What’s most critical in outage communications? Message clarity - here's why:

​Clear communication is always crucial for utility companies, but it’s especially important during moments like outages. These moments of truth significantly impact how customers perceive and remember their experience with the company. 

​

1. Setting customer expectations – Clear communication ensures that customers fully understand the situation, the cause of the outage, and the steps being taken to address it. When information is conveyed concisely and in a direct manner, customers understand the situation more easily, reducing confusion and frustration.

2. Ease of comprehension – Avoiding technical jargon and complex terms, providing information in a direct manner, and showing compassion ensures customers truly understand what’s happening and are able to adjust expectations.

3. Trust and credibility – When utility companies communicate clearly and consistently during outages, with accurate and reliable information, customers find them trustworthy. Trust is a valuable asset that contributes to customer loyalty and positive brand perception.

4. Long-term customer satisfaction – Clarity in communication helps improve customer satisfaction levels. When customers feel well-informed and have a clear understanding of the situation, they are more likely to perceive the company's efforts positively over the long run, even during challenging times. This, in turn, leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction, NPS and loyalty.

See for yourself with a free audit of your outage communications. You'll get a $10 Starbucks card, too!

​

At Pragmatic, we specialize in developing communications rooted in message clarity. And we’ll review your current efforts through our lens.

We leverage a set of curated best practices proven to drive customer comprehension and response through clarity across both copy and design. When it comes to outage communications, here are a few of the key best practices we employ:

• Copy should take priority over imagery and animation – Critical information is delivered through copy, so it should be easy to find, without clutter or distraction.

• Copy should be scannable and easy to read – Given limited attention spans, key points should be visible even with a quick scan.

• Calls to action should be prominent and redundant – When there is an action to take, like checking for updates or viewing helpful tips, calls to action should be obvious and featured multiple times.

• Clarity should be prioritized over catchiness and cleverness – Customers want straightforward information during outage situations, not clever brand-forward headlines that add confusion.

• Visuals should be used to support the key message – In outage communications, use visuals only to underscore messaging – like icons and directional arrows.

We are experts in crafting clear customer communications, including outage messages, and we understand the importance of keeping your customers informed. And we’d love for you to see for yourself …