The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities recently launched an investigation to review electricity and gas bills to improve energy affordability. The first phase of the investigation will focus on the charges included and ways to reduce volatility; the second phase will explore bill redesign to improve transparency. This initiative is significant — not only for Massachusetts but as an example for other states facing similar challenges with rising utility costs and complex billing structures.
Utility companies often ask us about how to improve their billing experience for customers. They recognize that understanding consumption and navigating price volatility are challenging for customers, and that confusion — especially when bills are unclear or charges are unexpected — erodes customer trust. Utility companies turn to redesigning their billing and payment experience as a solution.
Combine UX Best Practices With Customer Research To Improve The Billing Experience
Applying user experience (UX) best practices — such as plain language, good content readability, and helpful visuals to support comprehension — are fundamentals for good bill design. Evaluating bills from a UX perspective and determining areas for improvement regularly is crucial, and that’s why companies often reach out to us to review their bill design — both physical and digital — and look for inspiration and examples from other industries.
Applying UX best practices is only one piece of the puzzle, however. It’s equally important to conduct research with customers — get in the field and talk to them to understand their challenges. Simply following UX best practices will help you avoid common issues, but understanding your customers will unlock new opportunities to improve the experience; it will help you be confident in your decisions and pursue the right opportunity. For example:
- You may be using plain language in your bills — but is it sufficient? Have you tested it with customers? Have you observed how customers go through their bills, which parts they understand or struggle with, and how they react?
- Is the problem bill design, or does it go beyond that (such as financial instability and stigmas around it)? Are you certain that your content or policies do not introduce further bias or stigma?
- Do customers trust your company enough to get in touch for help with their bills and payments? If not, what’s holding them back?
Customer research — talking directly to your customers — will help you uncover the real challenges in billing experience, as well as opportunities to improve.
Let’s Connect
If any of these challenges sound familiar, Forrester can help you with conducting impactful customer research and applying UX best practices. If you are a Forrester client, you can set up a conversation with us here.
