Octopus is great and smart meters vastly over-rated. I would delay having one fitted until the last possible moment - so they get the technology under control. All of the people I know who have had one fitted, rave about it when it's installed, spend a few weeks fiddling about turning things on and off like slaves and save a minimal amount of money. Then they stop bothering.
It shouldn't take much to understand where your electricity costs come from and you don't need a meter to do it.
Your biggest costs are from electric appliances that heat - kettle, cooker, electric shower, iron - that kind of thing.
Now you have fridges and freezers.
Next is lighting - get rid of any bulb that isn't fluorescent or LED.
Then you have a load of appliances on standby. Loads of them. The advice will be to unplug them or switch off from the socket when not in use. This will not be practical for media boxes, internet routers, etc.
So really it's the same common sense with or without a Smart Meter.
Once a month I go online and submit my readings to Octopus. It's easy.
So my advice - forget about the Smart Meter, they won't save you any money you can't already save without one.
If you do switch provider, try finding a friend for a referall - often both of you will get a payment kickback in return for the recommendation, or check out Quidco etc.