The forces of inflation have driven a significant increase in the monthly bills of residential consumers, leaving them with substantial utilities debt. The end result: an increased call volume to contact centers related to utilities bill payment plan options, an overwhelmed contact center and a disgruntled sentiment towards the utility company.
Energy prices are expected to remain elevated through 2024, and only 35% of consumers have confidence in the affordability of their energy bills in the next three years.6 To prep for the additional influx of callers, your contact center should be fortified with streamlined processes that maximize the power of automation. This will free up your agents to focus on more complex issues.
Generative AI is a key piece to the puzzle in reducing workforce tasks and costs with chatbots that:
Establish more channels of interaction with a strong omnichannel approach
First things first: it’s critical you have ample communication lines going, as a healthy foundation of channels including chatbots, email and text will be key to allowing consumers to report outages or stop or start services online without the need to speak directly with an agent.
Institute self-service through social media and virtual assistants
This will not only cut costs, it will cut call volume. Offering round-the-clock support through self-service can prevent customers from switching providers, as 21% of consumers cite a lack of 24/7 assistance as a potential reason for switching.7
Streamline call routing through Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Not only does IVR organize your operations and help contact centers deliver faster support, but you can also collect valuable data from IVR, such as system preferences, that can later be used to personalize experiences.
Automate repetitive tasks such as scheduling, paying bills, checking usage and more
The result of automating tedious tasks is empowering the contact center — research shows that by 2040, AI will increase contact center productivity by 35% in the U.S. alone.8
In the U.S. alone, AI will increase contact center productivity by
Key takeaways
As utility bills continue to soar, frustrated callers are flooding contact centers and unfortunately, a lack of digitalization is hindering their ability to skillfully manage the large volume.
Empower your contact center by integrating automation, self-service and IVR and add in a healthy blend of channels for consumers to reach you on. This will free up your agents to handle more complex issues.
6 - EY, “When energy hits home, will providers be left out in the cold?” ey.com. 7 - Foundever, “Foundever™ CX landscape 2022-2023: Evolution or revolution?” foundever.com. 8 - Replicant, “The rise of contact center automation in 12 stats,” replicant.com.