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Why Measure Customer Trust Score?

By John Bord, Senior Consultant 

Measuring Customer Trust Score (CTS) offers several advantages. It is more predictive of customer loyalty than traditional satisfaction metrics, helps strengthen a utility’s reputation and regulatory relationships, supports customer retention, differentiates utilities in competitive markets, and drives engagement in new programs. However, CTS also comes with challenges. It is harder to quantify, tends to improve slowly over time, is influenced by cultural and regional differences, and requires a comprehensive, holistic approach to measurement and improvement.

➡️ Read the Business Case for Measuring Customer Trust Scores in Electric Utilities

Key Customer Interactions for Measuring Trust
For residential customers, trust is influenced by experiences with billing transparency, outage response, customer support, rate changes, and participation in energy efficiency programs. For business customers, key factors include service reliability, partnership opportunities, sustainability initiatives, data privacy practices, and regulatory compliance. 

Chartwell’s 2024 Residential Consumer Survey measured the trust level on several key interactions and expectations of utilities. The graph below shows the percentage of consumers who said they trust their utility “a great deal” to spend money in different areas, demonstrating the opportunity utilities have to build trust with customers.

Multicultural Considerations
Trust levels can vary significantly across demographics and communities due to historical experiences, language barriers, digital access limitations, and differing perceptions of fairness. Utilities can address these disparities by implementing multilingual surveys, conducting community outreach, increasing transparency, and offering alternative feedback channels to ensure inclusive engagement. 

How CTS Impacts Utilities
A high CTS positively affects multiple aspects of utility performance. In terms of customer loyalty, it helps reduce churn and builds resilience during times of crisis. From a profitability standpoint, trusted utilities experience fewer complaints and greater participation in revenue-generating programs. Additionally, trust enhances the overall customer experience by ensuring individuals feel valued and respected, leading to higher satisfaction. 

Recommendations 

  • Utilities should use CTS in combination with other customer metrics such as Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), Customer Effort Score (CES), and Net Promoter Score (NPS) to gain a comprehensive understanding of customer perceptions. 
  • Implementing multicultural strategies is essential to ensure inclusive trust-building efforts. 
  • Insights gained from CTS should inform improvements in communication, service reliability, and program offerings to enhance overall customer trust and engagement. 

 

Learn more about the Customer Experience Leadership Council by emailing Tim Herrick.