2024 Energy CX Barometer Germany

Addressing the CX Debt from Years of Customer Negligence in B2C Utilities

01. Industry State of Play

Major Forces Pushing Utility Providers to Reinvent Themselves for B2B and B2C

• Energy systems are shifting to meet net zero goals, decreasing fossil fuel use and increasing renewables.
• Households are evolving from passive consumers to active controllers of their energy with green solutions like solar, leading to a rise in local power generation, often sold back to the grid.
• Customers and regulators are seeking clearer data on the carbon content of energy.

• Electricity grids are moving from a few large generation points to numerous small ones, resulting in a more adaptable system.
• Previously separate networks are converging into a unified grid, with electricity as the universal medium.
• Advancing towards a green society necessitates a modernized energy network that fuses new digital systems with tangible assets.

• Digitizing energy systems is key for the zero-carbon shift, as it provides consumers with control and cost savings.
• Real-time data from smart meters and connected home tech enhances household energy management.
• This new dynamic benefits companies that leverage customer data to predict needs and tailor services.

• Increased digitalization produces vast data, offering insights into individual appliance use and health, enabling proactive energy services.
• Quality, accessible data is crucial for the evolution to a smarter, decentralized energy system and increases in value when interconnected.

• As battery and storage technology advance, customers are increasingly self-reliant, potentially leading to higher utility costs—known as a utility death spiral—if this trend persists without new solutions.

• Utilities must innovate to provide smarter services, potentially bundling offerings for homes in online marketplaces.
• Innovations may include peer-to-peer trading and energy as a service, shifting from traditional unit-based billing to outcome-based pricing.

• The proliferation of smart devices by tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Nest is pushing utilities to the background in customer energy management, reducing their role to passive bill charging.
• Car companies like Tesla are also entering the energy market, further challenging traditional utility services.

• Digitalization empowers energy and utility firms to engage with customers, shape behavior, and enhance outcomes across the entire customer journey.
• Staying relevant means becoming part of the customer’s preferred smart home interface, spanning from wearables to connected vehicles to align with evolving consumer tech trends.

Digital leaders and new entrants are raising the bar—in energy, across the category, for both B2B and B2C.

02. CX of Utilities

As the Bar Rises, the CX Gap Widens

The slow rate of change among incumbents is increasingly exposed when compared to digitally mature or native companies.

• Change rate of Technology + Customer Expectation: Exponential
• Change rate of Traditional Organizations: Linear

This creates a widening customer experience gap, as seen among major German utilities: EnBW, e.on, VATTENFALL, Rhein Energie, SWM Stadtwerke München, mainova, yello.

CX Trends in Utilities

Utility providers are under pressure to improve their long-neglected customer experiences with better service, pricing, and data.

• Companies are re-marketing themselves as “meeting needs” rather than “pushing products.”
• In a highly competitive industry, where customers can change suppliers effortlessly, personalization is vital for building loyalty and retention.

• Sustainability is a key concern for many customers.
• Customers want to reduce their own carbon footprint and expect utilities to provide usage and analytics data, as well as develop programs that demonstrate meaningful, sustainable changes.

• As people spend more time online, tolerance for outdated digital experiences has vanished.
• Utility customers demand better service through multiple channels, whether choosing a tariff, understanding a bill, or requesting support.

• Smartphones are ubiquitous, and utility providers can no longer rely solely on desktop-designed websites.
• Flexible and consistent access through mobile-friendly websites and applications is now essential.

03. CX Imperatives

Six Customer Experience Territories: The Battleground for Overdue CX Transformation

1. Pricing
   "I want a customized plan based on my energy needs that is simple to select and manage over time."
2. Customer Service
   "Make customer service a true service—proactive and predictive, in place when and where needed."
3. Energy Management
   "Automate or help me manage my energy usage based on my personal habits and preferences in real time."
4. Rewards
   "Create rewards that I care about, recognizing my contributions."
5. Prosumerism
   "Enable me to easily generate my own energy and collaborate with the wider community."
6. Ecosystem
   "Give me an open ecosystem that seamlessly integrates with diverse energy sources, optimizing usage and contributions."

Degrees of Disruption: From Table Stakes to Leapfrog Shifts

Guide your CX transformation to reduce churn and boost loyalty.

• Leapfrog: Dynamic and personalized, predictive and automated, autonomous, customized and impactful, empowering and decentralized, synergistic
• Differentiated: Transparent and cost-effective, responsive and anticipatory, empowered, incentivized, integrated, collaborative
• Today's Status: Convoluted, dysfunctional, rudimentary, sparse, nascent, isolated

1. Pricing

• Today's Status: Complex rate structures, hidden fees, inadequate information, variable rates
• Example: Ostrom disrupts traditional pricing by charging market prices, offering transparent plans, an app for proactive management, a flat fee, monthly cancellation, and 100% renewable electricity.
• Leapfrog Vision: Innovate with dynamic pricing ecosystems—real-time, adaptive pricing platforms leveraging AI, blockchain for transparency, and gamification to engage customers in energy usage and cost-saving challenges.

2. Customer Service

• Today's Status: Limited availability, poor issue resolution, lack of personalization, lack of proactive communication
• Example: Ostrom excels with flexible, paperless, app-based customer service, 100% renewable energy, monthly cancellation, and a Trustpilot score of 4.8/5.
• Leapfrog Vision: Deploy advanced AI for predictive support, virtual energy assistants, AR maintenance tools, and smart home integrations for proactive, 24/7 customer engagement.

3. Energy Management

• Today's Status: Complicated interfaces, technical jargon, inadequate integration, lack of proactive tools
• Example: Tibber offers real-time consumption data, fair pricing, intelligent price predictions, automatic charging management, and cost-efficient smart charging for EVs.
• Leapfrog Vision: Empower with autonomous energy ecosystems—intelligently connected devices that autonomously manage and optimize energy use, with a personalized concierge service and peer-to-peer marketplace.

4. Rewards

• Today's Status: Limited incentives, complex redemption, poor communication, static programs
• Example: Vattenfall’s app includes a loyalty program with monthly surprises, discounts, new offers, and CO2-saving tips.
• Leapfrog Vision: Transform rewards into impactful experiences—blockchain-based, customizable programs, energy-saving challenges with social impact, and dynamic partnerships for broad reward options.

5. Prosumerism

• Today's Status: Limited grid integration, inadequate incentivization, complex processes, restricted market access
• Example: Enphase enables prosumers to store, use, and sell their energy, manage systems, charge EVs, and seamlessly transition between grid and backup power.
• Leapfrog Vision: Establish decentralized, smart contract-enabled energy grids and virtual power plants, with gamified systems to reward and recognize contributions, fostering community-driven sustainability.

6. Ecosystem

• Today's Status: Siloed operations, limited engagement, fragmented infrastructure, minimal partnerships, conservative models
• Current Developments:
  • Increasing IoT use for real-time monitoring
  • Platforms for trading excess renewable energy
  • Smart grids with AI for demand forecasting
  • Growth in energy storage
  • Blockchain for secure trading
  • Aggregation of distributed resources
  • Advanced home optimization systems
  • EV grid integration
  • Market deregulation
  • Utility-tech partnerships for smart home solutions
• Leapfrog Vision: Forge a unified, open, interoperable platform integrating IoT and smart home devices, supported by cross-industry partnerships and AI-driven personalization for a seamless, all-encompassing energy management and lifestyle experience.

04. From Now to Next

Publicis Sapient: A Legacy of Digital Innovation

• 1991: Sapient® founded
• 1993: Invents fixed time/fixed price
• 1997: First transactional retail banking website (Wells Fargo)
• 1999: First digital kiosks in stores (Staples)
• 2001: Opodo
• 2002: First airline seat finder
• 2003: First mobile boarding pass (Lufthansa)
• 2008: Launches NHS organ donor system
• 2009: Audi City; First touchscreen vending machine (Coke)
• 2010: First smile-activated vending machine
• 2013: First digital menu boards (Dunkin' Donuts)
• 2018: Food bank donation vending machine
• 2020: First digital trade finance bank (AGTB)
• 2021: Home & Villas: A new Airbnb disruptor
• 2022: Robinhood super app
• 2023: Renault Plug Inn, a P2P platform
• 2024: GAI-powered vacation rental for Marriott Bonvoy

Let's Connect

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About Publicis Sapient

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