Utility leaders routinely measure reliability, safety, financial performance and operational excellence because objective information leads to better decisions.

Yet I’ve often wondered whether one of the organization’s most valuable strategic assets—its relationship with its largest commercial customers—contributes far more to a utility’s reputation, operational effectiveness, employee confidence and long-term success than we sometimes recognize.

If that’s true, what might stronger relationships with your largest commercial customers make possible?

Reputation: Easy to do business with.

Utilities often spend considerable time thinking about reliability, restoration times and customer service. One of the impressions large commercial customers often form isn’t about the electricity itself. It’s about how easy—or difficult—the utility is to do business with. Strong relationships make difficult conversations easier. They build confidence that people will listen, understand and work toward practical solutions. Over time, that becomes part of the utility’s reputation.

Over time, customers stop remembering individual transactions and start remembering what it feels like to work with your utility. That’s a reputation every organization wants to build.

Operational Effectiveness: The outage didn’t change. The relationship did.

Planned outages. A manufacturing plant may have to reschedule production. Employees may be sent home early or reassigned. Suppliers may have to adjust delivery times. Customers may experience delays. None of those consequences change the need for the outage, but a strong relationship often changes how those conversations unfold.

When a strong relationship already exists, the conversation often begins with understanding rather than frustration. The utility and the customer work together to minimize disruption, adjust schedules where possible and keep the business operating successfully. When the relationship is weak, the very same outage can become unnecessarily difficult for everyone involved.

Employee Confidence: Confident employees solve problems.

Employees who have confidence in both the customer and the relationship are more likely to solve problems, make sound decisions and strengthen trust with every interaction.

Employees who are trusted to solve problems—and have the confidence to do so—often build stronger customer relationships while finding greater satisfaction in their work.

Long-term Success: Better conversations lead to better decisions.

Utilities and their largest commercial customers are increasingly planning for the future together. Expansion, electrification, energy management and economic development all begin with conversations. Strong relationships create better conversations. Better conversations lead to better decisions—for both the customer and the utility.

Utilities routinely invest in improving, maintaining and protecting their assets because they understand the costs of not doing so. Perhaps relationships with large commercial customers deserve to be viewed in much the same way.

Which brings us back to the original question.

If your largest commercial customers were asked to describe their relationship with your utility, what would they say?

More importantly…

Would their answer give you greater confidence in the decisions you make tomorrow?

David Malesich

President

Here’s what is in the UtilityPULSE Large Commercial Customer Relationship Assessment

We make participation easy, see our Participation Guide

Article: Why Focus on Large Commercial Customers Relationships

Let’s Connect to discuss the power of polls and feedback to provide important data which, in turn, prompts meaningful internal dialogue about strengthening operations and the utility’s relationship with its customers.