When Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, it was lights out for the U.S. territory. 

One hundred percent of the system run by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority is offline because Maria damaged every part of it. (Source)

 

The storm was bound to cause destruction to this small island.

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

Both qualitative and quantitative research provide us with great insights into the mindset of the consumer and help us identify generational and industry trends.

As we gear up for our research this fall, with results to present in early 2018, we want to know: What do you want to know? What are the questions that keep you up at night? What’s on your mind?

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

The word “sustainability” suffers from tremendous overuse in the energy space: “solar,” “green,” and “renewables”—everyone uses the same buzzwords. We’ve diluted what some words mean to a point of near meaninglessness. Your customers may say they like to hear these words (and some of them do), but few people actually care. And when they do care, it’s because your intentions and impacts are clear, tangible things that matter to people.

How can you make your efforts authentic?

Here are a few places to start:

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

Two months ago we highlighted a few lessons the energy industry could learn from the acquisition of Whole Foods. Now that the purchase is complete, we thought we'd share three more lessons we can glean from the multi-billion dollar deal.

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

The Pantone Color Institute has just released a new shade of purple in honor of the late music icon Prince.

Prince was and always will be a music icon, but what made the world's foremost color authority want to honor him?

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

Casey is a Brand Manager for KSV.  With years of experience in sustainability consulting, Casey brings outside expertise to KSV's marketing practices.  

 

Andrew Winston is a sustainability rock star.

He is a consultant, author, speaker, and strategist, and the list goes on. His books Green to Gold and The Big Pivot are must-reads for anyone interested in the private sector’s role in addressing issues like climate change, resource constraints, and the role of business in society.

We had a chance to sit down with Andrew and talk energy, and the results were fascinating if not a little frightening.

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

Don’t believe us? Watch this video, which incidentally already has 3.3 million views and over 24,000 likes thanks to a social share from Star Trek legend George Takei and a serious turn from Saturday Night Live Weekend Update alum Cecily Strong:

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

We have a lot to say when it comes to disruption in the energy industry. 

And our focus thus far has been on companies like Drift and Dandelion, lean organizations that are looking to reimagine the supply chain, focus on customer-centricity, and disrupt the utility and ESCO business model. 

But what if utilities and ESCOs could be the disruptors rather than the disrupted?

Now that's a shift in the whole "disruption" conversation. Suddenly, a challenge becomes an opportunity. 

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

Disruption in the energy space is akin to winter in the land of Westeros: We all know it's coming at some point, but no one knows when and not a soul can predict exactly what it will bring. And most of the time when we hear (or write) about disruption, it's related to supply and delivery, much like our last week's EnergyWire post on Dandelion.

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

Blockbuster went bankrupt in 2010, brought down in part by a business they didn’t even consider a competitor but rather a "very small, niche business." That "small" and "niche" business took less than ten years to disrupt Blockbuster's business model, shift consumer expectations, and eliminate the need for physical infrastructure. And now, that little company, Netflix, is worth an estimated $70B.

Aging business models, ever-shifting consumer expectations, reliant on physical infrastructure...sound familiar to anyone?  

Well, have you heard of Dandelion? They’re just a very small, niche business....that got its start at Google’s Alphabet...

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