Does Good Design Matter?
Precursor: In 2020 we wrote an article titled “Could A CRM Give You Pleasure?” which proved rather popular. We’ve also spent much of last year improving the UX of our software.
But WHY?
Does any of it really matter? Thankfully there have been numerous studies to answer this very question…
For example, in 2005 a group called The Design Council studied portfolios of companies that traded on the FTSE over the past 10 years. What they discovered was that the companies that put an emphasis on design outperformed the FTSE 100 index by 200%*.
More recently, in 2015 the National Endowment for the US Arts released a study that concluded that small businesses saw a 17.5% increase in average sales on improved goods and services when they invested in design**.
https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/NEAIndustrialDesignManufacturing-4.28.2017-rev.pdf
As Homer Simpson once said:
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!"
So let’s drill down into
Five reasons why design doesn't just matter for the energy sector, it's imperative:
Good design has the power to simplify the complex processes that you find in the energy sector.
If you were to create a piece of software that fulfilled every part of your job – that system would be complex to a point of chaos but good design can simplify it all into manageable chunks. If done right, the design can act as a translator, simplifying the complex language of your processes.
Good design can affect users emotions and can actually make your team happier.
It may seem trivial to focus on emotion when talking about software but companies are realising more and more that it’s possible to evoke a positive response from simple interactions, like a hover effect or a popup animation.
Firms such as Apple have built billion-dollar products around how good it can make a user feel, where everything is carefully crafted to give the user a positive experience.
A CRM is much like your phone. You’ll likely spend more time looking at it than you will your own family, so it’s only right that it should also invoke positivity for the user.
Good design can make your team more efficient
As humans, we have an inbuilt nature to take the perceived quickest route to a solution, especially if we’re unsure of the path ahead. When performing a complicated task, good design can provide useful tools precisely where and when they’re needed along a workflow. For instance, having an important button appear more prominent than other page elements can help guide users eyes on where they should go next.
Good design can help highlight your wins and losses
Presenting your data is all well and good but if its meaning is not clear, then it’s likely to be overlooked. This is even more apparent when reporting within the energy sector. Good design can help declutter and present important, actionable information whilst giving the option to drill down to the data that matters. Users can then focus clearly on the presented facts and adapt swiftly to the cause of their wins.
Good design can provide assurances of a high level of service.
If we hold two products side-by-side, we’ll invariably focus on the better-looking of the two. This is where the good design looks to assure us that “If they’ve spent this much effort perfecting how it looks, then the way it works must also be as equally well thought out”.
Although we know that doesn’t always hold true, it’s inbuilt within us and we still can’t help but use it as a base for commercial decisions. When providing completely re-brandable software like ours, it’s even more imperative that when your customers are using it, the way it looks matches the high level of service that you provide.
Summing It All Up
Investing in good design is superficial by its nature but the results will bleed into numerous positive areas, far and beyond aesthetics. Here at UtilityClick we care enormously about the software experiences our users will have, that’s why we invest so much in a design to convey that. We don’t believe any equivalent system can attest to that.
If you’d like to see how we’ve taken these 5 points above (and a few more) to transform our software, get in touch for a demo:
An interactive side-by-side of old Vs. new for our PRO CRM product.
Development Update - January 2022
This month:
And we're off! Despite the Christmas cobwebs, January in the dev team was just as busy as the months that preceded it. I think we were all thankful for the rest but also just as happy to be back with the team, planning the next 12 months of new features.
The new system redesign that we announced last month has taken much of our focus. We had many users requesting early access and we're happy to say that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. As such, we're pleased to mark February 18th as the official date when all of our software will switch to the new design.
Read on to discover more about the new look as well as other bits and bobs.
Custom Branding With The New UI
As previously mentioned, the new design will be going live on all accounts very shortly (February 18th). Our final push has been to adapt the new look so that it works for any system that has custom branding set. If you utilise your own logo and colours within any of UtilityClick's software, then you'll also be able to experience a better UI come February 18th.
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
Improvements to The Sales (Tables) Dashboard Reporting
Within the 'Booked Breakdown', 'Won Breakdown' and 'Lost Breakdown' Sales report, you can now drill down to which deals were bespoke and which were matrix.
Built for: PRO CRM
LOA Start/End Date Validation
Customers have reported that they occasionally forget to enter a correct start/end date on a system populated LOA. If turned on, this new feature will prompt users that both a start and end dates must be present before the upload can proceed.
Built for: PRO CRM
Speed improvements for Customer Imports
As part of our ongoing mission to speed up system-wide imports/exports - we've made improvements to ensure importing customer data is now more robust and completes much faster.
Built for: PRO CRM
New bespoke charge units added to Bill Val
We've made Bill Val even more comprehensive and added support to check for additional bespoke charge unit types (including £/meter/month).
Built for: BILL VAL
Activity Sub Types Are now filterable
We've extended the search facility within the Activities component, it's now possible to filter by Task, Type AND Sub Type.
Built for: PRO CRM
Bespoke Charges Summary
Multiple bespoke charges are commonplace in water procurement, because of this we've adapted all quoting results screens (including exports) to include a summary of all bespoke charges per quote.
Built for: PRO CRM
Bespoke Charges On Excel Imports
Users have been able to add bespoke charges to quotes and contracts for some time but now you can now add them when importing in bulk via an Excel file.
Built for: PRO CRM
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Energy Reporting: 02 Financials
In this Reporting Drilldown episode, we introduce you to our Financials Dashboards and take a look at what makes them the "best of the best".
Calling all CFOs!
You already know - reporting is such a key part of any business. If it's not up to scratch then it can directly jeopardize the company's income. This couldn’t be truer than within the energy sector.
Take a look at some of the key features that our Financial Dashboards offer:
A Useful Snapshot - A quick, uncomplicated overview of your financial position for the year. Comprehensive Drilldown – Need more detail? It can all be found in our 'Financial Tables' reports. Accurate Metrics – Measure your financials against various metrics, like opportunity type and utility type. Performance Analysis – Quickly review your best-performing suppliers and agents. Complete Customization – Use interactive tools to slice and dice your data. Or use the extensive filtering interface to get the data you need. Use It Your Way – Download your financial reports to Excel, CSV or PNG for easy internal distribution. And much more...
See our Dashboards in action today with a live demo...
Further reporting reading...
Nothing found.
A Big Fat Review Of The Year
What happened in the world?
The US elected their first ever female vice president.
What happened at UtilityClick?
Vendor Agreements Added
This update enabled users to keep all customer data in one place by storing all types of agreements, not just energy related.
Bill Val Launches!
A brand new product was added to give peace of mind to customers that their bills are thoroughly checked prior to payment.
Click To Dial Added
PRO CRM users were now able to make outbound calls and log the resulting details (like call duration and time of call).
What happened in the world?
NFT became a thing. Christie’s sells first purely-digital NFT for $69 million.
What happened at UtilityClick?
Address Lookups Added
Address lookup functionality was added to the system, saving users time when profiling their customers.
Marketing API Integration
This was a new API connection that allows contacts to be automatically fed through to any system of choice.
What happened in the world?
Ever Given boat blocks the Suez Canal for 6 days.
What happened at UtilityClick?
A New Advanced Search
We deployed a MASSIVE upgrade to all system search tools, making it even easier to search for customers and leads.
The UC Jukebox
This brought an integrated UC Video Jukebox to PRO CRM. Now if the work gets tough users are able to turn up the tunes.
Our staff launched a lighthearted energy podcast and inadvertently stumble into a great energy-saving waffle cooking hack.
What happened in the world?
Nomadland wins Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress at the Academy Awards (Oscars).
What happened at UtilityClick?
Employee Payment Terms
We added an enhancement to our Commissions module that allows users to create employee payment profiles. Monthly payments due can then be reported to internal agents.
Monthly Usage Tools Added
This allowed for future forecasts to be updated based on actual usage, thus providing a clearer insight into users finances.
We Turned 5 Years old
Half a decade ago UtilityClick was just an idea from the inside of a South London flat. Fast forward to April 2021 and our software is used to procure over 2.8 TWh every year.
What happened in the world?
The one where the cast of the hit TV series, Friends reunited.
What happened at UtilityClick?
Supplier Pricing Participation
With this update, suppliers could now mark whether they will be participating within a tender or custom pricing request.
Parent/Child UI Overhaul
This upgrade made it so much easier for users to review Parent/Child portfolios.
What happened in the world?
England reach the finals of a European Championship for the first time ever.
What happened at UtilityClick?
Speedier System Exports
We rewrote each module using pure SQL code, which means requested exports are completed much faster.
Another new product, allowing users to create their own energy price comparison website through Tickd (and then manage it all through our industry-leading CRM system).
Bulk Reassigning Customers
We realised the unnecessary admin required to make wholesale changes to a customer, so we added a bulk assignment tool.
What happened in the world?
The delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics takes place and is dominated by the US and Chinese teams.
What happened at UtilityClick?
Meter Lookup With MPAN
We added the ability to search for a site or meter location by MPAN.
PORTAL offers suppliers a doorway to interact with TPIs, whilst INSIGHTS allows for invaluable monitoring of market conditions.
Authentication With Microsoft
This update brought Microsoft authentication to the majority of our services. Now all that is needed is an existing Microsoft login and password.
What happened in the world?
Lionel Messi leaves Barcelona in tears after 21 years with the club.
What happened at UtilityClick?
This one was huge! We completely redeveloped all reporting and dashboards from the ground up.
What happened in the world?
Nasa's rover lands on Mars and collects first rock samples.
What happened at UtilityClick?
A Bumper Release Of Over 100 System Improvements
Including a 'Recycle Dead Leads' tool, 'Quick Customer Snapshot', and improved error messaging for imports.
What happened in the world?
Space tourism takes off as William Shatner actually goes to space.
What happened at UtilityClick?
A 2.0 of an upgrade which included significant improvement to the upload process as well as making the system much easier to use.
A Jam-Packed Bonus Box
We released a selection of items for PRO CRM containing 9 new tools.
What happened in the world?
Britney Spears is a free woman after a judge ends her conservatorship.
What happened at UtilityClick?
Extended Dashboards And Reporting
We rolled out 10 new beautiful dashboards to all customer accounts. These new reports not only look great but focus on speed and clarity.
No matter your supplier relationship coverage, this update meant you could now choose to employ the "Get Tickd Quotes" button and utilise the connections that Tickd have assembled.
What happened in the world?
Angela Merkel steps down as German Chancellor after 16 years in charge.
What happened at UtilityClick?
Complete System Redesign
The end of the year saw the completion and rollout of a shiny new design for our PRO CRM, BILL VAL and PORTAL products.
Duck Hunt Game
Everyone hates an error screen so we tried to soften the blow of ours by giving users the chance to play a version of the 1984 hit Duck Hunt each time it appears.
EDF Energy Contract Submission API
We've worked closely with EDF to give UtilityClick TPIs the ability to submit contracts directly to the supplier, once a quote has been marked as accepted.
And that was all in just 12 months!
You’ve seen how quickly both the world and our software evolves. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Further reading...
Coffee Morning For The Energy Industry
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Development Update - December 2021
This month:
As the team return from a restful Christmas break, we look back at everything we completed in the final month of 2021. It's fitting that we start the New Year with a clean slate and a new look to our flagship products. Over the last few months, the team have been creating a completely new design for our PRO CRM, BILL VAL and PORTAL products. We're extremely excited to show you the results.
We've also received positive feedback on our integration with Tickd. Up until very recently, we've encouraged our customers to forge their own direct supplier relationships but it's been clear that having an alternative offering, straight out the box, is also proving useful.
Read on to hear how you can utilise the new design, the Tickd integration, as well as other bits & bobs.
System Redesign
You may have seen back in October that we teased a ghostly glimpse of the new design and we've already rolled it out to a few willing participants. We'll be contacting all our customers shortly to see if you'd like to trial the new look within your system.
Tickd Expansion
When managing quotes within the PRO CRM, you can now choose to employ the (green) "Get Tickd Quotes" button and utilise the connections that Tickd have assembled (currently British Gas Lite, Scottish Power and TotalEnergies). If you'd like to utilise this optional feature and would like further guidance, please contact your account manager.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK ONLY)
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
NEW Reporting On Activities
We've added a brand new dashboard focussed solely on Activities. You can now drill down to Activities completed by team members and specific customers as well as gain insight in to activities completed within a certain timeframe.
Built for: PRO CRM
Alert before marking an activity as done
We've added an optional feature that when enabled will offer the user a 'Yes' or 'No' alert when marking an activity as 'Done'. This can help avoid those costly accidents where a team member clears an activity before it has been actioned.
Built for: PRO CRM
Water commission percentage
When creating a bespoke tender for water supply, we've added the ability to set a commission percentage of the contract. Previously you could only select a £/m3.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
Auto-upload Unsigned LOA to Customer Section
When generating an LOA within the system, you can now choose 'Generate & Save' to automatically add the LOA to the Customer Details section.
Built for: PRO CRM
Oh Duck Screen Improvements
Everyone hates an error screen so we've tried to soften the blow of ours by giving you the chance to play a version of the 1984 hit Duck Hunt each time it appears.
Built for: PRO CRM
Bulk Uplift for Bespoke Tenders
Previously our system has allowed for a bulk uplift to be added for matrix tenders. We've now added this feature so that it's also available on bespoke tenders too.
Built for: PRO CRM
Quicker Reporting
We've introduced further speed enhancements to make our new reporting that little bit quicker.
Built for: PRO CRM
System Export Enhancements
Over the last 12 months, we've been rewriting the way our system exports data. This month we've adapted the commission module. Now your commission exports will be generated much faster.
Built for: PRO CRM
Customer Name Added To Detailed Quote Export
We've updated our 'Detailed Quote' export (found under Partner > Procurement > Input Prices > Quotes), so that it now includes parent and child customer information.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
Supplier Insights Dashboard
We've revolutionised the dashboards of our Supplier Insights product to include the same cutting-edge technology found within our PRO CRM product.
Built for: INSIGHTS
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Twas The Week Before Christmas
Before you go, grab a...
Free Coffee
(a small gift from us to you)
In this world of climate change and endless landfills, we thought it prudent not to send a physical version of our Christmas card this year.
Instead, we’d like to invite all our friends in the energy industry to a cup of warm Christmas coffee on us.
Simply fill out the form below and we’ll email over a gift card to redeem at your local Starbucks coffee house.
Disclaimer
This offer is open to UK and USA residents only.
Your data will only be used for internal purposes and NEVER sold or supplied to a third party.
To ensure fairness we are limiting this promotion to employees of the energy management and energy procurement industries. For verification purposes, please use a company email associated with the energy industry. We may contact you directly for verification.
We reserve the right to remove this promotion at any time.
API: Turn On The Power
of
UtilityClick
Are you embedded with a generic CRM but wish that you could upgrade it with smart energy tools?
You can with the UtilityClick API.
What's an API?
An API is an intermediatory between two systems that allow them to communicate with each other. Communication can be outward, where it pushes data from your CRM (a CALL). Or it can receive information from another system (a RESPONSE).
Our API is super flexible - It can be utilised either to CALL on the power of our UtilityClick modules (like Procurement or Leads) and push results directly back into your CRM. Or your CRM can RESPOND directly to UtilityClick by pushing data to be processed with our powerful tools.
(Hint: Turn on the Power)
Why switch on the power of UtilityClick?
Easy Integration
Built with simplicity in mind. Integrate easily with minimal development work.
Accurate
Our matrix lookup configurations are updated regularly to reflect the latest supplier configurations.
Reliable
Our API is built on the latest technology. Thousands of quotes are generated on a daily basis.
Customisable
Switch on and off your suppliers. Return pricing based on your configurations.
And it's not just OUR API
Third Party APIs
If you have additional apps that you'd like to integrate with through UtilityClick, then there's a good chance we can help. Not only do we have our own APIs but we can also integrate into many different apps, such as:
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Development Update - November 2021
This month:
There's a pleasant feeling in seeing something that we've all worked so hard on finally being applied in the "real world". This month saw the cutting of ribbons on two long time projects, namely the new dashboards, and the Tickd integration.
For the dashboards in particular, it's an incredible milestone that the team can be proud of. We must also offer our thanks. Many of you depend significantly on the reporting it provides, so it's taken great understanding on your part to make the switch.
Read on to hear more about dashboards, Tickd and the "Other Bits & Bobs" that we've been working on in November.
Tickd Integration
We've now added the ability to run pricing through Tickd to all UK based CRM PRO accounts. No matter your supplier relationship coverage, you can now (optionally) utilise this new Tickd connectivity to pass on greater tariff flexibility to your customers.
In short, it can offer pricing versatility to give you an edge over competitors. We'll be working with Tickd to add even more suppliers and we'll be in touch once live.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
Dashboards Live
Our reporting had previously been powered by PowerBI and although robust, it had been clear to us for some time that it was limiting the diversity of our reporting. With the new system in place, we're completely uncapped on the variety and customisation of potential reports.
You may have seen from our recent dashboards article that we're planning on showcasing more on what the new system can do. Keep an eye on our website for a new series of video shorts that we've named: Reporting Drilldown.
Other bits and bobs...
We've also added the following other bits and bobs...
Improved Navigation For New Dashboards
We've made it quicker to jump straight into any of your dashboards from anywhere within the system. Simply select the one you need from the new dropdown on the main menu.
Built for: PRO CRM
Improved Bulk Import for MOP & DC/DA Data
When bulk uploading 'Meter Operator / Contract' information, you can now import "Deal Status" and "Accepted Date" for MOP or DCDA records. Thus saving you valuable time not having to enter information on a per meter basis.
Built for: PRO CRM (UK Only)
That’s it for this month.
Our software evolves at such an exciting rate so please feel free to get in touch to discuss any of the functionality we’ve added since you last saw it. We’ll be more than happy to arrange a demo to show you around!
Energy Reporting: 01 Introduction
Presenting a brand new UtilityClick series of video shorts that we call: Reporting Drilldown.
In this prologue to our Reporting Drilldown series, we introduce you to our Dashboards and take a look at what makes them the best of the best:
Beautiful – We’ve worked really hard to make sure that our reports look great. It’s easier not to get bored with report after report if they look fantastic! Industry Leading – No system out there comes close to how our Dashboards can present data in a clean, simple and useful way. Intuitive – Each chart is interactive, helping you to drilldown to the dataset you require. Configurable – Need your own report? Need changes made to your reports based on specific requirements? No problem. Our reports can be amended on the fly to support your business. Simple – Reports are useless if they’re overly complicated. Whilst our 10 out the box reports are comprehensive, they have been built based on customer feedback to ensure they only present the most useful information.
Keep an eye on our website and social channels over the coming weeks for new “Reporting Drilldown” video shorts, as we’ll look deeper at: Sales Opportunities, Employee Performance, Customer Rankings, Managing Your Financials, and much more...
Can't wait? See our Dashboards in action today...
Further reporting reading...
Nothing found.
Supplier Integration with BG Lite and SP
Do you need access to BG Lite and Scottish Power?
Well now you can!
UtilityClick has teamed up with Tickd to offer TPIs access to both of these suppliers (read the article explaining our avo-lutely smashing partnership with Tickd).
The process is simple:
Sign up to the UtilityClick system
Run Tickd quotes alongside your standard quotes
Accept a BG Lite or Scottish Power quote through Tickd
The system will automatically push your request directly to Tickd. Simply sit back, relax and let PRO CRM do the rest.
Not signed up to PRO CRM yet?
Get in touch now to see what all the fuss is about.
Disclaimer
UtilityClick is, and always will be a Software Company. UtilityClick does not offer aggregator services and does not share in any commission splits. Tickd manage all aggregator services.