The Comfortable Chairs at Starbucks

Marketing and social media consultant Ken Chen (Founder of EM Marketing), recently wrote in his blog:

“The big opportunity sitting right in front of most brands is to build a meaningful community or experience inside their own site. A place where their customers come, share thoughts and opinions, talk to other customers, gain valuable information, have fun, and want to return again and again. It's the online equivalent of the comfortable chairs at Starbucks.”

Ken is absolutely right…even within the energy industry. No, utilities are not particularly sexy, but we are uniquely positioned within our communities to provide important and useful content to those we serve. National consumer research shows that consumers are more aware than ever of energy and its impact on their lives. How can you be useful to your customers? How can you provide a user experience that brings them back again and again for assistance, energy insights, community support? In other words, what could your comfortable chair be?