The Water Pages
Are water companies ready for pr19?
RESEARCH and engagement has been identified as being at the core of PR19 with Acceptability being one vital strand that needs to be completed according to UK industry experts.
PR19 provides the framework for a stable long- term future for water, providing what matters to customers at a price they can afford and are willing to pay.
Kim Davis, managing director at Explain Market Research, said “Research and engagement is at the core of the price review, and an emphasis must be placed on acceptability.
“Water companies must demonstrate that they have listened to customers and understand their preferences and priorities. Acceptability takes the final plan to customers and stakeholders and ensures that these priorities and preferences have been understood.”
To ensure that acceptability research is robust, the leading research agency has provided the following insight for water companies in the UK:
1. Acceptability must be robust and quantifiable
Customers and their representatives must be able to challenge companies throughout the process, so water companies must ensure that customer buy in and acceptance is clearly evidenced and quantified.
Qualitative outputs are also vital to enable customers to understand the decision making and story behind the business plan. A qualitative approach will also provide insight into areas of the plan that customers find less acceptable, which is equally as important as those which they accept.
2. The correct level of information must be given to customers
As business planning is a complex process, customers must be given enough information to
48 drain TRADER | April 2018 |
participate in an informed manner. Giving customers enough information but in a simple and clear format is a challenge and often needs pre-testing before full acceptability research begins.
Information must be presented in an impartial way, and in a way that is understandable to a wide customer audience. Bills must be discussed in real terms, and in a context, which demonstrates the impact of the proposed business plan.
3. Information must be comparative and contextual
Making sure customers understand the relevance of the information they are reviewing is essential. Comparing with others in the industry helps this as well as for some elements outside of the industry with brands and services customers can easily relate to.
4. All customers must be included
When distributing the information, all customers must be included, ensuring that vulnerability, socio economic and local regional differences are targeted. Having provided insight on seldom-heard and vulnerable customers to a range of businesses, Explain understands the complex nature of the industry and works with clients to mitigate the challenges.
Explain Market Research has worked within the water sector for two decades, working in partnership with several of the UK’s biggest and most respected suppliers and distributors. Throughout PR19 business planning, Explain has delivered a range offered a range of impartial, innovative and bespoke research solutions to the likes of Northumbrian Water, SES Water and South Staffs Water to deliver actionable insight.
www.draintraderltd.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
