Energy efficiency and energy management are focal points of many utility marketing efforts. Customers are often surprised to learn that their utility company wants them to use its product less. Seems pretty counterintuitive at first. Beyond savings for customers, energy efficiency efforts have a number of additional benefits, including environmental and managing system load.
When it comes to utility marketing, the only thing that stays the same is that things are always changing. This is more so than ever before with the explosion of digital marketing and in particular social media in recent years. Because of this, many utilities are trying to determine how to infuse modern marketing techniques into their communication plans. Here is a list of 5 key consumer trends that have an impact and influence on marketing for utilities and energy companies.
Email is a growing tactic being used by marketers in all industries. If you take the time to look into email marketing facts, you will find that this form of marketing is rapidly growing, with millions of people checking their email each day and a recent HubSpot survey stating that over 50% of respondents report reading most of
their email.1 Utilizing email marketing allows utilities to effectively and efficiently reach a huge captive audience of potential customers. The most important thing to remember is that email can be used in many different ways and can achieve many different goals.
Utility marketing can be challenging. It isn’t always easy to engage a utility’s customer base. Retailers seem to have it easy compared to utilities. Customers seem to have an innate interest in retailer’s products. Many utility and energy marketers are stretching to find new techniques that can be tested from other industries. Retail might not be the first industry that many utilities would consider borrowing techniques from for their marketing communications efforts. This article will explore whether any of the techniques that retailers employ make sense for utilities, and if there are any learnings or adjustments that can be applied to utility marketing.
Bill inserts have traditionally been a critical communications tactic for utilities. In the past, bill inserts have been a highly efficient form of marketing for many utilities. At a minimum, bill inserts have been a low-cost tactic to reach the majority of a utility’s customer base. According to an article in Electric Light & Power, consumers read around 50% of these inserts.1
Small and medium-sized business utility customers can be a tough group to engage and motivate. Many utility companies have gone the extra mile to create programs specifically geared toward them.
Energy efficiency is an initiative that many utility marketers are currently undertaking. When it comes to energy efficiency, the prevailing thought among most consumers and businesses tends to be, “Show me the money.” Savings tend to trump many other benefits and is generally the motivator for engaging in energy efficiency measures.
Small and medium businesses are underserved by many utility and energy marketers. Large commercial and industrial businesses carry a significant load and often have face-to-face sales resources. Residential customers often have an abundance of resources and communications attention. But often utilities have a less defined plan and set of executional tactics for small and medium businesses. This often results in larger gaps in customer satisfaction and a lack of participation in utility and energy marketers’ programs.
Many utilities are faced with a number of challenges. How do we get more customers to use our online tools for managing their bills, account information or understanding their energy usage? How do we educate and engage our customers in energy management? How do we engage customers to provide email addresses if they aren’t engaged with an online tool? How can we leverage communications to solidify our position in the marketplace?
Marketers are searching for new ways to develop and execute referral programs. These programs are popular because they benefit everyone involved: Employers look smart and savvy by providing perks to their employees, and employees in turn benefit from participating. Referral programs are also perfect for any business that faces a tight budget and aggressive sales goals, since they can work without the support of a sales force.