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The key to outstanding customer care for a utility is integrated information. Since so much of what matters to customers relates to location, integrated spatial - that is location - information is critical – and this is where Geographical information Systems (GIS) is emerging as an essential technology

Many utilities are now using GIS as a central tool to care for their customers. Integration with customer billing and relationship management systems is therefore becoming common. Customer location is essential for managing new connections, collections, meter readings, meter repairs, private property street lighting, issue location, and many other customer interactions. More and more utilities want to deliver better customer care and are deploying GIS to really understand customer behaviour.

GIS is not just about making maps. It's about empowering a utility to fully care for its customers in the most cost-effective and intelligent way, as an integrated part of the wider IT strategy.

Esri UK has a strong track record of working with UK utility companies, including National Grid and Scottish Power, turning their data into strategic insight that drives improved decision making. We use the Esri ArcGIS platform to deliver:

  • improved access to business data any time and anywhere

  • visualisation and management of assets

  • updating of network information

  • integration of work orders

  • retrieval of customer information and preparation of reports. 

The following are just some of the ways in which we see utilities improving customer service using GIS

  • Metering & Billing
    GIS enables better management of the meter reading process

  • Call Centre
    GIS helps the call centre better communicate with customers through an understanding of the customer’s location and live visualisation of any nearby outages as well as engineers in the area.

  • Credit & Collections
    GIS enables collection agents to optimise their time by selecting the right neighbourhoods to visit or to call.

  • Public Relations
    Increase customer confidence/ trust and therefore increase uptake with use of story maps and other online maps providing the information and reassurance that customers need

  • Revenue Protection
    GIS helps to visualise significant mismatches between known usage and actual consumption using spatial analysis

  • Marketing
    Marketers increasingly rely on GIS to create maps to organise, analyse, and visualise customer behaviour – including identifying target groups for campaigns by locality and demographics

This video shows how GIS is helping improve customer service:

Please comment or e-mail me if you would like to talk through the challenges you are currently facing that are unique to your organisation and how GIS could provide the answers.

Find out more about GIS and customer service here >>.