3 Categories of Content That Support Utility Billing

For many customers, billing is one of the central interaction points with their utility. Customers not only want to understand their utility bill but try to actively influence it. Billing questions can sometimes emanate from line items that seem confusing or which costs can be impacted. Different rate options can sometimes be confusing to customers as well, and they don’t always understand the nuances of different plans.

Engaging residential and business customers in general is a challenge for many utility marketing organizations. Many utilities have energy efficiency education goals. Sustainability is a growing trend across many different segments of customers; however, the numbers show that cutting costs is still the priority for most. According to a survey published by Deloitte, 67% of the respondents stated saving money took precedence over other considerations related to energy management.¹

Content marketing for utilities can be presented in a number of different ways to provide money-saving tips and billing topics for both business and residential customers. The bonus is that it not only enhances the customer experience, resulting in a positive impact on customer satisfaction, but it also helps build brand perception while positioning the utility as a trusted advisor and thought leader. Here are a few examples of how providing search engine optimized content can be seen as a relationship builder for utility customers. In these examples, content marketing is aimed at intercepting users online when they are seeking information. Content must be keyword optimized and align to inbound marketing best practices to accomplish this goal.

Let's talk paperless
Industries such as telecom and financial services have been wildly successful at getting customers to adopt online paperless billing. However, many utilities still find it difficult to get the majority of their customers to go paperless. While those other industries are enjoying over 30% adoption rates, utility companies average much less at 12% adoption.² Utilities tend to have goals at growing adoption of paperless billing for a number of reasons. These include the fact that online billing fosters on-time payments and reduces operating expenses related to billing such as postage and manual processing.

Content marketing can be an effective means of educating customers of the benefits of paperless billing from the customer’s perspective. The difference between this and other types of communications is how this content gets found. Utility marketing teams should consider focusing blog articles and content marketing on keywords and concepts such as “factors that influence credit scores.” Rather than just professing the benefits of paperless billing, discuss the benefits around how ensuring prompt payment of utility bills can positively impact credit scores and/or, among business customers, reduce operational staff’s time. Add points such as “how late fees can be avoided because of lost or misplaced bills” and note steps for customers to consider in exploring different payment options. Focusing on the customer’s starting point transforms a critically important topic such as billing into customer-centric content.

Questions that need answers
When customers have billing questions, the last thing they want to do is spend hours on hold waiting for the next available customer representative. Rates and different pricing plans are often points of confusion for customers. In particular, commercial and industrial customers often have different rate plans to consider. If your utility offers different rate plans for load shifting or load shedding during peak time periods, content marketing can be an effective means of communication. Content that can intercept questions searching for either basic billing information or different rate plans will be viewed as solving a customer’s problem and providing solutions, versus corporate-driven communications.

Videos are an effective mechanism to present this type of content because customers can view a demonstration. For example, a quick 45-second video can take customers through the steps of reviewing a bill or accessing an online tool to determine usage patterns. Both videos and written content are effective ways to explain how a utility's online tools, such as account, bill and meter tracking, can help customers manage household or business budgets, and where to find alternative rate plans that might make sense based on usage.

Additionally, utilities often have numerous online tools to answer those questions, but the majority of business and residential customers aren't aware of them or don't know how to use them. Content marketing for utilities can bridge that gap by informing customers of all the useful online options available to them. The key again is to lead with a customer’s search behavior or problem and then refer to the online tool as a solution. This form of customer-centric marketing for utilities transforms a company-oriented topic around the customer’s minds.

Show me the money
The bottom line is, most business and residential customers put their focus on cost reduction, and they expect their utilities to offer energy management information. A study published by Accenture showed that 58% of consumers surveyed want to hear from their utilities about how to reduce their bills, and 45% want to know about money-saving products and services.³ Content marketing for utilities is a vehicle to get there.

Energy efficiency information and money-saving tips can be presented in many different ways. Content for utility marketing and digital marketing is the solution to many of the challenges facing utilities, including supporting billing and payment issues.