Escalent Names 2020 Business Customer Champions, Finds Digital Touchpoints Strengthen Utility-Business Relationships

LIVONIA, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Utilities that develop digital touchpoints are being rewarded with stronger relationships with their business clients. A historic number of businesses report contacting their utility via digital channels for service (79%) or recall utility communications via digital channels (60%) this year. These digital interactions have led to stronger customer engagement, evident by a 24-point YOY increase in the industry’s business Engaged Customer Relationship (ECR) index. These and other findings are from the 2020 Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Business study by Escalent, a top human behavior and analytics firm.

Escalent’s ECR score is a composite index of Service Satisfaction, Brand Trust and Product Experience. Satisfaction with digital outreach, communication and service support boosted each of these component measures, leading to an overall industry business ECR score of 786 (on a 1,000-point-maximum scale) for the year. Among customers who reported having a digital interaction with their utility, ECR and all three component scores were even higher, showing the power of digital interactions to further build these relationships.

	2019	2020	Change	Among those who had digital interactions
Engaged Customer Relationship (ECR)	762	786	+24	805
Brand Trust	745	774	+29	796
Product Experience	755	779	+24	801
Service Satisfaction	780	801	+21	815

Scoring based upon a 1,000-point-maximum scale; interactions for service or communications

“Business customers became much more engaged with their utilities during this trying year. Utilities increased digital experiences and spending on communications to support these customers,” said Chris Oberle, senior vice president at Escalent. “This year, omniservice became a reality for the utility industry as businesses used an average of three service channels, all including some type of digital access. With high preference for digital service, businesses are more likely to use these channels in the future.”

Escalent congratulates the 23 utilities designated 2020 Business Customer Champions. These utilities earned the industry’s highest ECR scores by providing world-class customer experiences during a time of greatest customer need.

2020 Cogent Syndicated Business Utility Customer Champions
AEP Ohio	Kentucky Utilities
CenterPoint Energy – Midwest	Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
CenterPoint Energy – South	National Grid
Con Edison	NV Energy
Consumers Energy	PECO Energy
Dominion Energy Virginia	PSE&G
DTE Energy	Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Duke Energy Carolinas	Puget Sound Energy
Duke Energy Florida	Southern California Edison
Duke Energy Midwest	TECO Tampa Electric
Florida Power & Light	Xcel Energy - West
Georgia Power

The following charts reflect the ECR scores for the 77 utilities covered in the study.

East Region Utility Brands	Engaged Customer Relationship index
Con Edison	833
PECO	825
National Grid	809
PSE&G	807
PPL Electric Utilities	783
BGE	778
West Penn Power	769
PSEG Long Island	763
Jersey Central Power & Light	762
Appalachian Power	757
Eversource	755
NYSEG	744
Penelec	723

Midwest Region Utility Brands	Engaged Customer Relationship index
AEP Ohio	829
Duke Energy Midwest	818
DTE Energy	811
Consumers Energy	805
CenterPoint Energy – Midwest	803
Ameren Missouri	799
Dayton Power & Light	791
Nicor Gas	782
Indiana Michigan Power	782
Xcel Energy – Midwest	782
Alliant Energy	778
Ameren Illinois	776
ComEd	773
Dominion Energy Ohio	772
Indianapolis Power & Light	771
We Energies	767
Ohio Edison	764
MidAmerican Energy	762
Wisconsin Public Service	758
The Illuminating Company	756
Evergy	756
OPPD	752
NIPSCO	751

South Region Utility Brands	Engaged Customer Relationship index
Dominion Energy Virginia	829
Public Service Company of Oklahoma	813
Kentucky Utilities	810
Duke Energy Carolinas	808
TECO Tampa Electric	807
Florida Power & Light	805
CenterPoint Energy – South	802
Duke Energy Florida	801
Georgia Power	800
Dominion Energy North Carolina	796
El Paso Electric	794
Virginia Natural Gas	793
Duke Energy Progress	793
Chattanooga Gas Company	790
Entergy	789
Southwest Electric Power Company	783
Mississippi Power	776
CPS Energy	776
Alabama Power	770
Louisville Gas & Electric	770
Dominion Energy South Carolina	763
OG&E	756
Gulf Power	741

West Region Utility Brands	Engaged Customer Relationship index
Xcel Energy – West	825
NV Energy	820
Puget Sound Energy	814
Southern California Edison	807
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power	804
Salt River Project	796
Portland General Electric	793
SDG&E	792
Idaho Power	786
SMUD	784
Dominion Energy West	773
APS	772
NorthWestern Energy	768
PNM	768
PG&E	767
Pacific Power	764
Rocky Mountain Power	718

About Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Business

Escalent conducted surveys among 14,980 business electric, natural gas and combination utility customers of the 77 largest US utility companies (based on business customer counts). Utilities are given equal weight to balance the influence of each utility’s customers on survey results. Escalent will supply the exact wording of any survey question upon request.

About Escalent

Escalent is a top human behavior and analytics firm specializing in industries facing disruption and business transformation. As catalysts of progress for more than 40 years, we tell stories that transform data and insight into a profound understanding of what drives human beings. And we help businesses turn those drivers into actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences and inspire product innovation. Visit escalent.co to see how we are helping shape the brands that are reshaping the world.