Keeping Your Members Updated
Your community-owned utility has customers or members that expect to have regular updates if there are occurrences such as outages, office closures, or events such as your Annual Meeting published on your website.
They want to come to your utility website and get the information they are looking for right away. There are several different ways you can provide this information by using our Signature Collection of Web Apps. We’re here to help you craft powerful messaging to keep your members informed.
Outages
Outages can be sudden and unexpected. Fortunately, there are several ways to keep your members updated on outages.
Alerts Web App: This will show up at the top of your site where it won’t be missed. With our Alerts App, you also have several options on how to display the alert. Set the color, and whether you’d like it to display just on the homepage, or on every page. The description should be kept short, but you can add a “View More Outage Information” button. This button can take them to a page with all the info they need. You can even link to social media on the alert, such as to your Facebook page if you post updates there.
News Web App: If it is a planned, or extended outage, you have the option to keep your members updated with our News App. Provide regular updates for your members to keep track of the progress, such as information on:
- Where the outage is
- How many members are still without power
- What counties/areas are still affected
Updates on how power is restored or information on providing rest breaks for your lineman to stay safe are also very important details to provide as well. It will provide a humanized experience about the situation. It will also keep you from getting too many phone calls about the process.
Be sure to keep any outage info, like a link to an outage map, easily accessible on your site. This can be in the TopBar of your website, or as a Call to Action button on your homepage. This way, members coming to your site will always be able to find it.
Annual Meeting
Provide updates on your Annual Meeting or board member elections in the following ways.
Calendar & Events Web App: Use our Calendar & Events Web App for your Annual Meeting. This will display on the homepage with the date, time, and location. The detail view can provide more information such as a description with the meeting agenda or information such as what entertainment or door prizes there will be.
News Web App: Using our News App is great for upcoming board member elections. Send out a press release reminding members to vote or letting them know that they’ll be receiving ballots in the mail soon. It gives a nice reminder so that they won’t forget.
Office Closures
You can display holiday office closures in a variety of ways.
Calendar & Events Web App: Use the Calendar & Events Web App and pre-fill all the holiday office closures for the year. They will show up on your homepage, and automatically drop off once the day passes. Members can view the Events page to see all the office closures at once as well.
Alerts Web App: Use the Alerts Web App for the day of as another reminder for your members. You can set the end date so that the banner also disappears at the end of that particular day.
News Web App: Send out COVID-19 updates, such as limited lobby hours with our News Web App. Remind members about your contact-free options such as paying their bill:
- Online
- Over the phone
- Through the drive through kiosk
This lets them know what precautions are being taken to keep them and your employees safe.
Don’t forget to keep your footer information updated with revised office hours as well.
Stay Updated
These different web apps will keep your members happy with consistent and accurate updates on your site.
