مقاله سال ۲۰۱۶

 مجله تحقیقات بازاریابی – Journal of Business Research

The Brazilian energy sector and the distribution companies seek for the continuous improvement of the understanding about their relationship with their customers. In Brazil, the energy distribution companies operate according to their federal concession areas and are responsible for delivering the energy to the customers’ unities, which mainly belong to the regulated contracting environment. Even for the free market customers, the local distribution companies are responsible for the grid operation and maintenance, as well as the monthly billing of the delivered energy. To request for the energy companies’ services, the customers have at their disposal different channels such as call centers, internet, social media, e-mail, letters, SMS and personal attendance offices. The amount of executed services is a consequence of customers’ needs for services, new connections to the grid, events related to power outage, billing and overdue debts. The Brazilian regulatory agency ANEEL establishes some indicators (ANEEL, 2012), but in a novel analysis, the companies need to understand and improve customers’ requirements and their operational procedures. The agency establishes rights and duties, and on the other side, the energy utilities need responsiveness and customer relationship services improvement (Kotler, Kartajaya, & Setiawan, 2010).

The analysis of customers’ requirements and the regulated services conditions, the grid operational situation, billing, weather conditions and energy availability can improve the communication process. The increase of attendance quality indicators affects straightly the operational costs. The lack of investments on the distribution grid or on some kinds of services increases the customers’ demands.

The energy distribution companies continuously seek to assess the costs of the attendance process, finding out new capabilities to address services and operational demands, developing new systems and features in a strategic level to improve, maintain and track customers’ satisfaction. As an example, this work deals with CPFL Energy Company that operates at Brazil South and Southeast regions, at 8 federal energy concession areas, and has about 7.7 million customers (CPFL, 2014). The company continually looks for excellence and innovation in energy services. The utility improves the relationship activities to allow prompt response to critical situations, new or already known demands.