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Utilities, Customers & SMS Rudi Leitner. Who in this room has a mobile phone? Who in this room has ever sent a text (SMS) message?. 1.52 billion global mobile phone users Global SMS – 3Q2004 : 135 billion (1 million SMS / minute) Global monthly SMS : 36/user. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Utilities, Customers & SMS
Rudi Leitner
•Who in this room has a mobile phone?
•Who in this room has ever sent a text (SMS) message?
•1.52 billion global mobile phone users
•Global SMS – 3Q2004 : 135 billion (1 million SMS / minute)
•Global monthly SMS : 36/user
So why does this matter to me as a utility?
Customers and utilities need to interact -they do so using
• Post• Phone• In person• Fax• Internet
But they don’t really use the potential of texting (SMS) …
Potential?
The mobile phone, using SMS is…
• An on-line data terminal• Widely available
– Much more accessible than the web• It is portable• It is secure• It is low cost• Much faster than most other ways of interaction
– Much, much faster than mail– Faster than in-person contact– Faster than voice
• Enables near real-time interaction between you and your customer• And, it is owned (and loved) by your customer & is fully
maintained by them
But what about voice?
Voice and SMS offer customers different ways of interacting with utilities, but…– SMS can be faster (no need to hold in a call
center queue, or speak to multiple people to achieve the desired response)
– SMS is impersonal (some people dislike speaking to CC operators)
– SMS is much cheaper– SMS allows for automation of processes – for
example: directly accessing databases, logging responses etc.
Characteristics of SMS - Summary
• Accepted and understood by most users
• Accessible
• Low cost – in some cases free
• Quick and easy to use
• Secure, each user identifiable
• Time and date stamped
• Data processed and stored in real time
• Network manages data delivery
Outage reporting & management
Customer self read
Community field service
Utility field service
Billing query support
Information server
Market research/service measurement
Prepaid vending solutions
????
Some examples of using SMS in the interaction between customer and utility
Some examples of how this can work…
Customer material
•depends on type of SMS services deployed Examples
• Mail outs with the bill
• Meter sticker
• Fridge magnet
• Poster / Handouts at utility offices
• Adverts in media
• Posted/Knock & Drop communications
• multiple services on one card/magnet/mail-out/sticker
Interface with the customer
Utility Solutions - Self Meter Read
• Low cost per meter read
• Instantaneous and real time collection of data (reads and check reads)
• Supplements existing methods of read collection
• Reads can be checked and corrected
• Reads can be scheduled with reminders at the customer convenience
• Communication channel to the customer
• Rapid deployment
• Integrates with billing systems
“…managing the future”
Self Meter Reading Customer reads
questionnaire
Read typed into Customers cell phone
SMS/e-mail sent to required person / call centre
Reports generated
Data fed through to utility database
Appropriate response Sent back according to
customer input
Server in hosted environment
Customer Server
Database
1
4
SMS
3
Email/direct database entry
1 – request sent to customer for self reading
2 – customer reads and sends in result
3 – reading sent to database for checking, if correct store
4 – if incorrect ask customer to try again
5 – customer tries again6 – If still incorrect send request
to meter reader7 – Field agent visits meter and
checks operation 8 – Field agent send in correct
reading or follow up if tampered or damaged
Data incorrect
2 SMS
Data incorrect – try again
4
Second attempt5
Visit Meter
Field agent
7
6 8
ESP Self Meter Reading
Who wants to do an example?
– Acc No: 567891234986– Meter reading A: 102– Meter reading D: 203
Please SMS +27 83 308 1062
567891234986 A102 D203
Utility Solutions - Outage Management
• Instant knowledge of outages
• Immediate communication to customers on the state of an outage
• Reduce load on call centers
• Low cost of communication
• Rapid Deployment
• Improve customer relationship
• Integrates with existing Outage Management Systems
“…managing the future”
Outage Management Customer reports outage
Information on outage sent back to customer
SMS/e-mail sent to required person / call centre
Field reporting
Data fed through to utility database – Compare with known outages
Server in hosted environment
Further updates sent back to customer
ESP Outage Management
Customer ESPServer
Call Centre
SMS, e-mailor database
access
TechnicalCentre
14
2
SMS
5 SMS/e-mail
Step 1 – outage not known
Customer Server
1
2
SMS
Step 2 – outage known
5
3
ESP Outage Management
Customer ESPServer
Call Centre
SMS, e-mailor database
access
TechnicalCentre
2 SMS/e-maill
Step 3 – more time needed
Step 3 – fault fixed -reset
SMS
31
• Empower communities to provide first line customer support
• Automatically manage the above process
• Reduce cost
• Improve customer service levels
Community Based Field Service
Customer ESPServer
UtilityField agent
Phone / visit
1
4
2
SMS
SMS
3
Timed event 1 to 3, response required from community contact to server, closing customer request
5SMS/email
61 – customer sends a request2 – message sent to community
person3 – community person visits
customer4 – reports problem found,
resolves problem or indicates whether additional utility support required
5 – if additional utility support required, utility visit scheduled
6 – field agent visits7 –job closed
Communitycontact
SMS
visit
CallCentre
5 7
ESP Community Based Field Service
• Think how SMS based systems can fit into your customer management systems
• Think about your customer
• Give your customer more choices
• Improve service levels
• Increase customer loyalty
• Improve the image of the utility
• Measure and analyse key utility processes
• Reduce costs
• Increase accuracy of data
• Open new communications and marketing channels
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