Energy switching is gaining momentum  again this year.

In June, the number of customers switching supplier increased by 31.3% across electricity and gas compared with May, Electricity switches rose 29.2%, while gas switches increased 34.2%.

Competition is widening too, with 57% of dual-fuel switches going to other suppliers in June, including large, medium and smaller providers. And with the energy price cap increasing by 4% from 1 October, customers have another reason to review their tariff and consider the options available to them, (Ofgem says fixed tariffs are available at £100 or more below the October price cap).

For UK energy suppliers, rising switching creates a renewed customer acquisition opportunity, but as competition increases, success will depend on more than simply reaching more households. Suppliers need to identify the right customers, coordinate acquisition channels, equip sales teams with accurate information and understand which activity ultimately converts.

More switching means more opportunity and more competition

As customers become more willing to reconsider their supplier, the opportunity to acquire new customers grows, but capturing that opportunity isn’t simply about adding more sales resource. For suppliers using field, venue and other face-to-face energy sales channels, the challenge is making every interaction count.

• Are sales teams being deployed where the best opportunities actually are?
• Do reps have the right customer, product and eligibility information when they need it?
• Can teams adapt quickly when tariffs, campaigns or propositions change?
• Is the customer getting a consistent experience across field, digital and other sales channels?
• And importantly, can you see which activity is actually turning into successful customers?

What does increased energy switching mean for field sales?

For face-to-face energy sales teams, increased switching creates more opportunities to engage customers who are willing to reconsider their supplier, but it also means greater competition for those customers.

Effective field sales therefore depends on more than the number of doors visited. It means targeting the right areas, giving reps accurate customer and product information, coordinating activity across channels and understanding which interactions ultimately lead to successful acquisition.

For suppliers reviewing their UK energy customer acquisition strategy, this is an opportunity to consider not only the size of their field operation, but how intelligently it is being deployed.

Field sales needs to become more intelligent, not just bigger

Technology has already made field sales significantly more efficient. Digital territories, route planning, real-time reporting and mobile sales journeys can remove much of the manual work that once slowed teams down. The next opportunity is using the data already available to make better acquisition decisions.

Customer and address data can help determine where teams should focus, previous outcomes can inform future campaigns and real-time performance can highlight where a proposition is working, or where something needs to change. Rather than simply giving a rep a larger list of doors to visit, the goal should be to help them spend more of their time at the right doors.

An opportunity to rethink customer acquisition

Switching may not yet be back to the highs seen before the energy crisis, but the direction of travel has changed. ElectraLink’s data shows the recovery has been building, while Ofgem’s latest figures show customers continuing to move between suppliers. For UK energy suppliers looking to grow, that makes now a good time to look beyond how many customers their teams can reach and consider how effectively their acquisition operation identifies, engages and converts the right ones.

In a more competitive market, the advantage may not come from having more people selling, it may come from giving the people you already have better information about where to focus.

About PSI

PSI provides field sales execution technology for energy and telecom providers, helping acquisition teams manage territories, customer and address data, sales journeys, compliance and field performance in one platform.