Competitiveness and price transparency are vitally important when choosing an energy contract, however according to research conducted by Gazprom Energy, businesses are increasingly starting to look beyond the price tag.
Surveying 200 UK businesses Gazprom Energy finds that they are becoming more concerned about the whole package their provider is offering. Without doubt 95 per cent of respondents said that price competitiveness was influential when deciding their provider but 81 per cent admitted that advice from third parties could also strongly influence their choice too.
Two thirds (64 per cent) also say that their provider needed to show a good understanding of the business and its needs to win the deal, illustrating the growing importance of customer service.
Providers also need to become more innovative in terms of how they deliver their services according to the research, in many cases allowing customers to take more control. Access to technology to understand and control usage has gained increased interest from UK businesses, with 70 per cent saying they would use an online portal to engage with their energy provider to manage their contracts more independently, and 43 per cent saying they’d be likely to use a live chat service to interact with their provider.
Businesses have become more inclined to shop around for the best deals rather than simply taking the obvious or easy solution, with 61 per cent of respondents saying they were happy to use separate suppliers for different types of energy in order to secure a better deal, compared to only 20 per cent who said they would use the same supplier for everything.
Mark Eccles, chief commercial officer at Gazprom Energy comments, ‘Energy is obviously something all businesses need, but we’re seeing an increased number of organisations wanting to take more control of their buying choices as well as understanding their spend in greater detail. We’re responding to this with a number of new initiatives that will give our customers greater power and independence when it comes to managing their energy as it’s no longer simply about cost.’
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