Commercial utilities data and marketing

Step one to improving data quality is to identify any issues in your existing records. Look for a solution capable of spotting everything from errors and outdated information to gaps that require filling. Experian’s Aperture Data Studio provides a simple-to-use, automated tool which will draw your attention to critical problems.

By exchanging data with others, you’ll open up a unique opportunity to discover fresh insights about your customers. Experian offers two data-sharing programmes: CAIS collects and distributes credit data across 13.3 million commercial accounts, while Payment Performance (PP) identifies what debts are held by commercial customers, helping you gauge an appropriate level of risk for each customer.

Once you’ve identified the gaps in your data, you’ll want to fill them with reliable, up-to-date information. Again, shared data holds the key. Experian’s rich data assets can help fill those gaps, whether it’s adding in missing contact details or providing additional insights into commercial clients.

Bringing new records into your existing databases requires you to be confident you’re linking the right records to the correct customer. An automated tool like Experian’s ExPin matches customers to 2 billion records to help confirm that you’re working with the correct data. It can also help you consolidate customer records from multiple databases, bringing them into a single central holistic view using a tool like Experian's Aperture Data Studio.

Before taking on a new commercial client, you’ll want to be able to form a picture of their financial position, including their cash reserves as well as their overall viability. Affordability solutions ultimately stand or fall on the quality of their data – Experian provides access to the key income and expenditure you need through its Commercial CAIS data-sharing programme.

You’ve got raw income and expenditure data, but what next? Experian’s data science teams have the answer. Expertly developed commercial categorisation models combine a business’s income and expenditure statements with a host of macro-economic indicators to provide tailored cashflow analysis, revenue, income and eligibility checks.

A commercial client may appear to be perfectly viable now, but are they likely to still be trading 12 months down the line? Look for solutions that predict potential failure from past and present data. For example, Experian’s Commercial Delphi Score predicts business failure over the next year, while Commercial Delphi for Cashflow Score reveals the likelihood of arrears and defaults over the same period.

Ideally background checking is a background task, one which causes as little inconvenience as possible to potential customers. Look for a lending platform that can automate the process to deliver a smooth onboarding experience. PowerCurve Customer Acquisition combines Experian’s rich data and insight with customisable policies and rules that adapt to your risk strategy to deliver confident decisions each and every time.

When a client comes to extend or renegotiate their current contract, don’t fall into the trap of assuming their financial circumstances haven’t changed. By incorporating shared commercial data into your decisioning platform, such as the credit scores offered by Experian’s Commercial Delphi Scores, you gain access to an accurate and up-to-date picture of your customer’s finances, helping you create a fully up-to-date risk assessment.

The sooner you can identify a business that’s finding it hard to keep up with payments to creditors and suppliers, the sooner you can put in place strategies to minimise the risk they pose to your business. By signing up to a data-sharing scheme such as Experian’s Payment Performance (PP), you gain the ability to trade insights into the debts your commercial customers owe, providing you with an early warning system of potential arrears.

Risk policy regulations require you to make special provisions for both monitoring customers and performing due diligence checks. A good solution will enable you to monitor your entire portfolio continually for new risks while working within your own risk policy. Experian’s Compliance IQ is one such tool, which can automatically enforce and audit your approval processes while also uncovering potential risks.

Before escalating any debt issues with a client, it pays to take a close look into their unique circumstances to see what support may be appropriate to protect both parties’ interests. A tool like PowerCurve Collections is designed to personalise your customer relationship process, making it easier to understand their specific situation so you can take the right course of action.

If a business customer has fallen into arrears, knowing how best to recover that debt without placing them under greater financial strain is the key to avoiding a lengthy – and potentially costly – collections process. Smart decisioning software such as that offered by PowerCurve Collections makes use of shared financial data to help you agree a debt repayment plan that’s best for both parties.

If you are forced into a debt recovery process, making use of automated, objective decisioning tools could be a smart move. PowerCurve Collections ensures you make use of best-practice collection techniques to remain compliant and put your client at the heart of your strategy. The result is a process that’s fair and aimed at preserving your customer relationship going forward.

Some collections processes may require you to litigate in order to access the assets required to pay the debt. Doing so is risky – and potentially very expensive – so look for solutions, like those from Experian, that can determine the effectiveness of such actions, as well as streamline the overall collections process to minimise the costs to your business.

Loss forecasting requires you to step back from your business and regard it as a whole. Benchmarks provide you with the ability to take regular snapshots of your portfolio’s health, and can compare your business against fellow energy and water suppliers to show you how your debt recovery performs against the UK market.

Stress-testing customer finances on a regular basis to see how different pressures would affect them is a good way to measure risk at a more granular level. Let Experian’s team of experts help you build the perfect testing regime for your specific needs.

The pandemic also highlighted the benefits of switching to an analytics platform that offers built-in model testing and building tools.