Lucky 13: Why Your Website Needs a Self-Service Portal

by Richard Rutigliano, PriMedia, Inc.

Customer convenience is only the start.

Over the years, many clients have questioned the need for an integrated customer self-service portal. They believe that their customers prefer calling into the office and speaking to a representative. They fear it will remove a layer of personal attention from their services. They complain about self-checkouts at the market and, if they are old enough, lament the loss of full-service gas stations. Lastly, they are concerned about the cost to build the portal.

I repeatedly assure them that those fears and concerns are misplaced, commiserate with them over the state of the service industry, and explain that their investment in a portal will quickly be recouped in the time and money saved.

The self-service portal will be familiar to anyone who has created an online account on any other website, from Amazon and streaming platforms to food delivery services. It offers the customer the freedom to interact with the company whenever they wish, without concern about office hours or long on-hold wait times. A well-designed portal will reduce incoming phone calls, streamline many repetitive or time-consuming tasks, and can make it easier for your reps to answer customer questions that are outside the portal’s parameters. Let’s look at the lucky 13 reasons why your website needs a self-service portal.

1. Customers Expect It
When consumers find your site online, they expect to find a “My Account” section. Survey after survey comes to the same conclusion that 88 percent of users in the U.S. and globally expect a customer portal. These expectations are not limited to Millennials and Gen-Z. Internet use is as widespread among Gen-X as their younger compatriots at 96 to 98 percent, and Baby Boomers are not far behind with 88 percent using the internet regularly.

2. Customers Want It
Business owners may think that customers want to call the office and speak with a representative, but that is not the case. Approximately 90 percent of consumers will visit a website first to solve a problem or get an answer before calling the office. They prefer the so-called less personal option, especially when the alternative requires navigating through confusing phone menus and long hold times only to be asked to provide their name, address, and account number before they can explain the issue … and often be put on hold again to repeat the process.

3. Fewer Incoming “Basic” Calls.
How many calls come through your office to check an account balance, confirm a service appointment or delivery date, make a payment, confirm service plan status, or any number of other reasons? All this and more would be available through the self-service portal, saving the time of both your employees and customers.

4. Better Customer Service
With fewer of the “basic” calls coming through, your customer service representatives will have more time to dedicate to more complex questions. There is nothing stopping customers who prefer a voice on the phone from calling you simply because you have a portal. But now your customer service representatives will be able to give these calls the attention they deserve.

5. Complete 24/7 Service
Companies providing home heating services often promise 24/7 service, and they deliver on that promise for customers in a no-heat or hot water emergency. Non-emergency calls are met with an answering machine or service that simply asks them to call back in the morning. With a customer portal, you can accommodate customers who are unable to contact the office during normal business hours.

6. Full Backend Integrations
Beware of inexpensive portals that simply collect the customer data and send the information to a company email address. Your customer service representatives must then manually enter everything into the account management software. Generic systems were not developed for the home heating industry and cannot be customized to the needs of energy marketers. It is worth the investment for a fully integrated platform that will automatically update your backend software. Whether that update is completed in real time or batched throughout the day is determined by the software’s capabilities, but either way, the accuracy and efficiency gains will be great.

7. Fewer Human Errors
Even the most conscientious customer service representative or bookkeeper makes a mistake now and then. A payment is entered with transposed numbers. A service or delivery request does not get forwarded appropriately. With your integrated portal, the chance of those types of human error are minimized. The payment is entered online, and the system records the payment to the account. A delivery request comes through, and is sent directly to dispatch. A price protection agreement is signed, and the protected gallons are flagged for your risk management team. And so much more.

8. The Beauty of Self-Service
In a recent comparison of two similarly sized energy marketers, the company without a portal fielded 3,133 contact us page requests for information on deliveries, service plans, and other services. Every contact us page request required a CSR to respond either by email or on the phone, which can be very time-consuming. During that same period, the company with a portal experienced only 1,842 contact us requests, a reduction of more than 41 percent, and had customers visit a whopping 33,502 times to make payments, look at contracts and price protection, view service information, and more. That’s great customer engagement with less effort.

9. More Value-Added Services
Beyond most of the standard features of a self-service portal, such as streamlined account management, payment tracking at the click of a button, and quick submission of delivery and service requests, the portal can be expanded and integrated with your enterprise software to offer so much more to your company and customers. Advanced portals create easy, user-friendly new customer enrollment opportunities, offer expansive payment options for your customers, and automatically analyze customer data to create targeted marketing and coupons. Once your company builds a portal, the only way is up. You will experience enhanced customer communication, satisfaction, and retention through your fully-developed portal, all while reducing the workload of your customer service reps.

10. Better Company Control
An online self-service portal may give the customer a feeling of autonomy, but the company retains full control. Companies can require an equipment inspection for service contracts. Price plans can include account-specific minimums and maximums on protected gallons, and time limits on the rate. New accounts can be required to pay in advance for their first delivery regardless of credit score. Prices can be adjusted by volume, location, account type, or special discount program.

11. Personalized Marketing Options
By offering a platform for the customer to conduct their interactions with your business, you can draw attention
to and cross-sell other services based on their history and account status. Tune-up reminders, service plan promotions, new equipment options and rebates, and other services can be provided in a personalized, and therefore more effective, manner.

12. Better Customer Satisfaction
The self-service portal offers customers the convenience of 24/7 access, processes more requests, and reduces errors. It provides a service the customers want – remember the 88 percent who expect a portal and the 90 percent who prefer to start any interaction online. By delivering this level of customer service, the companies garner exponentially better customer service ratings.

13. More Operational Efficiencies
With a customer self-service portal, companies reduce errors, will process more requests in less time, and can target marketing that meets the customers’ needs. These enhanced efficiencies create opportunities to reduce costs and increase sales.

While the concerns of business owners and managers discussed in the beginning of this article may have been valid 10 or 15 years ago, the customers of today expect the convenience of online services. The enhanced operational efficiencies make these portals a smart investment for any company looking to maintain or grow their customer base.

Richard Rutigliano is President of PriMedia, Inc., an integrated marketing and communications firm specializing in the home energy sector. He can be reached at 516-222-2041 or rrutigliano@primediany.com.

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