Well...here I am again, getting ready for another industry conference. Luckily, my industry, the utility industry, is filled with genuinely good people and I feel lucky to have developed solid friendships with peers across the country. Yet, these people get stomped on regularly by the press and customers. I can tell you from experience that they don't deserve it.
It is amazing to me how little people know about how their power is delivered. They have no clue about the people required to build and run a power plant (coal or renewable), maintain the transmission system to get electricity and gas to your house, and then help you use it safely and efficiently. Most people only see the big company name, the CEO's salary, and their bill...and that is enough for them. The only problem is that it isn't enough, because it isn't the reality.
Most of the people who work at utilities live where they work, work hard for their paycheck (which, by the way isn't much differnet than yours), and do the best they can to make ends meet for their families. Sound familiar? Many of the people I know regularly work nights and weekends to make sure the power stays on in your house and customers are informed about what is going on, what programs and services are available to them, etc.... Utilities aren't perfect, but don't forget that they are made up of people....not villains trying to screw you out of your hard earned money, but normal people like your neighbor, your brother, your spouse. Whether people like it or not, utilities are made up of people trying to keep the lights on in their own homes...just like you and me.
I will be writing more about this in the coming months.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Guest Blog: Insights From Jon Drost on Utility Marketing
Jon Drost is a respected market research and segmentation expert within the utility industry. He also happens to be a great guy and someone I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the past several years. I appreciate his taking the time to guest blog with his informed perspectives about our shared industry and some of the issues communicators and marketers need to be looking at in 2010 and beyond.
When Matthew asked me to guest blog my first question was “How much are you paying me?” He called my bluff and said “Nevermind”. In all seriousness, I felt honored that he would be willing to post my thoughts about marketing within the Utility Industry. Hopefully, he doesn’t cancel my show after the pilot episode.
This forum provides me with the unique opportunity to get out from behind the Marketing Segmentation role that I breathe day in/day out and view Utility Marketing in a more Macro sense. My team works directly with Electric and Gas Utility marketing departments on a daily basis on behalf of a small/boutique market research firm.
There are many different views and opinions on how a Utility should attack their marketing strategy. Hopefully one aspect that everyone can agree on is that the Customer is King. When companies fail to recognize this, they tend to fail in general. For this reason, it is very important for Utilities to take a Consumer-Centric stance for their organization…after all it is the consumer who is filling out the customer satisfaction scores in the regulated market and switching providers in the de-regulated market.
For the purpose of this blog entry, I’m going to focus on a variety of marketing channels. (very briefly)
Social Media
Let’s start with the hottest topic out there in the marketing space. Social Media/Consumer Generated Content…or any other name associated with it. While Matt is much more of an expert on the use of Social Media techniques within the Utility industry regarding marketing, outage communications, and listening. I am able to add a little fuel to his fire regarding this topic. Globally, time spent on Social Media sites is up 82% year over year.
In the US, total minutes spent on social networking and blog sites increased 210% year over year.
So as you determine if engaging in Social Media is the right move for your organization, it is important to keep in mind that consumers are migrating to social sites at an alarming rate. Not only is it a great way to listen what is being said about your brand…it allows you a forum to control outgoing information. For instance, consumers tend to complain that their Utility does not do an adequate job with Environmental Stewardship or Community Involvement. Those of us in the industry know this may not necessarily be true but it is a perception of the consumer. While a lot of accomplishments are highlighted in the shareholders annual report, not a lot of your consumers are going to be reading that. Social Media can help you get the word out of your accomplishments as an organization and mainstream media does look to social media for topics and article ideas. A few Utilities are doing this with the aid of Twitter but there is tremendous room for growth in this area. I also want to highlight Sempra Energy’s micro-site www.sempraeveryday.com , this is a text book example on highlighting the topics mentioned above.
E-Mail as a marketing channel
This will be a quick topic. ABSOLUTELY
According to the 2009 Nielsen Energy Audit survey (32K+ respondents), which tracks the home energy usage behavior and attitudes of the US Consumer, approximately 30% of consumers PREFER to be contacted via email from their local utility regarding their programs/services. If your Utility does not have 30% coverage of email addresses in your data warehouse, you are certainly not alone. There are two ways to increase your coverage and I recommend doing them in succession.
First, I would use this as an opportunity to drive the adoption of Online Bill Payment, Paperless Billing, etc through segmentation and direct mail. Not only will you be enrolling a customer into a more convenient program for the them (and a more cost effective one for the utility), you’ll capture the email address for future campaigns and education regarding DSM, Renewable Energy, Community Involvement, Environmental Stewardship, Smart Grid, PHEV, etc.
Secondly, you can purchase an email address append from a variety of sources.
Why should you go in this in order? Guaranteed e-mail accuracy with the first step and then supplement with a Third-Party data set.
Direct Mail is not Dead, not even close
In the same 2009 Nielsen Energy Audit Survey state above, approximately 68% of consumers PREFER to be contact via Postal Mail from their local utility regarding programs and services. Since a direct mail campaign is not as cost effective as an e-mail campaign, it is crucial to employ sound segmentation and messaging tactics in order to have the most successful campaign possible. As an industry we should be well beyond “spray and pray” and “income targeting”…a lot of people might argue but I maintain the stance that “household income” is not the driving factor behind the decision criteria for today’s home energy consumer. It is definitely a solid variable in any segmentation schema but it will never the THE variable.
Tying it all together through Segmentation
These are just a few of the questions my team gets on a daily basis.
Which of my customers engage in social media? Who prefers to be contacted via certain marketing channels? I’m doing a direct mail campaign for a Critical Peak Pricing Program (you can substitute for any program here), who should I target? Which customers are beating us up on poor satisfaction scores? What areas in my service territory look like high potential for PHEV adoption? Where should we advertise on TV, Radio, etc? What messages should I use for the audience? Can this information help me in front of the PSC?
When a company makes the consumer the focal point of their organization, the answers to the above questions can be answered fairly easily. Market research and segmentation is the GPS of any organization, helping navigate the strategic direction.
For more information about any market research/media measurement from Nielsen. www.nielsen.com
When Matthew asked me to guest blog my first question was “How much are you paying me?” He called my bluff and said “Nevermind”. In all seriousness, I felt honored that he would be willing to post my thoughts about marketing within the Utility Industry. Hopefully, he doesn’t cancel my show after the pilot episode.
This forum provides me with the unique opportunity to get out from behind the Marketing Segmentation role that I breathe day in/day out and view Utility Marketing in a more Macro sense. My team works directly with Electric and Gas Utility marketing departments on a daily basis on behalf of a small/boutique market research firm.
There are many different views and opinions on how a Utility should attack their marketing strategy. Hopefully one aspect that everyone can agree on is that the Customer is King. When companies fail to recognize this, they tend to fail in general. For this reason, it is very important for Utilities to take a Consumer-Centric stance for their organization…after all it is the consumer who is filling out the customer satisfaction scores in the regulated market and switching providers in the de-regulated market.
For the purpose of this blog entry, I’m going to focus on a variety of marketing channels. (very briefly)
Social Media
Let’s start with the hottest topic out there in the marketing space. Social Media/Consumer Generated Content…or any other name associated with it. While Matt is much more of an expert on the use of Social Media techniques within the Utility industry regarding marketing, outage communications, and listening. I am able to add a little fuel to his fire regarding this topic. Globally, time spent on Social Media sites is up 82% year over year.
In the US, total minutes spent on social networking and blog sites increased 210% year over year.
So as you determine if engaging in Social Media is the right move for your organization, it is important to keep in mind that consumers are migrating to social sites at an alarming rate. Not only is it a great way to listen what is being said about your brand…it allows you a forum to control outgoing information. For instance, consumers tend to complain that their Utility does not do an adequate job with Environmental Stewardship or Community Involvement. Those of us in the industry know this may not necessarily be true but it is a perception of the consumer. While a lot of accomplishments are highlighted in the shareholders annual report, not a lot of your consumers are going to be reading that. Social Media can help you get the word out of your accomplishments as an organization and mainstream media does look to social media for topics and article ideas. A few Utilities are doing this with the aid of Twitter but there is tremendous room for growth in this area. I also want to highlight Sempra Energy’s micro-site www.sempraeveryday.com , this is a text book example on highlighting the topics mentioned above.
E-Mail as a marketing channel
This will be a quick topic. ABSOLUTELY
According to the 2009 Nielsen Energy Audit survey (32K+ respondents), which tracks the home energy usage behavior and attitudes of the US Consumer, approximately 30% of consumers PREFER to be contacted via email from their local utility regarding their programs/services. If your Utility does not have 30% coverage of email addresses in your data warehouse, you are certainly not alone. There are two ways to increase your coverage and I recommend doing them in succession.
First, I would use this as an opportunity to drive the adoption of Online Bill Payment, Paperless Billing, etc through segmentation and direct mail. Not only will you be enrolling a customer into a more convenient program for the them (and a more cost effective one for the utility), you’ll capture the email address for future campaigns and education regarding DSM, Renewable Energy, Community Involvement, Environmental Stewardship, Smart Grid, PHEV, etc.
Secondly, you can purchase an email address append from a variety of sources.
Why should you go in this in order? Guaranteed e-mail accuracy with the first step and then supplement with a Third-Party data set.
Direct Mail is not Dead, not even close
In the same 2009 Nielsen Energy Audit Survey state above, approximately 68% of consumers PREFER to be contact via Postal Mail from their local utility regarding programs and services. Since a direct mail campaign is not as cost effective as an e-mail campaign, it is crucial to employ sound segmentation and messaging tactics in order to have the most successful campaign possible. As an industry we should be well beyond “spray and pray” and “income targeting”…a lot of people might argue but I maintain the stance that “household income” is not the driving factor behind the decision criteria for today’s home energy consumer. It is definitely a solid variable in any segmentation schema but it will never the THE variable.
Tying it all together through Segmentation
These are just a few of the questions my team gets on a daily basis.
Which of my customers engage in social media? Who prefers to be contacted via certain marketing channels? I’m doing a direct mail campaign for a Critical Peak Pricing Program (you can substitute for any program here), who should I target? Which customers are beating us up on poor satisfaction scores? What areas in my service territory look like high potential for PHEV adoption? Where should we advertise on TV, Radio, etc? What messages should I use for the audience? Can this information help me in front of the PSC?
When a company makes the consumer the focal point of their organization, the answers to the above questions can be answered fairly easily. Market research and segmentation is the GPS of any organization, helping navigate the strategic direction.
For more information about any market research/media measurement from Nielsen. www.nielsen.com
Monday, February 1, 2010
What Utilities Should NOT Do In 2010!
2009 was filled with a lot of bad choices. Below are suggestions for making 2010 a little better, based on some of the insanity I saw last year.
- If you are thinking about giving out big bonuses...don't.
- Thinking about increasing your CEO's or exec pay? Don't do that either.
- Corporate jets are out. Take normal planes, like the rest of us.
- Don't provide money saving CFLs to your customers and then charge them heavily for it. 3 for 0 last year. Don't think you are any different.
- Don't dismiss social media as the "silly Twitter and Facebook stuff that kids do"...information vacuums continue to blind side organizations in these days of Web 2.0.
- Smart meter deployment can be wrecked by a poor communications plan. Don't assume cool technology speaks for itself. Be communication ready before, during and after your deployment. Perception is king and Smart Grid has gotten a lot of taxpayer money and a lot of unrealistic hype, which makes for a potentially volatile environment to work in. Look for a backlash in 2010 - 2011.
- In difficult situations, being opaque and obtuse is no longer a viable strategy. "Silly Matt...what do you know of such corporate operational things?" What I do know is that there is bloody trail of politician, athlete, celebrity and corporate reputation carcasses littering the 2009 landscape. People expect big companies be slimy, so surprise them by explaining what is going on, how it impacts them, how it impacts you, what you are doing about, why you care, and how people can provide feedback that you will listen to.
Is anyone else tired of seeing big baseball players cry as they admit to doing things they didn't know they were doing, but now realize that what they did was wrong, even though they didn't know they knew it was wrong at the time when they were knowingly doing it...but haven't actually admitted to doing anything at all. BAH!!!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Guest Blog (Joe Pulizzi, Junta 42) - Content Marketing Spending Report
I'm really excited to have Joe Pulizzi, founder of Junta 42 , sharing his valuable insights as a guest blogger. I truly respect his work, consider him (as do many others) one of the world's leaders in content marketing strategy and services, and am also honored to call him a friend. Thank you Joe for providing your insights!
Content Marketing Spending Report
6 in 10 Marketers Spending More on Content Marketing in 2010
by Joe Pulizzi, Founder, Junta42
For the third straight year, marketers are planning to spend significantly more on their content marketing efforts. For 2010, approximately six in 10 marketing professionals surveyed plan to increase their spending on content initiatives. The January, 2010 findings came from a survey of 259 marketing professionals.
Key Content Marketing Survey Findings:
- According to the survey, Content Marketing Spending comprises 33% of the total marketing budget (up 11% from 2008)
Smaller companies spend more than 2x that of larger companies on content marketing - Marketers are increasing their focus on mobile content solutions
- Only 7% of marketers are spending less on content in 2010
Download the complete content marketing spending report here (no signup required). Tweet this!
2010 Content Marketing Spending
59% of marketers surveyed plan to increase content marketing spending in 2010, compared with 56% in 2009 and 42% in 2008.
Content Product Breakdown
Marketers are leveraging new media content products more than ever - nearly 3/4 are leveraging content through social media and a majority are tapping into blogs and enewsletters. White papers and case studies continue to be mainstays in the content marketing portfolio.
Content Marketing Education
The clear winner for educational needs is mobile content marketing solutions, up 63% from 2009 survey figures. Considering only 10% are currently using mobile content marketing, 2011 should show a dramatic increase in that area.
Interested in Getting Your Content Program Started?
There is no doubt about it...the hardest part about content marketing is finding the right custom content provider, so make sure you check out Joe's Junta42 Custom Publishing Service, a free service that will find you the expert content providers you need. There is no oblication.
There is no doubt about it...the hardest part about content marketing is finding the right custom content provider, so make sure you check out Joe's Junta42 Custom Publishing Service, a free service that will find you the expert content providers you need. There is no oblication.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
E Source Releases White Paper on Key Lessons for EE Program Success
E Source just released a white paper entitled Launching Energy-Efficiency Programs: Ten Lessons for Success (and One for Failure). It is an excellent piece that is worth picking up. It talks about key principles to keep your EE program(s) on track. Keep in mind that this white paper is based on the collective knowledge of my company E Source, which has spent the last 23+ years focused on Demand Side Management and Demand Response, so this is a highly credible document.
For my part, I discuss the evolution of FirstEnergy's CFL program communications situation in the paper. I wish I could say I was surprised with how quickly this story moved up from the blogosphere to the mainstream media, and into the national spotlight, but it's just another volatile example of the new communications landscape utilities (and all businesses) live in. This particular story went from rather neutral/standard press coverage, to national political leaders calling for investigations in less than 48 hours. I suggest that understanding this phenomenon, specifically how quickly stories (particularly controversial ones) can gain momentum and find their way into the regional or national consciousness, is critical to the modern communications professional.
You can get the white paper off the E Source.com website here. It is painless for non-members. If you are an E Source member, you should have access to it when you log in to the site. As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.
For my part, I discuss the evolution of FirstEnergy's CFL program communications situation in the paper. I wish I could say I was surprised with how quickly this story moved up from the blogosphere to the mainstream media, and into the national spotlight, but it's just another volatile example of the new communications landscape utilities (and all businesses) live in. This particular story went from rather neutral/standard press coverage, to national political leaders calling for investigations in less than 48 hours. I suggest that understanding this phenomenon, specifically how quickly stories (particularly controversial ones) can gain momentum and find their way into the regional or national consciousness, is critical to the modern communications professional.
You can get the white paper off the E Source.com website here. It is painless for non-members. If you are an E Source member, you should have access to it when you log in to the site. As always, if you have any questions, please let me know.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Utility Brand/Sustainability/Community/PR Websites
FPL's Generation Clean website (http://www.generationclean.com/) and Sempra's Every Day Life website (http://www.sempraeveryday.com/) represents a unique brand-focused site that speaks specifically to utility values, their role in the community, efforts on sustainability (often including reports and internal/external initiatives), recent projects, and sometimes service options (like online billing or green power) that customers can utilize. It is a trend we are seeing more an more. Design and functional elements are often very strong, utilizing images of the environment and the communities they serve. The sites are often distinct from from the primary utility website. I will be discussing these sites more in 2010 through E Source, though dates at still TBD.
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