Market Research
Project Overview
- GreatBlue Research was commissioned by the Kansas Power Pool (hereinafter “KPP”) to conduct a market research study to gain insight into the satisfaction levels of its member utilities.
- The primary goals for this research study were to assess satisfaction levels of KPP members and highlight attitudes and awareness regarding various electric utility-related characteristics.
- In order to service these research goals, GreatBlue employed telephone and digital survey methodologies to capture the opinions of Kansas Power Pool member utilities.
- The outcome of this research will enable KPP and its member utilities to a) more clearly understand, and ultimately set, member expectations, b) act on near-term opportunities for improvement and, c) create a strategic roadmap to increase member satisfaction.
Areas of Investigation
The 2020 Kansas Power Pool Member Satisfaction Study leveraged a quantitative research methodology to address the following areas of investigation:
- Overall satisfaction with KPP
- Assessment of various programs and services
- Overall perception of KPP
- Perceived benefit of programs and services
- Current and preferred communication methods
- Member's relationship with customer base
- Demographic profile of respondents
Expectations Met At A High Frequency
The most frequently indicated expectation respondents reported they have regarding KPP was “reasonable/affordable rates” (52.1%), followed by “good communication/informative” (17.8%), “reliable/excellent service” (16.4%) and “continuous innovation/improvements” (15.1%). The strong majority of respondents, 93.1%, indicated KPP meets their expectations either “very frequently” (63.0%) or “somewhat frequently” (30.1%).
Q: And how frequently would you say KPP meets your expectations?
Key Study Findings
- In 2020, the frequency of positive ratings for all six (6) organizational characteristics was above 90.0%, with the highest positive ratings recorded for “professionalism of the staff” (98.6%) and “courtesy/friendliness” (98.6%), followed by “responsiveness” (97.1%).
- 93.2% of respondents indicated they agreed that “overall, I value the public power business model,” that “KPP is knowledgeable and innovative” and that “KPP is keeping up with the changes and trends in the industry.”
- “Cyber security training and assistance” (82.2%) was rated the most beneficial of the twelve (12) programs, services and events offered by KPP, followed by the “energy efficiency program” (80.8%), “distribution system assessments,” “electric utility financial scorecard and metrics” (79.5%) and the “annual rate forum” (79.5%).
- Over one-quarter of surveyed members reported “don’t know/unsure” when asked to rate the benefit of “pole testing assistance” (30.1%), the “annual KPP summit” (26.0%), and the “annual KPP appreciation dinner” (26.0%), while more than one-fifth reported the same for “economic development grants” (24.7%) and the “annual membership meeting” (21.9%).
- When respondents were asked what one thing KPP could do to increase engagement with their utility, 32.9% of respondents indicated they were “pleased with KPP service/already engaged.” Other notable responses included “lower rates” (5.5%), “more city council meetings” (5.5%), “provide/refer better engineers” (4.1%) and “provide more information/education and training materials/opportunities” (4.1%).
- When surveyed members were asked what programs and services they would like which are not currently offered by KPP, 73.9% indicated either “none/nothing” (49.3%), “don’t know/unsure” (16.4%) or “keep up the good work/happy with programs and services offered” (8.2%). Of note, 65.8% of surveyed members reported they were interested in KPP maintaining electric distribution lines.
- 93.1% of respondents indicated KPP meets their expectations (either “very frequently” or “somewhat frequently”) and the most frequently indicated expectations were “reasonable/affordable rates” (52.1%), “good communication/informative” (17.8%), “reliable/excellent service” (16.4%) and “continuous innovation/improvements” (15.1%).
- 97.2% of respondents indicated they were either “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with KPP’s communicating to its members. The highest frequency of surveyed members reported “email” as both their current (79.5%) and their preferred (84.9%) method of communication, followed by “the KPP newsletter” (current 53.4%; preferred 57.5%) and “the KPP website” (current 45.2%; preferred 45.2%).
- 86.3% of surveyed members indicated they were either “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with the KPP website being informative and 83.6% were satisfied with the website being easy to navigate.
- 84.9% of respondents indicated they were aware of the monthly KPP newsletter and 79.4% reported the KPP newsletter was beneficial to their utility.
- 76.7% of respondents reported they agreed with the statement “my utility communicates well with our customers,” while 68.5% agreed with “my customers are aware of the programs and services my utility offers” and 58.9% agreed with “my customers take advantage of the programs and services my utility offers.”
- When asked to indicate how KPP could help overall communication and engagement efforts between member utilities and their customers, 53.4% of respondents reported either “don’t know/unsure” (21.9%), “none/nothing” (17.8%) or “KPP is doing a great job” (13.7%). The most frequent recommendations included “pamphlets/newsletter/flyers” (11.0%), “provide information and ideas” (9.6%), “improve communication (email, text, website, etc.)” (5.5%) and “social media” (5.5%).