Translating Customer Value to Enterprise Value

Water utilities are increasingly encountering the value proposition of the organization and the service it provides both to the community and to its customers. WRF project #4566, National Economic and Labor Impacts of the Water Utility Sector, focused on the value and economic impacts of the water utility directly and indirectly to the economy and employment markets. This project will build on this work and identify the tangible and intangible benefits a water utility gains by providing value (and customer service) to its customers. Tangible benefits include regulatory economic returns, reduced regulatory and government intervention, avoided contacts and reduced re-work. Intangible benefits include the role that business brand and reputation play in building customer trust and advocacy, social license to operate and improved employee satisfaction. The intention of this project is to provide more rigor to business cases for investments in customer experience initiatives. This work is sponsored by Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA), with co-funding provided by the Water Research Foundation.

An initial scoping paper, published in 2017, is posted below under Project Papers.