As we discussed in our last EnergyWire, rapid advancements in generative AI are changing the ways we find and create content before our very eyes. It's an exciting time to be a digital citizen—and it can feel like an intimidating time to be a brand or website owner as well. No one knows exactly what the future looks like, but we all know AI is here to stay. 

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Innovation, Smart Technology, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Search, SEO, Paid Search

AI is everywhere: from project management tools and grocery shopping apps to world-renowned art museums and personal beauty-care shoppers, and everything in between. Soon, it might become unimaginable to perform our jobs without the assistance of AI tools. 

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Innovation, Inspiration, Smart Technology, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices, AI, Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way businesses operate and interact with customers. Brands that invest in AI technology can gain a competitive edge by automating repetitive tasks, improving decision-making, and providing personalized experiences for customers.

Topics: Digital Transformation and User Experience, Content Marketing, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices, AI, Artificial Intelligence

2021 sure has thrown the agency world its fair share of curveballs. But with it came new opportunities. We just had to find the right places to take some swings. Among the most notable: a shift in our staffing approach, and how we’ve been able to leverage the MAGNET Global Network, 40 of the most innovative, independently-owned agencies located around the globe.

For the past four decades, KSV has had two addresses. One in Burlington, VT, the other in New York, NY. Employees either lived in VT or NYC. Or close enough to one of those two places to work from the KSV office located there. Not unlike the rest of the industry, if there was an office you go there and work.

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Branding and Brand Value, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices

Changing customer needs, shifting client expectations, rapidly evolving technology, unforeseen global circumstances and long overdue social awakenings… plain and simple, marketing is not what it “used to be.” The classic marketing mix of product, price, place and promotion - the 4 P’s seared into the memories of those of us who may have majored in marketing and communications back in the day - has become much more nuanced and a whole lot more complex. 

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Branding and Brand Value, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices

An annual quick Google search will tell you that customers are different. They have different priorities, different concerns and higher expectations. Those differences significantly affect the customer journey, or the total sum of experiences that customers go through when interacting with your company and brand. 

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Research, Branding and Brand Value, Sustainability Marketing, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices

In the spring of this year, solar installations in the US surpassed two million, just three short years after the solar industry completed its millionth installation, a milestone that took 40 years to reach.

Policies spurred by ambitious state renewable energy commitments have helped speed up the adoption of renewables in general, but the growth of solar is also driven by enormous consumer demand. 

At KSV, we have seen this firsthand.

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Utility Communications, Data and Analytics, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Innovation, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices, Audience Segmentation

According to the USDA, the number of farmers markets in the country has nearly doubled in the past 10 years. And the number of U.S. households growing food at home or in a community garden has increased 200 percent from 2008 levels, according to the National Gardening Association.

Why? 

Consumers’ purchasing decisions are being driven by their key values. 

Independence. Resilience. Self-reliance. Local. Sustainable. These values are shifting consumer behavior and increasing demand for specific types of goods.  

Why should utilities or solar providers care? Because we see these very same values come into play when we talk to consumers about solar.

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Utility Communications, Data and Analytics, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Innovation, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices, Audience Segmentation

We’ve talked previously about how customer expectations and demands are rapidly changing—customers expect a modern and easy-to-use experience when they interact with energy providers’ digital products and services. We know that keeping up with evolving customer expectations and technology trends can be difficult and overwhelming. Oftentimes, it’s hard to know where to start.

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Utility Communications, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Marketing Strategy and Best Practices

If you find that question hard to answer, you’re not alone. For many energy companies, establishing a distinct personality through social media often seems like a pipe dream, especially when they have enough trouble establishing a regular presence or a consistent content marketing strategy on their social media channels. When tasked with so much else, creating a brand personality via social often feels like the extra sprinkles on a sundae—nice to have, but does it make a difference in the quality of the product?

Topics: Customer-Centric Marketing, Utility Communications, Digital Transformation and User Experience, Clean Energy, Social Media Strategy and Best Practices, Inspiration, Branding and Brand Value