How Business Stream Provides The Right Support To Customers In Need
The Company
Meet Business Stream
Business Stream is one of the largest water retailers in the UK and a trusted service provider to over 300,000 businesses, organisations and public sector bodies across Scotland and England – from small corner shops to large industrial estates.
The company has over 17 years’ experience operating in the competitive water market – longer than anyone else – providing a range of services to business customers including billing, water efficiency support and water and waste water management solutions.
In 2019, the company launched its vision to make a positive difference to its customers, its people, the environment and local communities and has since launched a wide range of initiatives to bring its vision to life – gaining external recognition for its commitment to driving positive change.
The Problem
Equipping Teams with the right tools and training
Business Stream has always been committed to helping its customers but has, in more recent years, felt the need to put additional support measures in place in response to the challenging external environment. One example of this is the launch of their Customer Vulnerability Framework.
While Business Stream recognise that as a water retailer they’re unlikely to be a customer’s primary source for support, they do believe that they (and other B2B service providers) have a role to play in supporting customers in need. This belief is what led them to develop and launch their customer vulnerability strategy in October 2024.
Key to the success of their customer vulnerability programme is to ensure their customer facing teams are equipped with the right skills, resources and capabilities to feel confident in having supportive conversations with customers – which is why the company is investing in delivering expert-led training to all of their frontline colleagues.
In addition, Business Stream wanted to identify an external signposting partner that would better equip their colleagues to provide support to customers who are struggling.
The Solution
Offering Broader Access to Support
The National Support Network (NSN) allows Business Stream to signpost their customers to additional support services when their needs go beyond what they can directly provide. This type of partnership helps to broaden the scope of assistance available, ensuring that customers (and colleagues) have access to relevant resources and guidance when they need it most.
Since implementing the NSN Support hub within its internal and external websites, Business Stream’s customers and colleagues can instantly access relevant and accurate resources and guidance across a broad range of topics, like bereavement, mental health, financial services, and health and social care.
The Results
Smooth and easy onboarding and Positive Feedback
Business Stream has been delighted with the onboarding process and on-going support provided by NSN, commenting: “The onboarding process went extremely smoothly, with the team providing informative demos when needed to bring NSN to life with colleagues at Business Stream ahead of its launch”.
Since working with NSN in December 2024 the Support Hub had been accessed by customers and colleagues over 2,500 times in the first few months – demonstrating the need for such a service:
“National Support Network is a useful place to guide customers to for further help with a wide range of topics. Having this tool makes me more confident speaking with customers who need some extra support. National Support Network is also great for colleagues to refer to for advice and support.” – Business Steam colleague
“National Support Network is a great service for our customers to look to when going through a difficult time, as it signposts them to professional support on such a wide range of topics. I’m delighted we’ve partnered with them.” – Business Stream colleague