Voice Automation Solutions

Utilities

Create Automated Notifications & Communications

Critical Communications with Time Sensitivity

When designing an omnichannel communications system for a utility company, the stakes are high as people depend on these services for nearly everything they do in the modern world.

Power is essential to heating and cooling homes and businesses, running machinery or operating lifesaving devices in a healthcare environment.
Telecommunication companies - phone, Internet, mobile, etc. - keep us connected through phone, Internet and television to know what is happening and how to respond during emergencies.

No matter the situation, nobody enjoys losing power or communications access at home, work or elsewhere. U.S. electricity customers experienced an average of seven hours of power interruptions in 2021. Service disruptions can be costly, not only from a financial and productivity perspective, but also when it comes to consumer confidence and trust.

Proactive communications and transparency during an outage can help deflect customer angst by keeping them informed and updated in real-time with voice and SMS messaging notifications. For power companies, voice is an increasingly critical means of communication because it may be the only functioning communications channel customers can access.

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4 Key Communication Trends in Utilities

Customer communication is essential for utilities. Customer expectations for service experiences are higher than ever, and utilities aren't exempt from this trend because they are essential services. Customers expect real-time, transparent updates on the status of their service appointments. When the customer becomes impatient for the technician to arrive and leaves, the utility loses revenue and their staff becomes inefficient.

Smart Energy International, an authority on smart energy practices, lists four key communication trends utility leaders should know:

Real-time updates
Two-way communication
Self-service
Post-appointment engagement

To address these trends, utility companies turn to software developers and consulting companies to build the best solutions for their needs. This includes designing enhanced employee communication tools, especially for those in the field, and augmentation tools that support live agents in customer service, especially during outages and emergencies. When people are more aware of what is happening, issues can be handled more positively and timely, increasing customer satisfaction.

Self-service solutions help utility companies provide a better overall customer experience.

Common Use Cases for Utilities

Alerts

Account Management

FAQs

High Usage Notifications

Intelligent Routing

Interruption Notifications

Name & Department Directory

Outage Alerts

Personal Information Updates

Password Reset

PCI Payments Processing and Transfers

Service Activation

Service Termination

Surveys

Timekeeper/Log Service

Voice Biometrics or Standard Authentication

Automation Toolkit for Developers

Build Applications for Omnichannel Engagements

Developers can utilize various tools in the Plum Voice toolkit - Plum Fuse, Plum DEV, Plum Chat and Plum Message - to develop voice automation, SMS messaging and chat solutions.

Plum DEV and Plum Fuse complement and support each other - code in VXML and then manage with a low-code GUI tool - for an agile and flexible experience. Then, use APIs to connect to thousands of data sources, including CRMs, for real-time information.

Plum Fuse Templates - Utilities

The Plum Fuse Template Center gives users access to a library of pre-built templates for voice applications. Users can choose the appropriate template to build a voice application for their business needs, then customize it to be unique to their brand and business operations. Templates applicable to this industry include:

Activation - Service
Mobile Workforce
Service Check

Secure and Scalable Platform

The Plum Voice platform is built on a fault-tolerant and scalable cloud architecture delivered over a Tier 1 telecom infrastructure with built-in redundancy and designed for 99.9% uptime of your voice applications.

The Plum Voice cloud infrastructure is built to meet rigorous security standards. It has undergone rigorous audits to achieve PCI-DSS, SOC2 and HIPAA compliance and is a Visa Verified vendor.