This is how LUMINUS is helping customers with the energy transition
Energy supplier LUMINUS wants to help its customers to live comfortably and energy-efficiently. In 2005, in collaboration with AXA Partners and as the first utility provider in Belgium, the company launched a range of Home Assistance services. "The relevance of these services is only increasing", according to CCO Henri Buenen and Marketing Director Marleen Nijsten. So LUMINUS is continuing to cleverly respond to new needs, thus creating the best customer experiences.
Consumer uncertainty in the face of energy transition
The energy transition is making itself felt in the living room and that makes many consumers anxious. "It used to be simple because you only had cable, electricity and gas at home," Henri explains. "Now you also have to install solar panels, which may or may not be combined with a heat pump and battery. You have to monitor and adjust your energy consumption if you want to keep your energy bill under control. In short, the energy management of a house has become more complex, and consumers are having a bit of a hard time with that."
Customer promise gets an extra dimension
LUMINUS has always wanted to be more than just a supplier who sends out bills. It consistently promises its customers to provide warmth and comfort, and delivers on this by offering generic services such as the Home Breakdown Service. "Now our customer promise has an extra dimension," says Marleen. "We also want to help the customer to reduce his energy consumption and to make it greener. Together we are working towards CO2 neutrality."
Now our customer promise to always provide warmth and comfort is taking on an extra dimension. We also want to help the customer to live energy-efficiently. - Marleen Nijsten, Marketing director Luminus
Service plans for heat pump and charging station
In practice, the energy transition comes down to electrification. People will drive electrically, heat electrically and generate their own energy. This means that new technologies are being introduced, each with their own requirements in terms of use and maintenance. And what if that heat pump malfunctions? Henri: "The customer wants to be relieved of such worries. We respond to this with maintenance and insurance plans per technology." LUMINUS already offers Boiler Maintenance and Boiler Warranty, but services for heat pumps and charging stations are also on the way. "We believe that the demand for product-specific solutions like these will increase significantly."
20 years of solid cooperation
For the development and service behind its Home Assistance solutions, LUMINUS has been working with AXA Partners for 20 years. An exceptionally long business relationship, which, according to Henri and Marleen is certainly not showing any strains with age. "On the contrary, over the past five years we have actually launched even more new services together than in the previous ten years. The rapid developments in the energy sector are keeping us on our toes. The market forces us to constantly look for new solutions. In AXA Partners we have found a reliable partner who thinks creatively along with us and comes up with innovative propositions."
It used to be simple and you only had gas, electricity and cable in your home. Now that it has become more complex to manage your home in terms of energy, consumers want to be unburdened. - Henri Buenen, CCO Luminus
Operational performance for a headache-free ride
"The success of these many years of cooperation is also due to the fact that we optimally consolidate each other's strengths", says Henri. "We install the energy solutions, AXA Partners insures and guarantees 24/7 assistance. Their call centre works just fine. For us it is a 'headache-free ride'. Because the last thing you want is for the service to your customer to go awry. With AXA Partners, we can trust that our customers will be helped quickly and effectively when their heating isn't working properly or their charging station is defective. We notice through satisfaction surveys that our customers experience us as an energy supplier who is really concerned about their comfort and energy efficiency thanks to the good service."
Productive co-creation
"The added value of our collaboration is also reflected in the creation of our value propositions," says Marleen. "We can use their knowledge of the Home Assistance market and their international experience with other cases to co-create unique services that perfectly match the specific needs of our customers and our focus on energy efficiency and comfort. Each co-creation process also involves an analysis of how to market the new proposition: as an extra service included in our commodity products, or as an add-on for which the customer pays extra. As our services become less one-size-fits-all and more product-specific, it becomes less straightforward to fit them into our energy plans. At the same time, we see that customers are increasingly willing to pay extra for solutions that offer them peace of mind."
Round-up
As the energy transition enters the living room, the consumer has a greater need for reliable partners who relieve him of his worries with maintenance and repair of the new technologies. That's why LUMINUS offers its customers technology-specific solutions that guarantee comfort and energy efficiency.
