The utilities industry is often characterized by necessity rather than customer choice, but providing a positive customer experience (CX) in this sector is not just a nice-to-have – it's vital. Utilities providers face unique challenges, from managing essential services and infrastructure to navigating regulatory environments and public perception.
A superior customer experience helps build trust, reduces operational costs associated with service calls and complaints, and supports public relations during outages or crises. This makes it critical for companies to understand the most important customer experience KPIs in the utility industry and how they can be applied to your day-to-day operations to help build customer loyalty and operational excellence.
Top 5 Customer Experience KPIs in the Utility Industry
Data derived from customer feedback is valuable and provides a foundation for understanding and improving the utility customer experience. These insights, collected and analyzed strategically, contribute directly to your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). A comprehensive customer experience management platform can be indispensable in this process, providing the tools to gather this valuable data, track your KPIs, and transform customer feedback into actionable strategies. By focusing on KPIs, utility providers can gain a complete view of their customer relationships and identify areas for improvement.
1. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Net Promoter Score measures customer loyalty and willingness to recommend your services to others. It’s a powerful indicator of overall customer sentiment and brand advocacy and is driven by asking – how willing are you to recommend our services to others? By understanding who your promoters and detractors are, utility providers can identify what drives satisfaction and dissatisfaction, allowing for targeted improvements in service, communication, or specific customer touchpoints.
- Example: NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors
2. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
CSAT directly measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, a product, or a service. The feedback that helps calculate this KPI is collected immediately after a service event – like bill payment, outage resolution, or customer service call – CSAT provides immediate, granular feedback on specific processes. This allows utilities providers to pinpoint exact areas of friction or success within their customer roadmap.
- Example: CSAT = (Number of Satisfied Customers / Total Number of Respondents) x 100
3. First Contact Resolution (FCR)
First Contact Resolution measures the percentage of customer issues or inquiries that are resolved during the very first interaction, without the need for follow-up or escalation. A high FCR rate has the potential to boost customer satisfaction, reduce operational costs by minimizing repeat contacts, and free up agent time. Utilities companies can use FCR to identify training needs for customer service teams or areas where self-service options could be improved to handle common inquiries.
- Example: FCR = (Number of Issues Resolved on First Contact / Total Number of Issues) x 100
4. Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)
While utilities companies do have a captive customer base, CLTV remains a valuable KPI. Customer Lifetime Value represents the total revenue a utility provider expects to generate from a customer over their entire relationship. Though customer churn is less common than in other industries, understanding CLTV helps utilities companies make more informed decisions about investment in customer retention, energy efficiency programs, or value-added services. Improving CLTV may also mean reducing the costs associated with onboarding new customers or managing complaints.
- Example: CLTV = (Average Revenue Per Customer Account x Average Customer Lifespan) - Customer Acquisition Cost
5. Customer Effort Score (CES)
Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how easy it is for customers to interact with your services and may include paying a bill or resolving a service issue. High effort is a major driver of frustration for customers, so a low CES score is a strong predictor of customer loyalty. Utilities providers can use CES data to pinpoint and simplify complex processes, reduce customer friction, and lower the cost to serve.
- Example Equation: CES = Sum of all Scores / Total Number of Respondents
READ MORE: How To Create a Great Customer Experience in Utilities and Telecom
By tracking and analyzing the most important customer experience KPIs in the utility industry, utility providers can transform their customer experience from a passive outcome to a strategic advantage. Are you ready to gain deeper insight into your customer experience and drive improvements?
Contact boostCX today to learn how our customer experience management platform can help your utility company capture valuable feedback, track these KPIs, and elevate your customer experience!
