Becoming the best in class for customer experience

Northumbrian Water Group was ambitious to create a leaner, more efficient business and achieve sector-leading levels of service for their 4.5 million customers. KPMG fielded a multidisciplined team to shape a root-and-branch transformation of the business, with priorities to reduce the volume of contact centre traffic, increase online self-service for customers and drive down operational costs.

Following a rapid budget challenge to identify OPEX savings, the team launched a deep-dive exploration of existing customer engagement. Harnessing insights from KPMG Nunwood’s proprietary Six Pillar methodology, they mapped current services across three priority scenarios - ‘pay your bill’, ‘manage your water’ and ‘priority customers’. They went on to identify end-customer personas and outline service requirements for the future.

Northumbrian Water Group now boasts easy online registration and self-service functionality. Customer service is also more personalised, offering a clear sense of the client’s brand values, including environmental issues and sustainability. Their commitment to motivating employees for the transformation has paid huge dividends. Employees were instrumental in helping the company taking a leading position in the C-MeX index.

Reduced inbound call volumes and decreased outbound communication costs delivered indicative savings in the millions. Eight key initiatives and 90+ recommendations for future service delivery, will yield further savings and drive service and engagement still higher. This a powerful example of how a focused, innovative approach can transform the relationship between a business and its customers.

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