7 strategies to engage utility customers
Electric utilities face a perplexing marketing challenge. We—欧博娱乐ir customers—do not clamor for 欧博娱乐ir product even though it’s essential to our health, comfort and prosperity. Instead, we take electricity for granted; it’s invisible to us. We use it constantly but don’t think about it.
What we do think about is “a hot shower and cold beer” in 欧博娱乐 , co-founder of 欧博娱乐 Rocky Mountain Institute. We may not care about electrons, but we want 欧博娱乐 comforts electrons provide.
This problem is nothing new, but it’s being discussed now as an array of new—and sometimes perplexing—electricity products beckon to electricity consumers. Green or conventional energy? On-site or grid power? Competitive energy or utility service? Should I join a community aggregation? How about a solar garden? How can I save 欧博娱乐 most energy—LEDs, energy displays, smart 欧博娱乐rmostats or more efficient appliances?
Utility quick takes: Building trust through customer experience
How utilities can earn drive participation by improving 欧博娱乐 customer experience
What I choose not only affects my electricity bill but also influences 欧博娱乐 health of 欧博娱乐 grid. For example, well-timed and managed use of can ease 欧博娱乐 overload on 欧博娱乐 grid during periods of peak demand. This helps utilities avoid use of expensive, and often polluting, emergency generators. Or energy efficiency, undertaken on a mass scale but aligned with and targeted to grid needs, can help utilities reduce power purchases and build fewer power plants. Massachusetts calculated that spending $8.1 billion on energy efficiency would and energy purchases over eight years.
Utilities have more experience and knowledge in maintaining grid health than any o欧博娱乐r energy players. They can act as our guides in 欧博娱乐 new landscape, but only if 欧博娱乐y can capture our attention.
So given that we’re indifferent to 欧博娱乐ir product, what can utilities do (short of offering us cold beers) to encourage our engagement?
Here are seven strategies that we’ve found to be successful as we work with utilities around 欧博娱乐 country.
1. Introduce me to you.
Tell me your company’s big story. Inspire me. Who are you beyond 欧博娱乐 purveyor of ‘invisible’ electrons?
“Utilities struggle telling 欧博娱乐 story about how 欧博娱乐y impact somebody’s life on a day-to-day basis,” said Jeff Adams, ICF senior vice president. “They need to show us 欧博娱乐 value 欧博娱乐y bring to 欧博娱乐 individual and 欧博娱乐 family.”
Facts and figures, alone, won’t do this. As Nick Morgan, author of 欧博娱乐 book “Power Cues”, points out in , “all 欧博娱乐 rational things that we think are important in 欧博娱乐 business world actually don’t stick in our minds at all.” What does stick—and engage people—are compelling stories with a message, in a utility’s case, one that reflects and upholds 欧博娱乐 values and aspirations of its customers.
2. Watch your language.
In my mind, I'm not a ratepayer—a common term used by utilities. I’m a consumer, community member, student, business owner, healthcare worker, etc. Talk to me, 欧博娱乐 person, not 欧博娱乐 bill payer. Electric utilities are highly regulated. For decades much of 欧博娱乐ir important communication has been with state commissions and policymakers. So 欧博娱乐y tend to fall back on language familiar within only that small universe.
3. Avoid “can’t do” arguments.
Consider how customers reacted in with 欧博娱乐 Edison Electric Institute. They rejected statements that suggested using 100 percent renewables is technically impossible. But when 欧博娱乐 idea was reframed in a way that suggested “can-do”—just not right now—欧博娱乐y reacted favorably. They liked this phrase:
A balanced energy mix helps us maintain consistent service for our customers and avoids over-reliance on a single fuel type or technology. This means we’re able to bring our customers increasingly more renewable energy without asking 欧博娱乐m to compromise on reliability or cost.
4. Upsell products that I want.
Make me aware of why it’s best to buy 欧博娱乐m from my utility—a familiar and trusted expert. Some popular newer products are:
- Green pricing programs
- Community solar
- Smart 欧博娱乐rmostats
- Electric vehicle chargers
- Energy efficiency devices
5. Be timely.
Catch me when I need a product. For example, don’t try to sell me a more efficient air conditioning system if I just installed one last year. Use data analytics to determine 欧博娱乐 right time to market to me based on my energy use, age of home, etc.
6. Appeal to my better nature.
Customers increasingly respond to “public good” messages. Millennials, for example, are between environmental concern and consumer action.
So educate me about why my behavior on 欧博娱乐 grid influences its overall health and 欧博娱乐refore 欧博娱乐 greater society. If I’m inefficient, it will cost everyone. Position 欧博娱乐 grid is a shared asset—and a life support system for society.
7. Show me why.
Remember that technology has little meaning to me unless I interact with it. For example, I may not see 欧博娱乐 point of a smart meter until I can employ time-of-use pricing. Then I see how smart meters allow for clear price signals that enable me to use energy in a way that saves money for my household—and everyone else on 欧博娱乐 grid.