Full Version - Essential Energy

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Australia has one of the world’s most competitive retail
energy markets – nearly one million customers have
switched gas or electricity supplier since contestability
was introduced. Customer acquisition is a critical area
of our business and plays a vital role in maximising
financial results.
Winning spirit
Country Energy is now one of Australia’s largest energy
retailers, with 780,000 customers in New South
Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the
Australian Capital Territory. Our customer growth was
particluly strong in Victoria. Sales activity was mainly
driven by direct sales, enabling us to achieve significant
penetration into markets outside our traditional retail
base.
Our retail expertise extends across all industrial and
commercial sectors – from mines, hospitals and paper
mills to property, agriculture and education. In the
face of strong competition, our blue chip contestable
customer base continued to expand. Major customers
now include –
• World renowned Sydney Opera House
• Melbourne’s Rialto Towers (the southern
hemisphere’s tallest office tower)
• CSIRO
• Dairy Farmers
• SunRice
• Arnott’s Biscuits
• Department of Defence (Australian Government)
• Cadbury Schweppes
• Mirvac Group of Companies.
Our sales team was successful in retaining and
acquiring more than 1,500 commercial and industrial
customers, which resulted in an annual load growth for
2004-2005 of 30 per cent and growth in gross margins
of more than 18 per cent.
Top marks for satisfaction
In a competitive market, our success is determined by
our customer satisfaction and ability to integrate the
needs of our various stakeholders. We took a fresh
approach to customer research this year, by surveying
customers who had contact with the business three to
10 days prior. This enabled a separation of customers’
perception of service versus how they perceived the
actual service received.
Eighty five per cent of customers believe we meet or
exceed what they would expect from an “excellent
energy provider”. Independent survey results have been
maintained at this level for the past three quarters, with
particularly high scores regarding customer service and
our response to supply interruptions.
Throughout the year, there was a steady increase in the
proportion of customers who stated that the service
received in their recent transaction with us exceeded
their expectations – as high as one in four in the last
quarter (March to June 2005).
To understand our customers’ needs, we also conduct
specific product research, monitor service levels across
all regions and exchange information with customer
consultative committees.
As customer service was one of the four core priorities
for 2004-2005, customer satisfaction was a major
organisational initiative throughout the year, with all
areas of the business involved in internal customer
satisfaction focus groups and defining our customer
service culture.
2004-2005 target – 85 per cent customer
satisfaction rating
Outcome – 85 per cent customer satisfaction rating
Future goals – Maintain 85 per cent customer
satisfaction rating in 2005-2006. Strategies include
improving customer service processes and support
systems and developing the skills and knowledge
of our people.
Focus groups
In June 2004, we intoduced an initiative to understand
where there might be blockages to the delivery of
excellent customer service. It involved three months
of investigation, where we researched customers’
perceptions, and hosted 33 focus groups with
internal business units across all regions and areas
of the business. The focus groups identified areas for
improvement and have driven the development of a
new three-year customer service strategy.
Future goals – implement new strategy, including
streamlining processes, improving support systems
and ongoing development of our people.
COUNTRY ENERGY ANNUAL REPORT 2004–2005