SMUD enhances mobile engagement with assist from Opower
Sacramento’s utility district uses Opower DSS-EM in its mobile app to ensure a seamless web experience and strengthen customer relationships.
“I’m impressed with the way the Opower R&D and development teams helped us create a seamless authentication process between our web and mobile properties. They really helped us unlock greater value in our popular mobile app.”
Business challenges
Mobile is a crucial channel for service providers. It allows them to engage with customers and create an opportunity to deliver enriching apps that move the experience beyond routine bill notifications and outage alerts. But not all utility apps are created equal. The Sacramento (California) Municipal Utility District (SMUD) was intent on creating a native mobile app that customers would find valuable and would actually want to use.
Why SMUD Chose Oracle
Opower’s Data Browser widget offers compelling features, including the ability to display usage and cost information for customers in a visually appealing way, as well as to see how weather changes are likely to impact their bill. Opower also solved a technical challenge by helping SMUD implement OAuth into the app, which allows SMUD to seamlessly integrate customers with other apps to improve their experience.
Results
Since SMUD launched the native app, it has become one of the highest-rated utility mobile apps, with 4.8 out of 5 stars in the App Store. Approximately 15% of SMUD’s customers have downloaded and engaged with it. That number is likely to keep growing, considering the 21% increase in downloads since August 2020 when the Data Browser widget was integrated and SMUD began marketing the enhanced capabilities to customers.