Turning data into relevant customer experiences

Many energy utilities already have the customer data that matters most. But it is often scattered across different systems, departments and communication channels. As a result, a complete view of the customer is often missing: Which contracts are in place? What is the customer interested in? Which service cases occurred recently? Which offers would be relevant?

This is exactly where Salesforce and factory42 come in.

Together, we help energy utilities put existing data to better use, make communication more relevant and strengthen customer relationships systematically. Not through abstract technology, but through concrete use cases with tangible benefits.

Status quo

What holds many energy utilities back today

made with AI

• Customer data exists, but it isn't connected

  Information from billing, service, sales, marketing, portals and manual processes often does not yet add up to a unified picture of the customer. As a result, campaigns remain generic, service processes stay laborious and potential goes untapped.

• Customer contact often only happens when things get critical

  Energy products offer few natural touchpoints. The relationship often only becomes truly relevant when a customer moves home, changes tariff, faces a price adjustment, complains or cancels. These are precisely the moments that determine trust and loyalty.

• New offers don't always reach the right customers

  E-mobility, photovoltaics, battery storage, heat pumps, dynamic tariffs or sustainable energy products don't suit every customer equally. Without segmentation and activation logic, offers are often pushed out too broadly.

• Service is still too often manual and siloed by channel

  Paper mail, manual forwarding, a lack of transparency and disconnected communication channels lead to longer processing times. To customers this feels slow; for teams it creates unnecessary effort.

• Retention is considered too late

  Many measures only start once a cancellation or the intention to switch is already visible. Energy utilities need earlier signals, better messaging and more relevant touchpoints.

Salesforce provides the technological foundation for connecting data, processes and communication. factory42 translates these capabilities into concrete use cases for energy utilities.

The goal: energy utilities should understand their customers better, communicate in a more targeted way and deliver relevant offers or services at the right moment.

This is not about introducing yet another tool. It is about connecting existing data and processes in a way that creates measurable value.

1. 01Unified customer view

   • The problem: A customer has an electricity contract, is interested in a wallbox, uses the customer portal, recently had a service case – and still receives a generic standard email. The reason: the information is scattered and is not shared across teams.
   • The solution: Salesforce helps bring relevant customer data together from different sources and turn it into a usable customer profile. This profile can be used across service, marketing, sales and retention. The result is a better understanding of who the customer is, what relationship already exists, which interests they show and which next steps might make sense.
   • factory42's contribution: factory42 helps municipal utilities identify the right data sources, processes and use cases. Together we clarify which information is truly relevant and how it translates into concrete measures.
   • Example: A customer with an interest in e-mobility, an existing electricity contract and high digital activity is no longer treated like an anonymous recipient. They receive relevant information, advisory options or offers that fit their situation.

   The benefit: Energy utilities lay the foundation for more relevant communication, better service and more targeted sales activities.

2. 02Customer retention and churn prevention

   • The problem: Many customers regularly compare energy providers on price, bonuses or contract terms. Energy utilities therefore need to recognise earlier which customers are at risk and which kind of outreach builds loyalty.
   • The solution: With Salesforce, energy utilities can segment customer groups more precisely and use relevant signals, such as contract term, tariff history, service contacts, interests, campaign responses or switching patterns. On this basis, targeted retention measures can be developed: personal tariff recommendations, sustainable offers, loyalty benefits, advice or win-back journeys.
   • factory42's contribution: factory42 works with energy utilities to develop a suitable retention logic. This is not about mass communication but about one question: which customer needs which nudge, and when, to strengthen the relationship?
   • Example: A customer whose contract is about to expire and who is interested in green electricity receives a personal message in good time – with a suitable tariff option, regional added value and an easy way to get in touch.

   The benefit: Energy utilities can reach customers earlier, reduce the risk of churn and strengthen their role as a trusted regional provider.

3. 03Cross-selling for new energy products

   • The problem: Many energy utilities are building new offers around e-mobility, photovoltaics, battery storage, heat pumps or energy services. What is often missing, however, is a data-based answer to the question: which offer suits which customer?
   • The solution: Salesforce helps identify customer potential more clearly and deliver offers in a more targeted way. Relevant data points can be combined, such as housing situation, existing contracts, consumption behaviour, interests, campaign responses or advisory history. This creates target groups that can be addressed with suitable content, offers and next steps.
   • factory42's contribution: factory42 helps you think of cross-selling not as a mere product campaign but as an end-to-end use case: from the target group through the messaging to the handover to advisory or sales.
   • Example: Homeowners with high electricity consumption and an interest in sustainable offers receive targeted content on photovoltaics, battery storage or a wallbox. If they respond, a qualified advisory process can be triggered automatically.

   The benefit: Energy utilities increase the relevance of their offers, improve lead quality and use existing customer relationships to open up new lines of business.

4. 04Proactive service communication

   • The problem: Service contacts are among the most important moments in the relationship between an energy utility and its customers. When a request remains unclear, takes too long or has to be explained several times, frustration follows.
   • The solution: Salesforce can connect service cases, customer history and communication. Requests become more transparent, processing steps easier to follow, and customers can be informed proactively. This applies, for example, to relocations, tariff changes, missing documents, complaints, outages, contract changes or cancellation processes.
   • factory42's contribution: factory42 analyses existing service processes and identifies the points where automation and better communication can make a quick difference.
   • Example: After a complaint, the customer receives not just a confirmation of receipt but transparent status updates. Once the case is closed, a suitable goodwill or retention message can follow.

   The benefit: Fewer queries, faster processes, a better customer experience and relief for service teams.

5. 05Automated communication as a quick start

   • The problem: Many energy utilities know they need to communicate more digitally and in a more personalised way. Large transformation projects, however, often seem complex and drawn out.
   • The solution: A good starting point is clearly scoped communication journeys that deliver value quickly. For example for new customers, tariff changes, relocations, churn prevention, e-mobility interest or service follow-ups. Salesforce makes it possible to set up such journeys in a structured way and trigger them automatically based on customer data, behaviour or events.
   • factory42's contribution: factory42 helps prioritise the right starter use cases, develop the content and design the implementation so that it can be extended later.
   • Example: After signing a contract, new customers receive an automated welcome journey with portal guidance, services, regional benefits and suitable add-on offers.

   The benefit: Energy utilities achieve quickly visible improvements in communication and customer experience without having to launch a large-scale programme right away.

• Stronger customer retention

  More relevant communication strengthens the relationship and reduces the risk of churn.

• More revenue potential

  New offers around e-mobility, photovoltaics, battery storage or heat pumps reach better-suited target groups.

• Better service

  Service requests are handled more transparently, faster and with a stronger customer focus.

• Less manual work

  Automated processes relieve teams and reduce recurring manual tasks.

• More impact from existing data

  Data is not just collected but put to work for concrete communication, service and sales.

Success does not come from technology alone. What matters is identifying the right use cases, designing them properly from a business perspective and implementing them so that they work in everyday operations.

factory42 supports energy utilities with:

• Use case workshops and prioritisation
• Analysis of existing data and process landscapes
• Design of retention and cross-selling use cases
• Development of automated communication journeys
• Connecting service, marketing and sales
• Implementation in Salesforce
• Enablement of the teams involved