Digital Transformation in the Water Industry

Digital transformation is happening all around us; industries across the spectrum are facing disruption (i.e. challenges to current business models) and customer expectations are shifting rapidly. Customers expect more and public services are not exempt from these demands. Customers expect to have information at their fingertips and to be able to engage 24/7 which is why it’s important for us to provide a good digital experience. Customers want and expect to interact with us on the go, wherever they are, at whatever time of day.

Watercare has embraced this challenge with a number of digital initiatives. We are redeveloping our website taking a mobile first and customer centric approach. Through the use of customer personas we mapped their journeys and objectives understanding that different customer groups have different needs. We asked customers what they wanted, listened to their feedback and designed an online experience that is intuitive and easy.

Analysing other key reasons that customers contact us enables Watercare to digitise the experience providing customer choice and operational efficiency. Customers can apply for connections online, getting only the information they need and supplying only the information we need. Customers can also quickly and simply advise us of leaks and faults by sending us photos and videos.

This paper presents Watercare’s experience in undergoing this journey and how we are engaging with our customers to meet this challenge.