And in this two part video series, shot this summer, we asked people a series of questions about energy, energy efficiency and renewables, utility communications and their preferences.
Worth noting: all of the customers featured in this video are customers of a single utility.
This week, we'll be sharing the first video and the first 3 of our Top 5 Takeaways from this KSV POV Video Series. Tune in next week for the next two takeaways and the next video in this series.
Watch the video and hear from customers on if energy efficiency matters to them and if their provider communicates about it:
New Customer Video: Part 2: On Utility Communication and What Customers REALLY Want
Top Takeaways: 1-3
1. People care about energy efficiency and immediately relate it to what matters most in their lives.
This is a consistent theme in all of the interviews that we do. People immediately relate energy efficiency to whatever matters most to them: being able to save money to have peace of mind, a more comfortable home for their family, or for increased employee comfort or even tenant happiness. It's not a big leap for people to make, they get there easily and often they lead us there in the conversations with very little prompting. And while what matters most is different to each person, almost all of them can see the implications that energy savings could have on that thing.
2. They are not hearing the messages from their utility.
This isn't a surprise overall, from our 2016 research we know that 66% of people can't recall the last ad they saw from their utility and only 37% say their utility creates communications that get their attention.
3. They have mixed feelings about their utility provider.
So this was interesting. Often, when we go out and speak with people there is a neutrality to positive when people talk about their utility. In this particular case, there were quite a few negatives that we heard. In fact one of the gentlemen featured in the video gave an emphatic "THUMBS DOWN" when we asked how he felt about his utility. Why?
"Because the prices are ridiculous, and we have no options. It's their way or the highway."
It was also surprising how many people referenced increased utility "fees" and a correlation between that and C suite pay increases they had read about in the news. In their minds, the money was going directly from their pockets to someone else's, and they didn't like it one bit.
Our take? There is an opportunity for this utility in particular to shift the conversation and add value to their consumers experience. The customers are waiting for it and open to it, but the utility needs to take action, and fast.
Next week: See the next video in this series and hear from these same customers on the communications they receive from their provider today and what they think about the idea of receiving more personalized communications in the future.
New Customer Video: Part 2: On Utility Communication and What Customers REALLY Want
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