Becoming a Proactive Energy Advisor€¦ · build their trust, satisfaction, and loyalty, utilities...

transcript

APPA Customer Connections ConferenceNovember 2016

Mike Hildebrand

VP Business Development, E Source

Becoming a Proactive Energy Advisor (and other interesting things to help you get there)

THE CHALLENGEDisruptive forces in the energy sector give businesses increasing choice in the types of energy services they receive and who they obtain them from.

To better serve business customers and build their trust, satisfaction, and loyalty, utilities can no longer rely on reactive, old-school account management. They need to adopt optimal, proactive, best-practice techniques.

E Source’s research shows that specific, relatively low-cost measures can improve customer perceptions of the utility and the account representative.

TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED

•Account Management Best Practices

•Moving From Current State to Future State

•Renewable Energy/Distributed Energy Resources

•Moving from DSM to CSM

•Transforming from a RAM to a PEA

TOP ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES

Business

Customer

Experience

Satisfaction

Conduct customer satisfaction surveys of business customers and benchmark

those results to others

Provide professional development or other training for key account representatives

Account

Management

Structure

Has customer groups (segments) which are defined and served differently

Has a business contact center, dedicated phone number & CSRs trained for business

Create a midsize account management function and have a formal national accounts

strategy

Business

Customer

Engagement

Key account representatives meet with their accounts based upon the customers

desired number of visits

Use key account representatives for unplanned outage or emergency communications

Designate employees to actively participate in business associations

Account

and Sector

Planning

Create customized strategic account plans for key account customers

Create strategic sector plans for the most significant sectors

Review customized strategic account plans with utility management and the customer

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OPTIMAL STRUCTURE

BEST PRACTICE MIDSIZED BUSINESS APPROACHES

- Call every customer within 24 hours after an outage is restored to make sure things were repaired properly and address any other issues

- Call customer with two or more late payment feesAustin

- Dedicated account manager to focus on small and midsized businessSnohomish PUD

- Dedicated midsized account managers assigned by business segmentTacoma Public Utilities

- Dedicated account manager to focus on small and midsized business - Hiring 4 BSR’s to staff newly formed Business Solutions Group PG&E

- Onboarding – calls every new customer to establish engagement (within 2 weeks) to discuss deposits, rate options, energy savings programs, etc.

- Segment plans foundational to success- 250-350 Customers per assigned Midsized Account Manager

APPROPRIATE ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT TITLES?

Words Matter - Consider Title Changes

Key Account Manager and Account Representative titles may be popular, but do they portray the right message

- Consider words like “customer,” “advisor,” or “advocate”

- Example: “Key Customer Advisor” or “Midsize Customer Advocate” to emphasize the purpose of the role.

Industry Current State

Future State

Industry Current State

Future State

Managing business as usual Managing for growth and change

Reliably supply a commodity Create strategic value

One size fits all Customer prioritization

Managing business as usual

Managing for growth and

change

When Will You Install Your Next / First PV System?

Half of the customers expecting to install PV in the next 5 years anticipate that the system will cover 50% of their electric load.

Source: E Source How Photovoltaic Systems and Distributed Generation Will Disrupt the Utility Industry 2015 (n=802)

Reliably supply a commodity

Create strategic

Develop Customer-Centric Offerings

3. Test options with customers

2. Gather input from internal stakeholders

1. Identify Strategic Segments

One size fits allCustomer

Prioritization & Segmentation

Office / Congregations

Retail / Service

Government / Education / Healthcare

Restaurants / Lodging

Groceries / C-Stores

Manufacturing / Warehouse

Small & Midsize Prioritization

Renewable Energy

is Here to Stay

RE100 - Corporate Commitment to 100% Renewable Energy Is 69 and Growing

Go100Percent – Cities Commitment to 100% Renewable Energy Is 59 and Growing

• Aspen, CO• Georgetown, TX• Greensburg, KS• Honolulu, HI• Rochester, MN• Ithaca, NY• San Diego, CA• San Francisco CA• Santa Barbara, CA• East Hampton, NJ• Burlington, VT

Sources: story from appleinsider.com and image from YouTube.com

GreenTech Media - October 18th, 2016

Wal-Mart has 145 megawatts of installed photovoltaic capacity (FYI -Target now has 147 megawatts of installed photovoltaic capacity)

470 locations powered by renewables in seven countries and 17 states 100% renewable power goal by 2020, about 25% of the way there so far Now deploying strategy for energy storage

Batteries would complete the circle of self-reliance Batteries could allow the solar system to disconnect from the grid Batteries provide an additional source of clean backup power until the grid is

restored Tesla batteries, provided by Solar City via pay for performance model

Wal-Mart states “This offers another opportunity for us to take care of our customers -

and, likely, to sell more stuff.” “Combined with other grid service revenues, Wal-Mart's investment in

renewables and storage could eventually be a real money-maker.”

Renewable Energy

E Source Market

Research Findings

Businesses Reporting Having Formal Renewable Energy Goals

Base: All respondents (n = 802). Question 17: Does your organization have any of the following in place?

LESS Likely to Have PV Installed

MORE Likely to HavePV Installed

Healthcare (15%), Manufacturing (29%)Use traditional utility (31%)

NOT on a demand rate (33%)NOT on a time-dependent rate (13%)Medium / low on green commitment

(23% / 1%)NOT highly satisfied with utility (31%)

Have not used EE rebates (15%)Lease their facility (26%)

Number of locations is 1 (27%)

Grocery (56%), Retail (50%), Lodging (48%)

Use a competitive retail provider (56%)On a demand rate (43%)

On a time-dependent rate (50%)High on green commitment (42%)Highly satisfied with utility (42%)

Used EE rebates (51%)Own their facility (38%)

Number of locations is 11+ (56%)

Perhaps surprising nonfactors:

Number of employees, presence of backup generation

Characteristics of Those Businesses Most & Least Likely to Have Installed PV

Businesses Percentage That Rank a Electric Utility as a Preferred PV Vendor

16%Base: All respondents (n = 802). Question 47: Please assume that you were thinking about installing a new PV system and evaluate the following companies from which you might acquire a system. If the companies each offered similar technology and pricing, please rank your top three choices by putting a 1 next to your first choice, a 2 next to your second choice, and a 3 next to your third choice.

Which Segments Are Most Likely to Go Solar in the Next Two Years?

Base: All respondents (n = 802). Question 34: What is your best estimate of when your company will install its photovoltaic (PV) system?

In 5 Years, 45% of Midsize to Large Businesses Expect Half of Their Power to Come from Solar

Source: E Source Study How Photovoltaics and Distributed Generation Will Disrupt the Utility Industry

Source: Renewable Choice Energy

North American Deals

All corporate purchases 2010 – 2015 Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance – 2025 commitment

Corporate Procurement of Renewable Energy

Corporate Commitment to Renewables Is Growing Rapidly

At least a

tenfold

increase!

Business Sector: Potential Battery Purchasers

Source: E Source Study Reliability, Resiliency, Storage, and Microgrids: The Business Customers’ Perspective

15%30%

19% 14%

3-year payback 5-year payback 10-year payback

Bottom-6 box Middle-2 box Top-2 box

Base: Respondents that do not have facility-level battery systems (n = 275). Question 44: Assume that by

implementing battery backup generation, you could reduce the energy and demand charges that you pay by

20% by charging the battery automatically at certain times of the day. Given this discount, how likely would

you be to purchase a battery storage system if: [SCALE: “1” = “Not at All Likely,” “10” = “Extremely Likely”?

Note: Percentages may not add to 100 percent due to rounding.

Utility Is the #1 Preference for Installing a Facility-Level Battery System

Potential facility-level battery system vendor

Average rank as preferred

facility-level battery system

vendor

Ranking as top-2

battery system vendor

Local electric utility company 1.86 40

A subsidiary of your local electric utility that

specializes in energy services2.15 29

Local electrical contractor 1.90 28

An independent energy services company 2.13 24

A retail or wholesale equipment dealer

(e.g., Grainger)2.05 22

A local gas company or its subsidiary 1.91 19

National / regional energy services company 2.09 19

A generator manufacturer 1.90 18

Base: All respondents (n = 805). Question 48: Please assume that you were thinking about installing one of the technologies that you have just been

reviewing. If the companies each offered similar technology and pricing, please rank your top three choices for each technology by putting a “1” next to your

first choice in each column, a “2” next to your second choice in each column, and a “3” next to your third choice in each column.

Make the customer centric to all of your decision making!

www.esource.com/csm

Current Program Design and Marketing StrategyTYPICAL METHOD

Load-shape goal / cost-cutting goal

Target customers

Sell and bribe

Target customers

Incorporate attractive attributes

Blend in utility goals

Fundamental Shift in Program Design and Marketing StrategyCUSTOMER-FIRST METHOD

Immersion:Immerse yourself in the experience

of others

Observation:Observe what

people do

Engagement: Capture what people say

they do

Shortcuts to Customer Empathy

Most People Are Too Close to a Problem to See It as a Problem

Journey Mapping – An Approach!

Typical process-mapping focus Journey-mapping focus

Company / organization CustomerInternal External

Operational efficiency Customer experience and operational efficiency

Internal steps and department-to-department handoffs

Customer’s intent and preferred interaction channels

Specific department roles Cross-functional teamsConsistency Pain points and customer emotions

Journey Mapping: Customer’s POV

Quickly create an organized inventory

of all company touchpoints

Audit and measure the effectiveness and value of each

customer interaction

Identify what’s most important to

customers and what creates or detracts

from value and loyalty

Build a compelling case for change

Exclusive for North American utilities

Journey Mapping Clients

RAM to

top 10

RAM to a PEA Transformation

10. Be a Team Leader

9. Be an Advocate

8. Be a Communicator

7. Be Trustworthy

6. Be a Listener

5. Be Informed

4. Be a Relationship Architect

3. Be Compelling

2. Be Nimble

1. Be Proactive

Be a Team Leader Be an Advocate Be a Communicator Be Trustworthy Be a Listener Be Informed Be a Relationship Architect Be Compelling Be Nimble Be Proactive

TOPICS DISCUSSED