanwhile developed mobile-first experiences with features exclusive to their app, rather than investing to build them across the entire digital estate. 

“With business still far from normal thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, excellent remote customer service and heightened digital experiences could prove to be just such an advantage,” said the report. 

More Savvy consumers

With the energy regulator Ofgem encouraging consumers to shop around for the best deals for their electricity and gas services, energy suppliers need to become more competitive and appealing to attract their custom.

It has never been easier to switch supplier so to keep and attract new customers an energy supplier needs to stand out from the crowd. An easy to use and fast mobile app could be just the ticket.

One of the key findings of the Publicis Sapient’s report is that despite the sharp rise in the number of people using mobiles and apps, the mobile experience offered by UK energy suppliers is ‘surprisingly muted’.

“Large suppliers appear to lead the way in mobile experience, but overall, there is limited differentiation across the sector. Surprisingly, the challenger suppliers do not stand out against the large suppliers. Instead, their apps are narrow in scope, focusing on simplicity and ease of use in the fundamentals,” said Simon Harvey, Utilities Leader EMEA at Publicis Sapient.

How can Energy Suppliers better utilise mobile apps?

The report lists three ways in which energy suppliers can adopt the mobile app strategies used in the banking sector.

These are:

• There needs to be a shift to digital self-service with the apps being designed to improve and deepen customer relationships.
• The app should be the default choice for launching and driving new products and services, allowing customers to have easy access to services and to provide feedback.
• Allow customers to see their energy usage easily and clearly, how much it costs and peak times for energy efficiency.

“Use mobile apps to help align internal capabilities. Delivering customer value through great app experiences is an excellent driver to help align the energy suppliers’ internal capabilities. Put simply, great apps are underpinned by modern platforms, while poorly performing apps are often the consequence of monolithic technical architectures and their associated ways of working,” added Harvey. 

Further Reading

Feed in Tariff costs could soar to record highs due to Covid-19 and exceptional weather conditions

The UK economy shrank by a record 24% in April, Energy Supplier calls for changes to the Price cap increase

Britain has gone Coal free for a record two months

Dyball Associates are proud to help new supply businesses successfully launch in the UK market.

Through our energy market consultancy services, and the software we’ve developed, we’re supporting new UK electricity and gas suppliers get set up and start supplying.

For more information on how to start and manage an energy company, get in touch with Dyball Associates today.