One of the things that caught my eye in the Institute of Customer Services UK’s (UKSCI) most recent report on customer satisfaction was the suggestion that a growing number of customers are prepared to pay more for improved service.

Digital platforms have become one of most powerful forces in global business. They support entire ecosystems, enabling rapid growth and huge profits for multiple participants.

As we’ve seen, next-gen customers are increasingly expecting more from their energy suppliers. They want their providers to adopt lower carbon technology, use smart meter data to improve billing visibility, simplify microgeneration and integrate with other sectors, such as insurance.

Capita’s white paper explores how focusing on empathy, kindness and sincerity will equip organisations to help their most vulnerable customers.

Companies today are dealing with an increasing range of vulnerable customers and should remember that seemingly small changes can have a significant impact.

It doesn’t seem too long ago that the introduction of interactive voice response (IVR) received a rocky reception with many customers citing that they preferred to speak to a ‘real human’.

There can be no doubt the pandemic has altered the emotional make-up of society. Collectively, we are now much more aware of the suffering of others – and how could we not be after seeing lives turned upside down and businesses upended with no sense of rhyme or reason or equity.

As we’ve mentioned in a previous article, 2021 saw smaller UK energy suppliers cease trading and exit the market at an unprecedented rate.

So far we have seen how customer demands are driving invention and innovation within the utilities industry.

A popular online brokerage prided itself on building a customer experience that made trading stocks as easy as swiping right or left to purchase a book online.