British Gas Case Study

Overview 
British Gas, amidst changes in the energy sector, aimed to prioritise customer focus and a low-carbon future. A vital element was accelerating transformation in its mobile customer experience. As Creative Director and Product Lead, I was part of the Publicis Sapient team that spearheaded this transformation.

The Challenge 
British Gas faced two major challenges:

Declining Customer Trust: A loss of 2.8 million customers since 2015 and an 82% share price drop since 2013.
Digital Discontent: Inadequate digital tools led to reduced customer faith and increased reliance on telephony, compounded by a lack of personalization.

2.5m

Customers lost since 2015

82%

Fall in share price since 2013

5

Disparate brands

Approach

1.

Customer Insights: Established on-site customer labs for weekly testing, sharing insights to build empathy and stakeholder involvement.

2.

Human Centric Design: Focused on customer pain points, assessed impact across various facets, developed prototypes, and ensured continuous refinement through research sprints

3.

Mobile Transformation Vision: Focused on digital channels as primary touchpoints, using smart meter data for personalized experiences and addressing core mobile issues.

4.

Co-Creation and Testing: Involving journey simplification, co-creation, and continuous testing, integrating features like Apple Pay and real-time data visualisation.

Me pretending to be pointing to work in progress. But this was for the case study video shoot. That’s how I roll..

Mobile Transformation Vision:
Aimed at making digital channels the primary touchpoints, we harnessed smart meter data to provide bespoke experiences. This included leveraging the data for personalised interactions and addressing core issues for an enriched mobile experience. With an MVP approach, we prioritised delivering value swiftly.

Co-Creation and Testing:
‍The journey involved deep collaboration requirements clarification, journey simplification, and continuous testing. We integrated features like Apple Pay, British Gas Service Plans, and real-time data visualisation for a holistic app experience..

Go-to-market Strategy:
‍The MVP, crafted based on customer needs, was launched with features ranging from effortless payments to real-time energy usage insights. The emphasis was on consistent iteration and enhancement, which led to over 17 monthly app releases.

Outcomes:
The new British Gas app achieved significant milestones:

Topped rankings by the Energy Saving Trust.
Attained 1.3 million downloads.
Resolved over 200 pain points, enhancing customer satisfaction.
Increased online transactions by 54% and breakdown appointments by 58%.
Recorded 107 million annual digital interactions.
Introduced novel experiences for smart meter users.

200

Pain points solved

54%

Increase in digital transactions

3m

Fewer contact centre calls

Personal reflection
‍Leading the British Gas digital transformation was an enlightening journey. In just 82 days, our teams delivered an MVP that reshaped the enterprise's digital trajectory. The results were profound: a 15% drop in call volumes and a monumental shift towards digital. This endeavour reaffirmed my belief in agility and customer-centricity, with the British Gas team continuing to apply these principles across their digital transformation. It was a testament to what collaboration and a sharp focus on customer needs can achieve in a tight timeframe..

Future visioning: How might the platform evolve into a more holistic customer experience?

1.

Hyper-personalised Recommendations: Using behavioural data for specific, relevant product and service suggestions.

2.

Holistic Service Approach: Merging solutions such as electric cars, solar panels, and smart controls in one interface.

3.

Beyond the Home: Expanding services to include British Gas features for holiday homes and EV tariffs.

4.

Managing Multiple Properties: 'Spaces' feature to manage various properties for landlords or family care.

5.

Timely Rewards: Offering well-timed rewards based on user behavior, like meal discounts on trips.

6.

Proactive Fault Diagnosis and Repair: Detecting and arranging repair for issues like boiler breakdowns automatically.

7.

Data-Driven Upgrades: Using data to highlight inefficiencies in current products, promoting upgrades.

“I have seldom worked with such a bunchof committed and passionate individualswho make my job enjoyable.”

Darren DiproseHead of Mobile, UK Home, British Gas

British Gas Redefining the Digital Mobile Experience

Approach

Future visioning: How might the platform evolve into a more holistic customer experience?

RHS

Nissan Ariya

British Gas 
Redefining the Digital
Mobile Experience