The Consumer Council for Water has urged water retailers to do more to “sell the benefits” of the open water market to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
A new in-depth study by the water watchdog has revealed SMEs need “more convincing” that competition has something to offer them.
Deputy chief executive Phil Marshall said it was the duty of everyone in the sector to “work harder” to change the perception among many small businesses that this market has “very little to offer them”.
“Retailers and brokers should see this as a golden opportunity to sell the benefits of switching or renegotiating to a group of customers that often don’t have the time or resources to go hunting for information that should be much easier to access,” he added.
The survey found saving money was the main motivation for SMEs to switch or renegotiate, and they expected to do this through a range of services including online account management, water efficiency measures and bundled utility services.
However, smaller businesses told the Consumer Council for Water they had been “hampered” by a perceived lack of information and interest from market retailers.
They had also expected to find a price comparison website to make it easier for them to shop around. Those SMEs that had switched supplier had relied on the support of a market broker and found the process “much smoother than they had expected”.
The report’s recommendations reinforce recent calls by CCWater for retailers to reach out to small businesses and improve the visibility of their price and service offerings.
The experience of SMEs was in stark contrast to the larger organisations that took part in the study, which had a “much better” grasp of the market and the potential benefits.
However, large organisations said their experience could be improved further once the market gets to grips with issues caused by poor data, inaccurate bills and disputes between wholesalers and retailers.
CCWater will publish a league table of the best and worst suppliers for complaint-handling in June.