CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Texas retail electric providers (REPs) are hitting a home run when it comes to brand trust. Market Strategies announces nine Texas REPs as Most Trusted Utility Brands for 2018. The level of trust among these Texas REPs is unprecedented, and they are reaping the reward with a highly loyal customer base. These and other findings can be found in the 2018 Texas Retail Electric Provider Trusted Brand Study™, a Cogent Reports™ study by Market Strategies International-Morpace.
A significant highlight from the findings is that Texas REPs have developed customer trust to the highest level ever recorded by the study, and the level of loyalty has grown as well. More good news for brands in this category, their customers are very happy and 93% are willing to recommend the brands to friends and family. Brand Trust scoring is based on Texas REP customer responses to questions that include brand health, service quality and value. The overall Texas REP Brand Trust score increased 17 points from last year, to 735 (on a 1,000-point scale).
“Cultivating trust is one of the most important elements of creating a loyal consumer base that is willing to advocate on your behalf. Trusted brands follow through on their promises to provide high-quality service at competitive prices, offer value-added services, and consistent outreach to the customers and communities they serve,” said Chris Oberle, senior vice president, Market Strategies International-Morpace. “On the other hand, our research shows that REPs with lower brand trust will be financially challenged, as they attract rate-shopping customers who are likely to leave them if they don’t continue to offer the lowest rates.”
Customer trust also has a direct impact on financial performance, as 76% of Texas REP consumers with low brand trust use “lowest rates” as their main reason for choosing a new provider. Meanwhile, those with high brand trust with their provider are less likely to switch providers for lower bill amounts.
Below are the 2018 Texas Retail Electric Provider Brand Trust performances by customer trust level and REP size segment. Market Strategies International-Morpace would like to congratulate this year’s nine Most Trusted Brands among Texas REPs!
| 2018 Texas Retail Electric Provider Brand Trust Performances | |||||||
|
Texas REP |
Most Trusted Brands |
Trusted Brands |
Other Brands |
||||
|
Large Brands
(More than 1% |
4Change Energy
Green Mountain
StarTex Power * |
Ambit Energy
Cirro Energy CPL Retail Energy Direct Energy First Choice Power Just Energy Reliant Energy Stream Energy TXU Energy |
Champion Energy Services
Gexa Energy |
||||
|
Challenger
(0.83% to 1%
|
Amigo Energy
Bounce Energy* |
Discount Power
TriEagle Energy |
Alliance Power
Spark Energy |
||||
|
Niche Brands
(0.62% to 0.82% |
America Light &
Infinite Energy
NEC Retail
WTU Energy |
Entrust Energy | Frontier Utilities | ||||
* Highest-scoring REP in segment
Most Trusted Brand =
Top quartile of market on Brand Trust index score or within 20 points of
the top scorer in ranking segment
Trusted Brand = 715 Brand Trust
index score to Most Trusted Brand cutoff
Market share is based upon
study respondent share
Contact
us for individual TX REP Brand Trust scoring
About the Texas Retail Electric Provider Brand Trust Study
The study measures Brand Trust among 88% of the Texas retail electric provider customers by surveying 5,571 customers across 53 providers based upon a data-driven brand trust model. The Brand Trust model comprises nine factors: community support, customer focus, communications effectiveness, environmental dedication, local reputation, reliable quality, competitive rates, enhanced offerings, and billing and customer service. The study collects a demographically representative sample across all Texas service territories open for retail electric competition. Market Strategies-Morpace will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.
About Market Strategies International-Morpace
Leading market research firms Market Strategies International and Morpace bring clients closer to their customers through exceptional insights. The firms specialize in brand, customer experience, product development and segmentation research, and are known for blending primary research with data from syndicated, benchmarking and self-funded studies to help clients succeed. They have earned the trust of many of the world’s top brands across the automotive, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, health, technology and telecommunications industries. Market Strategies and Morpace are combining into one firm, as part of an acquisition of both firms by STG, and will be rebranded under a new name to be announced later in 2018. With more than 450 research professionals, the collective firm is now the 15th largest market research firm in the US and top 25 globally.
