It’s that time of year when many of us will be setting out our objectives for the year ahead. When it comes to powering up your business, that should be no different.
Here are some ideas from SSE Business Energy to help you get the new decade off to a positive and productive start. Taking control of your energy use is one step; sustainable, responsible growth and excellent customer service are also priorities to consider for 2020.
Saving energy and money
Your energy resolution might simply be to save money and cut bills. A surprising number of organisations, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), don’t manage or measure their energy usage at all. And they could be missing out. Research by the UK government shows that SMEs could reduce energy costs by 18–25% simply by maximising energy efficiency opportunities.1 Free resources are available to help, such as SSE Business Energy’s energy efficiency toolkit.
The toolkit offers insights into some quick wins, including ones that won’t cost your business to implement. We all know that employees are key when it comes to effecting change in your business, but getting buy-in from them is crucial – up to 70% of organisational change fails, with a key reason cited being lack of stakeholder support, according to one study.2 So the toolkit covers how to identify where your business could find energy efficiency gains and put these into action, while taking your employees with you.
Smart meters can also help to present a more complete picture of your energy usage. And with the right energy management tool, you can see how the changes you make are impacting your overall usage. SSE Business Energy’s Clarity online platform makes it easy to visualise all your energy data in one place and is free for customers.
Find out more about saving on energy bills in this blog.
Boosting your reputation and your bottom line
Perhaps you want to boost your reputation. Research has shown that customers say they’re more likely to trust companies that support social and environmental concerns. Asked which issues are important or very important for UK businesses to address, 70% of respondents to a survey said protecting the environment, and 69% said preventing businesses or people from taking part in tax avoidance.3
One way you can show you’re serious about these issues is by considering a renewable energy tariff, such as SSE Green, which includes a specially designed certificate and logo to demonstrate your green credentials to your staff and customers. You can also commit to paying taxes and paying staff a fair wage, and work towards Fair Tax Mark and the real Living Wage accreditation to show that you do.
Giving great service and gaining loyal customers
Maybe your focus is on retaining and gaining customers as you scale up your business. Getting to know your customers and handling complaints well is increasingly important. Many people are taking to social media, grumbling to friends and family or simply switching provider rather than logging official complaints with companies.5
As you no longer talk to every customer personally, you’ll need to train and incentivise employees to interact with customers in the way you would like. Use quality of service and feedback from customers to measure success, and give employees the time and tools to help. Listening to customers could also suggest a profitable new direction for your business. Make it easy for customers to get in touch or find the information they need.
A commitment to customer service has helped SSE Business Energy remain in the top three of the Citizens Advice non-domestic energy supplier performance league table, which compares how energy companies rank on handling complaints from micro businesses.
This article comes courtesy of ssebusinessenergy.co.uk, which supplies electricity and gas to commercial and public sector customers.
1Department of Energy & Climate Change SME Guide to Energy Efficiency, 2014
2 Buy-In, John Kotter, HUP
3 Edelman Trust Barometer, 2019