How Communication Influences Brand Trust in the Utility Industry
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Brand trust is critical for utilities, because when it increases, it leads to better overall perceptions about the company from customers, regulators, and other stakeholders. And when people have a favorable viewpoint, they are more willing to give you the benefit of the doubt when it comes to things like power restoration.
Interestingly, a new research report concludes that utilities that spend more on communication experience higher levels of brand trust. As they say, communication is the key, and utilities are no exception.
Highlights of the Brand Trust Study
The insights are from the 2024 Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement Residential Study, which was released in June 2024. The study, published every 6 months by a company called Escalent, tracks the performance of 142 gas, electric and combination utilities to identify brand and customer experience opportunities and trends. The most recent study surveyed over 61,000 residential utility customers of these 142 utilities to gauge perceptions and brand appeal.
The study indicates that higher investments in, and frequency of, customer communication builds trust. In fact, the study shows utilities that effectively communicate enjoy a brand trust score 5% higher than the industry average. This metric is 10% higher than average for the best and most trusted brands across the industry.
The utilities that perform best have an acute understanding of how to create messages that reinforce the value proposition, and emphasize satisfaction-enhancing benefits such as reliability, customer service, energy savings, and supporting a clean environment.
The report lists a total of 33 utilities that are the most trusted brands. Some of the more well-known names on this list include Avista, CenterPoint Energy, Columbia Gas, Con Edison, Dominion Energy, and Georgia Power, to name just a few. The report also provides lists that break down trust performance by region (East, Midwest, South & West).
There’s little doubt that brand trust is crucial in the utility industry. By increasing the frequency and quality of customer communications, perceptions around things like outage restoration, customer empathy, and affordability will be more positive.
