Operating a utility adds layers of complexity that can be daunting for local governments. One especially complex layer? Customer engagement. An online payment platform that lacks ease of use, delivers suboptimal EBPP, and needs more merchant services options results in less customer engagement, lost revenue, and weakened reputation.
It thus made sense for CORE to take part in CS Week, an annual conference focused on not only utility customer service but also the technology that drives it. Our team, led by Robbie Niedergall, Senior Vice President, Sales; Michelle Sparrow, Account Executive; and I connected with attending utility revenue executives to learn about their revenue operations, payment processing, and customer engagement challenges.
What we learned that may be useful to you and your utility revenue operations:
- The increasing cost to provide merchant services is worrisome to city and county utilities. Many are moving toward charging convenience or service fees rather than a lower credit card rate.
- Municipal utilities are relying more on web applications that easily and successfully integrate with their ERP and CRM. Platform integrations, which CORE has several, are becoming more vital to cut repetitive data entry, streamline payment processing, and simplify reconciliation.
- CORE’s “one-stop shop” approach to securing merchant services for utilities is saving local governments time and money while reducing customer attrition.
This year’s CS Week was a rewarding experience for our team. Seeing some of CORE’s long-time customers and sparking new prospect relationships makes me excited for the possibilities of helping local government utilities in the years to come.
