Improving Customer Satisfaction in the UK - More Success for Nutun in the UKCSI report

The 2024 UKCSI report was published on 23 January.? Pleasing to see Nutun’s clients included in the report with a climb in UKCSI rankings.

Notwithstanding our clients’ success, the UKCSI report highlighted that customer needs and behaviours have become more complex and changeable, influenced by cost-of living pressures, personal well-being, attitudes to technology adoption, consumption and sustainability.? This reflected in:

• January 2024 UKCSI of 76.0 (out of 100), a decline of 1.7 points compared to a year ago and 2.4 points below the January 2022 level.

• All 13 UKCSI sectors have lower customer satisfaction than a year ago. Utilities, Transport,?Insurance and Services have declined by more than 2 points (out of 100).

Beyond these gloomy stats, there are huge opportunities within this data.? The report highlighted that 27.6% of customers who rated an organisation 9 or 10 out of 10 for overall satisfaction will look to buy more products and services from that organisation, with 20.6% indicating that they are likely to spend more. A key competitive advantage in the current cost of living crisis.

Beyond the obvious revenue benefits, almost 14% of customers who rated an organisation 9 or 10 out of 10 for overall satisfaction said they would give a positive review of the organisation.? This is particularly important for companies in regulated sectors – where regulators reward companies with strong customer satisfaction scores and similarly penalise companies for poor customer satisfaction scores.

The report also highlighted the halo affect of customer experience across sectors and industries – being acutely felt in utilities, including the water sector at present with:

·??????? 21% of customers who rated an organisation 1 – 4 for customer satisfaction said the experience had made them trust other organisations less??

The positive halo impact (and conversely the negative contaminant impact) of customer experience should not be underestimated.? Nutun has significant experience in working with regulated sectors, including the water sector, Utilities and Financial Services to drive customer experience improvements.

UK Water Sector – Customers Key to a Successful AMP8

AMP8 – Focus on C-MeX

Ofwat has been clear in its ambition to drive Customer Service improvements in AMP8 and there are financial rewards available for leading companies, and significant penalties for companies that fail to improve.

Nutun is well positioned to maximise these opportunities.

Ofwat’s assessment of companies’ PR24 plans is in full swing and customer outcomes will be a key determinant of success.? Ofwat has reinforced its very high expectations for customer service, highlighting that companies should take steps to improve performance immediately, utilising learning from other sectors, to resolve customer issues quickly and accurately to compete with the highest performing sectors on customer service.

Ofwat’s primary measure of customer satisfaction is C-MeX, measured by surveying customers as follows:

·??????? A Customer Service Survey (CSS) – which surveys a sample of domestic customers who have contacted their water company, asking them how satisfied they are with how the company has handled their issue; and

·??????? A Customer Experience Survey (CES) – which surveys a randomly selected sample of a company’s overall customer base, asking them how satisfied they are with their company.

Nutun’s deep understanding of the C-MeX measure, and the contributors that drive strong customer experience scores, enable us to deliver the service required to be a consistently top performer in the sector – positioning companies to succeed in AMP8.

Focus on PBIT

We are also helping our clients navigate PBIT challenges – driven by inflationary cost pressures and cost control - assisting them in generating efficiencies through altering service delivery models, including outsourcing.

·??????? Customer Service:? Improving customer satisfaction and driving C-MeX improvements. We are supporting companies to deliver C-MeX score improvements through resolving customers’ queries quickly, first time – by our team of helpful and knowledgeable staff.

???????? Efficiencies: Companies are proactively accelerating efficiency programmes.?

We are supporting companies to deliver?an average of 50% OPEX cost efficiencies in contact?centre?and back office processes through outsourcing.

???????? Resourcing: Helping companies with reduced Contact Centre resource availability being observed across the UK.

???????? Bad Debt: The cost of living crisis has markedly increased bad debt within UK water.??We are helping to tackle this issue,?through sharing our best practice debt management processes - gained across a range of sectors.?

There is a huge opportunity to outperform in AMP8 through providing the very best service for customers, whilst also reducing underlying costs.? As a trusted sector provider, Nutun is well placed to help companies maximise these opportunities.