Pinergy

Client Overview

Pinergy was established in 2013 with the ambition to revolutionise the Irish energy market through smart technology solutions, providing 100% renewable energy to residential and commercial sectors. Targeting tech-savvy and environmentally conscious consumers, Pinergy aimed to be the authority on smart energy in Ireland.

Challanges faced by Pinergy

Upon entering a fully deregulated market in 2011, Pinergy initially thrived as a PAYG provider for residential customers. As the market evolved, the focus shifted towards business customers, requiring more sophisticated and scalable sales and customer service solutions to drive growth and increase market share.

Uniquely Solution

Prior to Q4 2018, Pinergy's consumer and business sales and customer service operations were distributed among multiple outsourcing partners. This structure led to inconsistencies in customer experience and operational inefficiencies due to the lack of an omnichannel strategy and standardised processes. Recognising the need for a streamlined approach to handle growing customer demands and complex service requirements efficiently, Pinergy sought a single partner that could consolidate these functions and deliver superior results.

Key Strategy Included:

• Unified Sales and Service Model (SOS²)

Integrated sales-oriented service and service-oriented sales approaches, allowing cross-functional agent roles to enhance all customer interactions including sales opportunities within a single conversation. This approach also led to a reduction in escalation points, as Uniquely worked with Pinergy to handle more issues directly at the contact level, significantly improving First Contact Resolution (FCR) scores—one of the strongest seen within the industry. This not only accelerated resolution times but also enhanced customer satisfaction and NPS and Trustpilot scores.

• Digital Transformation

Implemented a comprehensive digital strategy encompassing SMS, WhatsApp, chatbots, emails, real-time assistance and self-service including AI to streamline communication and enhance customer engagement.

• Social Media Integration

Enhanced presence across platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube to boost customer interaction and service accessibility.

• Advanced Data Management

Leveraged data enrichment and mining to tailor cross-sell and upsell strategies, improving Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and ensuring high-quality lead generation and appointment setting. Data analytics and reporting of all channels and functions of the campaign back to Pinergy, provided daily, weekly, or monthly as required. This comprehensive reporting ensured that all strategies were aligned with real-time insights and performance metrics.

• PCI Compliance and Order Management

Ensured high security and efficient management of customer transactions and order installations, significantly reducing order breakage rates. Enhanced customer service capabilities, such as printing energy cards, applying grants, processing refunds, issuing proof of address and statement letters directly from the contact centre, database management and much more which previously required escalation to head office.

• Customer Database Management

Maintained a high standard of accuracy and completeness in the customer database by regularly checking for updates or changes to customer information during each interaction. This ensured that the database was always up-to-date and accurate, supporting effective communication and personalised customer service.

Governance and Trust Building

Stringent Governance Frameworks:

Uniquely implemented comprehensive governance frameworks that included regular performance review s, real-time monitoring and detailed reporting to all stakeholders. This structure was vital for maintaining high standards of operational transparency and accountability.

Building Trust through Visibility:

By providing clear and real time visibility into operational processes and outcomes, Uniquely reinforced trust with Pinergy’s leadership. Real time reporting and open lines of communication ensured that any issues could be promptly addressed and that Pinergy remained fully informed about the progress and performance of the integrated services. Any members of the Pinergy team are granted fob access to our Engagement Centre, allowing them to frequently work from our centre.

Alignment with Strategic Goals:

The governance practices were designed not only to oversee operational execution but also to ensure that all activities were aligned with Pinergy’s long-term strategic goals. This alignment was crucial for sustaining growth and adapting to market changes. An example of this would be in response to the government credit payout initiative, Uniquely streamlined its process for applying credits to pay-as-you-go meters, improving the first-time payout rate from 82% to 96%, thereby reducing customer calls and enhancing satisfaction.

Impact and Outcomes

Customer Satisfaction:

Dramatic improvements in Trustpilot scores have led to Pinergy growing and maintaining an impressive Trustpilot score of 4.7 stars. This achievement has solidified Pinergy’s position as the top performing energy supplier in Ireland. The high Trustpilot scores are a testament to the positive public perception and customer trust that Pinergy has cultivated through its partnership with Uniquely.

Integrated Sales and Customer Service:

Uniquely's training of agents in both customer service and sales enabled seamless integration of sales opportunities in service calls, leading to higher conversion rates and enhanced customer retention through personalised engagement and responsive adaptations to the vast number of services we provide on behalf of Pinergy.

Advanced Search and Analytics Capabilities:

Uniquely implemented tools to enhance service operations, including advanced search functions to quickly identify areas for improvement within interactive voice response (IVR) systems and other customer service processes.

Services Provided for Pinergy

Uniquely's Comprehensive Service Provision for Pinergy

Inbound Services Provided:

• Customer Care & Sales: Offers robust support and sales services to enhance the overall customer experience.

• Retention Activation: Implements targeted strategies to retain customers effectively.

• Mail and Form Management: Manages all incoming customer correspondence and form processing.

• Email, Webmail, and Webchat: Provides multi-channel support to ensure accessibility and responsiveness.

• Complaint Management: Efficiently addresses and resolves customer complaints to uphold service quality.

• Card Payments: Ensures secure processing of card payments.

• Credit and Collections: Manages credit control and effective debt collection.

• Billing/Invoicing: Guarantees accurate and timely billing and invoicing.

• Credit Vetting: Conducts thorough credit checks to manage financial risks.

• SMS/WhatsApp Messaging: Engages customers actively through popular messaging platforms.

• Social Media Management: Handles all interactions and queries on various social media platforms to enhance customer engagement.

Outbound Services Provided:

• Consultative Selling: Utilises a consultative approach to selling that fosters stronger customer relationships.

• Lead Generation: Actively drives the creation of new business opportunities and boosts brand visibility.

• Appointment Setting: Efficiently schedules appointments to maximise sales opportunities.

• Loyalty Programs: Designs and manages programs that effectively reward and retain loyal customers.

• Customer Acquisition and Retention: Strategically acquires new customers and retains existing ones through tailored campaigns.

• Switcher Campaigns: Motivates potential customers to switch to our services with targeted marketing efforts.

• Contract/Subscription Renew al: Manages the timely renew al of contracts and subscriptions to maintain a stable customer base.

• Surveys/Research/Polling: Conducts comprehensive market research and surveys to gather valuable customer insights.

• Debt Collection / Credit Vetting: Manages debt recovery processes and assesses the credit worthiness of potential and existing customers.

• Mail and Form Management: Handles both inbound and outbound correspondence and form processing.

• App Support and Education: Provides proactive support and education for app functionalities to enhance user experience.

• SMS/WhatsApp Messaging: Utilises SMS and WhatsApp for direct and effective customer engagement and notifications.