Thanks to delays caused by the pandemic and getting fully functioning Smets 2 meters to market, last year the British government extended the deadline for smart meter deployment to 2024. The pressure is on energy suppliers to ramp up their smart meter rollout efforts and to prove that they have taken all reasonable steps to offer and install them to homes across the UK. But with many domestic consumers expressing concerns about the meters and with no legal obligation to accept one, utility companies have their work cut out. The good news is behavioral science can help nudge people in the right direction!
According to figures published on 26th November 2020, there were around 22.2m domestic smart and advanced meters installed to date1 – that’s around the 30% figure. Rollout was dramatically hampered by the arrival of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown in 2020, with just 135,000 smart meters fitted during April to June 2020, compared with 985,000 in the previous three months2.
One of the biggest challenges that suppliers face, is the fact that consumers are under no obligation to accept a smart meter. Concerns from people resisting a smart meter include seeing it as an intrusion on their privacy and data privacy; making them vulnerable to hackers; and even damaging their health. It’s time for suppliers to up their game and make more effort to motivate users to accept a smart meter. And here’s where Advizzo’s user-led experiences can really make a difference.
Delivering a smart customer experience
Advizzo harnesses the power of behavioral science to create unique customer engagement solutions that are proven to help water and energy customers to better understand their usage and motivate them to make changes – whether that’s to reduce their consumption or accept a smart meter.
Increase engagement
Advizzo’s SaaS solutions use behavioral and data science to understand and trigger customer engagement. We do this through personalized and timely behavioral messages across multiple channels – for example, the web, email or text messages that are designed to motivate behavioral changes. This increased interaction with customers promotes confidence and trust – an essential tool in any effort by suppliers to encourage conversion to smart meters. You can read more about customer engagement in our Blog – Engaging with customers through a time of crisis – lessons from lockdown.
Deliver information
Advizzo’s platform and customer engagement solutions are the perfect channel for energy suppliers to educate and inform customers on the advantages that smart meters can deliver, such as negating the need to submit a meter reading, accurate bills, as well as reduced consumption. FAQs that customers have about smart meters can also be addressed, such as informing customers that installations are free; that they can still switch supplier; that their data is protected; or how to request a smart meter.
Reveal potential savings
One of the most persuasive messages that we can send to an energy customer is a comparison of their average consumption, with that of similar households in their neighborhood. Providing customers with personalized consumption comparisons with neighbors that have reduced their bill having installed a smart meter can prove to be very persuasive in encouraging a customer to convert.
If you need further evidence that Advizzo can support and promote your smart meter roll out, then we’d love to the opportunity to talk to you. Get in touch today.
Source
1 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/937577/Q3_2020_Smart_Meters_Statistics_Report_FINAL.pdf
2 https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/10/energy-smart-meter-installation-roll-out-faces-further-setbacks/