One day, your company is all alone in the marketplace. The next day, competition is fierce and customers have no predetermined loyalties. Welcome to a dramatic crash course in customer lifecycle management.

This scenario is precisely what happened to one major utility. Fortunately, they planned ahead and turned a difficult situation into an exceptional opportunity to build long-term customer relationships.

Facing the challenges of deregulation.
For years, ComEd was the only electricity provider for Chicago-area businesses. As ComEd evolved from a regulated electric utility to a deregulated company in a competitive marketplace, it faced extensive competition. In the face of these challenges, ComEd risked losing customers to other utility providers who were just entering the marketplace.

In order to prepare for this rigorous competition, ComEd had to educate customers about its commitment to a changing energy marketplace.

Concurrently, ComEd had to build and maintain solid, two-way relationships with its customers.

To accomplish this, ComEd needed to:

• Reposition the utility as a company that cares
• Build loyalty for the purpose of retaining customers
• Enhance the utility’s database to learn more about its customers

Gauging customer perceptions.
Extensive research was conducted with ComEd’s business customers to understand their opinions of the company and its service. Focus groups revealed that ComEd had a reputation for being an uncaring company with high rates.