5 Ways Utilities Can Drive Satisfaction Among Customers Seeking Help with their Bills

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The bill payment process is a valuable opportunity for utilities to boost customer satisfaction—but when customers don’t have the resources to pay those bills and need assistance, it becomes an emotionally charged and potentially detractor-creating experience.

More Customers Facing Difficulties Paying Bills

When requesting help with paying their utility bills, customers are 70% more likely to feel annoyed compared to the average interaction.  

These interactions are on the rise amidst a period of inflation. Over the past year, the number of customers seeking assistance from Utilities has increased, particularly among customer segments more vulnerable to financial difficulties.

The greatest impact was seen among households earning less than $100,000 annually and individuals under 50, though Q4 showed initial signs of improvement for these groups.

However, NPS leaders demonstrate that the process of requesting help with bill payments doesn’t have to result in negative customer sentiment. Atmos, who leads the industry by 32 NPS points above average, has optimized this customer experience to create brand promoters.  

Key Drivers of Episode NPS

A few key drivers of good NPS performance emerged in our data, and offer valuable insight into which improvements CX professionals should prioritize: 

#1: Proactively Communicate with Customers About Options 

Customers want their utility company to reach out to them about bill assistance before a challenge arises. NPS Prism data shows that customers who received this proactive information rated their provider 58 points higher than those who did not receive any such communication. 

By analyzing past payment behavior—such as late payments, installment plans, and disconnections—alongside statement balance increases, Utilities can identify at-risk customers and provide information on payment arrangements or extended due dates.  

Nearly 60% of customers began their path to seeking bill assistance by reaching out to the contact center or a payment center, pointing to the importance of their interactions with human representatives.  

However, NPS is ~10 points better among customers speaking to a representative at the payments center, rather than on the phone with the utility provider. Elevating the quality of the call center experience is crucial to good performance, especially during a stressful situation.

Alternatively, digital channels tend to perform better than the call center. Encouraging customers to leverage well-designed digital resources can enhance the overall experience.

#3: Minimize the Number of Interactions to Receive the Help Needed 

When they’ve already found themselves in a stressful situation, the last thing customers want is to undergo a lengthy, multi-step process to receive assistance.

Among customers who say they received the help they needed, NPS for those who resolved their issue on the first contact was 27 points higher than those who had to reach out multiple times.

 #4: Take Steps to Ensure Customers Receive Full Assistance

When customers receive additional time or support from their provider to pay bills, their NPS scores naturally improve. However, customers must receive the full help they are seeking for the best experience.

Providing partial help to customers resulted in only marginally better results than receiving no help at all. 

#5: Ensure Customer Representatives Are Fully Informed on Policies  

With only 50% of customers industrywide reporting their representatives as extremely knowledgeable, and NPS scores dropping by 90 points when they don‘t, policy communication stands out as a major area of improvement for utilities.

Ensuring call and payment center employees are well-versed in policies can help drive NPS scores for these episodes. 

With a rise in customers who need assistance with utility bills, these process changes are ones that CX professionals and business leaders can leverage to turn a potentially negative experience into one that boosts customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

Curious where your customer experience ranks in these key areas?

Schedule time with our team to explore our platform and gain even more eye-opening insights from thousands of utility customers.