If you’re in business, big or small, there’s seldom a question about whether you want to improve your bottom line or not – in fact in today’s business climate it’s pretty much a given. What’s not a given however, is that your business is going to have the time, or in fact know where to start in terms of ensuring you’re on the most competitive rates for key areas of cost, such as energy.
Every year, Zembl saves Australian businesses thousands by helping them shop around, secure the best rates, and take the toil out of switching, so there’s never anything standing in the way of getting the most competitive deal. Recently, and in order to keep delivering service that both Small and Commercial business customers value, Zembl commissioned a study into the challenges that stand between businesses and choosing an energy supplier – challenges that Zembl can evaporate!
4 top challenges for businesses choosing an energy supplier1
Zembl asked a sample of businesses, both SME (less than $30,000 per annum energy consumption) and commercial (greater than $30,000 per annum in energy consumption), what challenges Zembl had been able to help them overcome in terms of choosing an energy supplier – and how important they were. Here are the top 4 challenges they identified in order of importance
Time invested to find a suitable supplier
Both SMEs and commercial businesses rated the time invested to find a suitable supplier as their shared #1 barrier to overcome when choosing an energy supplier. And it’s no wonder – the Australian energy market is complex and volatile. Moreover, choosing a retailer is about more than just straight price comparison. It involves taking stock of usage data, the business’s sustainability goals and a myriad of other factors, all of which contribute to the intense time investment businesses face in finding a supplier that will give them a competitive deal.
Navigating options
For both SMEs and commercial businesses, navigating options came in a very close second in terms of a barrier to choosing energy suppliers, with commercial businesses rating the challenge slightly more important than SMEs did. Without expert help, the source of information is really the retailer’s marketing and with each retailer competing, the storm of options and offers can make it near impossible to know whether you’re comparing apples with apples. Add to that the wiggle room of negotiability and the options get greyer still. It’s no wonder ‘Navigating Options’ was in businesses top 2 for the challenges Zembl was able to help businesses overcome.
Paperwork process
Coming in a strong 3rd for Commercial Businesses was the paperwork involved in switching suppliers. For larger businesses, their energy rates are typically secured via an in-depth tender process, culminating in signing a contract for a period of up to 5 years. Every time a contract is renewed, new paperwork needs to be drawn up, checked and signed, so it’s no surprise paperwork came through as a stronger barrier for commercial businesses than it did for SME ones.
Complexity of switching suppliers
In fourth place and important to both groups was the perceived barrier of ‘complexity of switching’. Whether you’re in a long-term commercial contract or a 24-month one which is typical for SME businesses, we confirmed that all businesses see the process of switching energy suppliers as complex, and therefore a barrier to choosing an energy supplier that could be potentially better for their business bottom lines.
- Source: Zembl Customer Survey, October 2023.
Who to trust and where to start?
Also coming through strongly in the Zembl study findings as barriers to action for businesses both big and small, was knowing who to trust and where to start – two barriers that our respondents who’d used Zembl identified as being important barriers using the Zembl service had helped them overcome.
Using a trusted third party like Zembl puts an expert in your corner who can not only navigate the myriad of options, but also strip away the marketing and appraise offers from a genuine position of benefit for your business, rather than if you were to approach retailers direct and get their individual sales pitches. Negotiability is also key. Experts who live and breathe the energy market know its ebbs and flows and how the laws of supply and demand can affect the prices that can be secured. So if you’re a business wondering who to trust and where to start, the answer is Zembl!
“Having an energy expert in your corner simplifies the confusing and time-consuming world of energy, so the focus can turn squarely to where it should be – on making a positive impact on your business’s bottom line.”
Edan Shelley, Zembl Energy Expert
How Zembl can help
At Zembl, we make ‘where to start’ easy, by offering a free business energy review.
Whether you’re a small business or a bigger one, the first step is filling out our contact form and uploading your bill. What happens next will vary depending on the size of your business and how much energy it uses.
For small businesses, reviewing your energy can take less than 3 minutes on a phone call where an Energy Expert will discuss options and confirm details of any savings they can find, then switch the business to the new deal on the spot. After answering a few simple questions, we'll notify the old supplier on the business’s behalf and set up the new plan. It's that easy!
For larger businesses that spend more than $30K a month on energy, the review process is an in-depth tender where Zembl Energy Consultants go to market, find competitive offers and present back their top recommendations. Once again, the tender process is free and obligation-free.
In our experience, sitting on rising costs and doing nothing could lead to energy costs up to 25% more expensive than they need to be, so why wait? Take control of your energy costs today. Contact Zembl for your free business energy bill review and start saving money now.
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