Am I with you yet?

With switching hitting the headlines again, getting customers over the line is more important than ever.

Differing supplier policies, meter types, data sets, and of course, debt, are all factors affecting the registration process, so this week we look at the challenges suppliers face in managing a successful switch and how to capitalise on an increasingly buoyant market.

Given the increasing number of households awakening to the possibilities and savings on offer in switching their home energy, a smooth and professional on boarding process is critical in mitigating the risk of customers churning within the first three months.

Whilst most customers will not have their meter details, consumption history or a recent bill to hand, the vast majority are capable of providing their name and address. There have been constant shifts in opinion within the industry on “how much is too much” when asking potential customers for data to quote and ultimately to enable a switch.

Triggering the registration for a supply point with the industry is a well-established process, with recognised challenges around management of industry rejections and objections. However, given the increased number of sales channels open to suppliers, the process of receiving, validating and processing customer acquisitions in a consistent and controlled manner throws up a raft of new and hidden challenges.

A simple and common solution to dealing with missing or incomplete data is to push back onto third parties providing leads into your business, but clearly this does not address direct customer quotes. Whilst managing the quality of data provided by your sales channels and partners will highlight obvious issues, there are still significant risks and opportunities in customers dropping out of the process or being kept in the dark due to manual processes and hand-offs before a registration is formally triggered with the industry.

Being “agnostic” to the source of a customer quote, be it from a sales partner or a direct approach from a customer carries a number of benefits in that it delivers consistency to the data you require, the approach you take to obtaining any missing data and the manner in which you process the data once received.

Current processes often involve multiple systems, disparate file formats and heavy human intervention resulting in black-holes when things go wrong.

If you want to make the most of the switching culture, and are interested in a fully integrated solution that streamlines the on-boarding process and maximises customer gains? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you today.