How Gas & Electric providers can nail their RIIO-2 strategy using Chatbots.

RIIO (Revenues = Incentives + Innovation + Outputs) is Ofgem’s approach to ensuring the companies that operate the gas and electricity networks in Great Britain have enough revenue to run an efficient network that delivers what customers need. Launched in 2013, with a new framework released every 5 years (or soon to be every 8 years), this summer saw the finalisation of the new framework, known as RIIO-2, which sets the next five years of price controls.

So let’s take a look at some of the key themes in the RIIO-2 framework:

Giving consumers a stronger voice
Responding to changes in how networks are used
Driving innovation and efficiency to benefit consumers
Simplifying price controls
Ensuring fair returns.

In this blog post, we will hone in on point one and three - giving customers a stronger voice and driving innovation and efficiency to benefit consumers.

Giving consumers a stronger voice

There are many facets to consider when trying to please a nation - what’s important to some, has no bearing on others. Questions such as ‘How important is green energy to you?’ or ‘In the case of a gas emergency, we aim to get to you within an hour. Does that sound about right?’ are vital in terms of gaining a better understanding on what your customers expect from their gas and electricity provider.

So, how do you ask these questions? Via an online survey or maybe an email questionnaire? Medium released results from a recent campaign whereby both an email and a chatbot message were sent out to customers. The chatbot results were extraordinary, boasting a click-through rate of 12 times more than the email and an open rate of 98%.

Chatbot notifications boast a click-through rate of 12 times more than the email and an open rate of 98%.Medium

These results are hardly surprising when you consider that 5 billion people send more than 100 billion messages every day via multiple messaging apps. The combined total monthly active user count of the top 4 messaging apps has grown to 4.1 billion in 2018 demonstrating that messaging is increasingly becoming the channel in which people choose to communicate. With this considered, chatbots for business are a no brainer when deciding how to communicate with your customer.

Consultation bots are the perfect way for Utilities companies to ask their customers questions directly in the way in which they choose to communicate. At We Build Bots, we also provide an analytics report post campaign so that companies can access the data and make informed decision. By doing this, you give your customers an incredibly strong voice.

Driving innovation and efficiency to benefit consumers

After the release of the RIIO-2 framework in March this year, it is evident that there’s a focus on innovation, but why is innovation important to utilities? Firstly, innovation allows utilities companies to prepare and adapt to the unprecedented pace of change in this industry.

The RIIO framework puts innovation at the heart of what network companies do. RIIO rewards companies for reducing costs and improving service. This should drive companies to innovate and find more efficient and effective ways of operating and developing their networks.Ofgem, RIIO-2 Framework

Our consultation bot is an innovative and efficient way for your customers to tell you what matters to them most. Considering that 33% of people switch utility provider due to poor customer service with 18% switching due to poor complaint handling, a quick and easy to use consultation bot is the perfect way to facilitate consumer feedback.

Network companies need to try innovative ways of keeping up with the current period of change.

Want to know more? Book a demo to see how we can help you deliver on your RIIO-2 strategy.

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