InvoiceCloud was thrilled to participate in Utility 2030’s (U2030) Annual SPARK Meeting last week. Established in January 2020, U2030 serves as a dynamic community of utility industry leaders and technology partners who are dedicated to cultivating connections and practical resources that facilitate the evolution of utility companies into customer-centric powerhouses. This innovative gathering held in Los Angeles reimagined the approach utility enterprises adopt to address challenges, reshaping their trajectory towards becoming influential players in the emerging energy and water economy.

This year’s theme was centered around igniting behavioral change, and InvoiceCloud is no stranger to transforming customer behaviors. Our solution, in its very essence, is designed specifically to reshape customer behavior, guiding them towards self-service payment routes that are beneficial for both customers and billers — which is probably why our team aligns so well with the mission of U2030!

InvoiceCloud Hosted Two Insightful Discussions at SPARK

Not one but two InvoiceCloud experts hosted insightful sessions at the annual meeting. Carlyn Altheide, InvoiceCloud’s Director of Enterprise Sales, took the stage to host an Ignite Talk titled “Breaking Barriers: Strategies for Removing Friction from Utility Billing.” This engaging presentation was part of a series focusing on the event’s overarching theme and provided valuable insights into enhancing utility billing experiences.

Building on this momentum, InvoiceCloud’s Assistant Vice President of Enterprise Alliances, Travis Murray, moderated the “Customer Experience, Center of Excellence Pane: CX Practitioner Strategies for Enticing Customers to Support the New Energy & Water Economy.” The esteemed panel featured Andrea Blomquist, Utility Billing Operations Manager for the City of Roseville, an InvoiceCloud customer, further enriching the discourse with real-world perspectives.

Multiple InvoiceCloud Customers Recognized as “Women Who SPARK”

The “Women Who SPARK” award is a national program that recognizes innovators and mentors in the utility industry, have made great achievements in utility company transformation, and are poised to lead their organizations into the future. InvoiceCloud attended the SPARK Awards Ceremony & Dinner to celebrate a few customers nominated for U2030’s 2023 Women Who SPARK awards.

Nicole Bates, Customer Services Manager at Mount Pleasant Waterworks and InvoiceCloud customer was nominated for helping her organization achieve 72% e-adoption among customers. Nicole is a firm believer that Mount Pleasant not only delivers quality water and waste treatment, but quality customer service as well.

“A significant instance where I advocated for the Customer Services Department, and its impact on our core business, came from the first implementation of InvoiceCloud as our payment processor. I learned through that process, following its successful implementation, the significance of impacting the customer experience in a positive, meaningful way.”

Nicole Bates, Customer Services Manager, Mount Pleasant Waterworks

Marci Westlake, Customer Service Manager at Truckee Meadows Water Authority, was also nominated. Together with the help of InvoiceCloud, she was able to achieve a 4X increase in paperless billing among customers, contributing to $160k in annual savings in print and mail costs.

“Prior to InvoiceCloud, our customers could not store payment information in our old portal. This forced them to enter their information every time they paid a bill. Unfortunately, this led to many mistakes entering, and resulted in bills not being paid. Our customers could not schedule payments, and they could not sign up for autopay with anything but a checking account. Today our customers can pay with Apple pay, Google pay, Venmo, Paypal and Paypal Credit.  It’s really a night-and-day difference. We now have so many options and our customers love it!”

Marci Westlake, Customer Service Manager at Truckee Meadows Water Authority

To hear more from Marci, watch our interview with the Truckee Meadows team here.

We were thrilled to be a part of this year’s meeting, and we’re looking forward to next year already!