Exclusive Interview: Michael Wood, Managing Director of Utility360
Franchisors Name: Michael Wood, Managing Director
Name of Franchise: Utility360
Tell us about how/when the business was started and the motivation behind establishing the company.
Utility360 was founded in 2010. It was started in response to requests from suppliers who wanted to increase the volume of business from energy brokers without the hassle of dealing with them on an individual basis. The principles that underpinned the business were to create a processing system which helped customers to get the best choice from the market and ensure that their requirements were met by suppliers in the most efficient way possible.
When and why did you decide to go down the franchise route?
The idea for looking at a franchise operation began around 4 years ago. Changes in the energy market to focus on renewable energy production were beginning to increase the cost of energy. New codes of practice were beginning to feed into the industry from suppliers and regulators wishing to curb some of the mis-selling of some brokers in the market. There was increased technical development which could help customers monitor and reduce consumption by changing practices or installing new equipment. Utility360 could see the opportunities these changes could deliver to customers and stakeholders. However, the existing business model didn’t seem to be suited to taking advantage of these changes, so we began the journey which has ultimately brought us to franchising the business.
What have been the company’s biggest achievements/successes to date so far?
"We are one of a handful of businesses who have an agency with all the big six energy companies."
We also deal with many of the smaller energy companies where they offer a high level of customer service and are financially stable. This allows us to be able to offer a true full market service of suppliers to our partners and customers
What challenges have you had to overcome?
The market has changed substantially in the past 8 years we have been operating. There have been many changes in the way the suppliers have been asked to deal with customers. This has in turn affected how we interact with our customers. Ensuring that our processes meet these needs is an area we continually develop. In addition, changes to technology have opened up opportunities to help customers reduce their energy consumption. Consequently, we have adapted the business model to ensure we can help deliver these benefits to customers.
What differentiates Utility360 from the competition?
We believe we are the only full market utility consultancy committed to delivering a personal service to customers on a face to face basis.
In your opinion, what makes a successful Utility360 franchisee?
We are passionate about delivering first class service and advice to customers. We expect that our franchisees will also share these values. We have excellent technical knowledge at head office, so you don’t need to have any background in energy as we will provide full training. However, you will need to be someone with good learning capacity as the business never stands still. Experience of dealing in a business to business environment would be a real help and you need to be confident engaging with new people.
What changes have you seen in your industry over recent year? And how have you adapted to them?
When we started our business, the market was focused almost exclusively on contract renewal. At that stage the suppliers were rigidly sticking to 1 and 2-year contracts for gas and electricity. At the end of the contract term, customers were forced to stay with suppliers on high prices unless they met stringent termination requirements. Since then the options for contracts have extended dramatically and now include 5-year terms and the ability to organise a contract up to 12 months before it will start. This means that there is now much more choice and a greater need to help customers understand what is right for their business.
In addition, there are now lots of opportunities to help people to monitor and reduce their energy use through options such as smart technology and energy saving devices. Developments in battery technology will soon deliver the chance to store energy bought at a cheap time of day and use it at an expensive time of day hence saving money. Energy has evolved into a truly dynamic business.
What does the future hold for Utility360?
"This is a sector which never sleeps and is constantly developing."
Every business needs utilities to operate. Changes of all sorts are impacting on the costs of utilities, making them a key component of business costs. The supplier model in this sector of the economy is based on gaining customers on low prices and then making money from them in future years. Therefore, it will always be possible to help busy businesses to manage and even reduce these costs. We believe this will be increasingly important in the years to come.
What expansion plans have you got nationally and internationally?
Our first goal is to develop the Franchise operation to be a national business with around 100 Franchisees delivering an excellent service and being rewarded and fulfilled for their efforts. We aren’t actively looking to develop outside the UK at the moment. However, the system would transfer to other countries and there are several countries who have a similar energy model to the UK, so you never know.
If you had to do it all again, what would you do differently?
There’s no doubt that we’ve come on quite a journey since 2010. There have been many things which we’ve done well and some things which haven’t quite gone to plan. Looking back though it’s often been those elements which haven’t worked out which have taught us the most. Overall, I don’t think I’d want to do it any differently…. I’d just wish we’d looked at the franchise option sooner!
To learn more of franchise opportunites with Utility360, download a prospectus here!
