Add your Customers to the Priority Service Register with Dyball’s CRM

With some parts of the UK forecast to experience the coldest winter in 50 years, attention is focusing on the most vulnerable members of our society. During the 2018 cold snap ‘The Beast in the East’ energy supply companies were inundated with calls from customers suffering from broken gas boilers or power cuts.

According to data compiled by the ENA the chances of an unexpected issue to the electricity and gas supply has dropped dramatically with on average, one power cut being experienced less than once every 2 years. Disruptions to gas supply without advanced warning are likely to occur just once every 140 years.

Nonetheless with the cold weather biting, energy suppliers need to ensure their most vulnerable customers are protected.

The PSR is a free service provided by energy suppliers and network operators to customers in vulnerable situations. A customer can sign up to the register if they are:

·Of pensionable age (currently 65 or over)

·Are disabled or suffer from a chronic illness

·Have a long-term medical condition

·Have a hearing or visual impairment or additional communication needs

·Are in a vulnerable situation including customers with certain mental health issues that may impact their understanding of their energy bills

·Customers who are unable to top-up a prepayment meter due to an injury

·Temporary circumstances where they may need extra support

·Families with children 5 years old or younger

Customers on the PSR are eligible for several free services such as receiving advance notice of any planned power cuts, priority support in the event of an emergency and an identification scheme to reassure customers that callers and meter readers from their suppliers are genuine.

With the long dark and cold nights drawing in the PSR protects the most vulnerable from having their energy cut off. Suppliers are prohibited from disconnecting premises occupied by a customer eligible for the PSR during the winter months (1 October - 31 March).

David Smith, Chief Executive of the Energy Networks Association, said: “The networks constantly review the resilience of infrastructure and there are robust plans in place to deal with the damage caused by extreme weather. However, we want the public to know there are things they can do to ‘Be Winter Ready’ and ensure that those customers who do have a power cut or gas emergency know exactly who to call so that they can get reconnected quickly and be as fully prepared as possible.”

Due to the sensitive nature of the PSR energy suppliers should adopt a humanised approach to discussing the benefits with customers. Trials held in 2018 by several energy suppliers showed that some customers were naturally wary of such a register either due to misunderstanding its purpose or concerns over their data.

One of the main findings of the trial was that energy suppliers should combine a ‘human touch’ with the accuracy and rigidity needed to gather such data. The training of staff is therefore advised.

Our innovative CRM system gives UK energy suppliers operational control of customer data and customer related activities.

Supporting both electricity and gas supplies via the same interface the CRM links via API’s to our market messaging products, REGMAN and GASMAN granting suppliers of both domestic dual fuel and SME energy customers the ability to manage customers through the same systems and interfaces.

Sales Data is imported to the CRM system via our ‘Sales API’ which allows PSR information to be shared with industry parties (if permission is given by the customer) through industry flows.

With Dyball’s CRM system energy suppliers can easily add customers to the PSR post sale. All it takes is a button press.

How does it work?

Once on the customer detailed view in CRM, you can access the ‘PSR’ tab for domestic customers.

An account that is not currently added to the PSR will look like (see below)

To add a customer to the PSR all a supplier needs to do is complete the information boxes and the tick the relevant PSR reason codes. You will need to get the customer’s permission before clicking the ‘do we have consent button’.

If you leave this box unticked and click 'Save The Details' you will get a warning and the system will save the details but not send the industry flows through our market messaging systems.

The Dyball CRM uses customer indicators to identify to operational staff where key information exists on an account. Different indicators are shown where consent has been or not been granted.

Sometimes the circumstances of a customer changes, meaning that you need an easy way to edit an account's PSR. With our CRM this too is simple to do. You can edit an existing account's PSR by simply entering the PSR view and changing any details you need. This could be contact details, a PSR address or even the reason codes as to why a customer is on the PSR to begin with.

As well as making it incredibly easy for energy suppliers to add and manage customers on the PSR it also provides:

·Customer management – easily view or change customer details such as meter readings, prepayment management, customer indicators and change of tenancy

·Customer import via APIs or spreadsheets

·Seamless integration with market messaging systems and view data flow information

·Bespoke energy bill design

·Automated cancellation and rebilling process

·Customer portal integration that allows customers to view and manage their account information

·Automated Change of Tenancy (COT) Wizard

·Automated customer communications through our Workflow system

And much more.

For more information click here

Contact us now to find out how you can incorporate our energy supplier CRM system into your business.

Further Reading

Benefits of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software in the Energy Sector

How a CRM makes change of tenancy energy bills easy to manage

How can Energy Suppliers reduce Energy Billing Errors?

Dyball Associates are proud to help new supply businesses successfully launch in the UK market.

Through our energy market consultancy services, and the software we’ve developed, we’re supporting new UK electricity and gas suppliers get set up and start supplying.

For more information on how to start and manage an energy company, get in touch with Dyball Associates today.

Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep up to date with the latest news and updates in the energy industry.

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