Blog, Customer, Messaging, Utility Communications, Utility Leadership
Utility Customer Messaging: Leaders Go First
My town, like many in the West, faces an ongoing imbalance in water, where demand exceeds supply. Going into the summer of 2021, the water conditions in Lafayette, Colorado, a Denver suburb, are not nearly as bad as they are in Californi...
Blog, Creative, Effective, Utility Communications
Storytelling: Show, Don’t Tell (!) in Your Utility Communications
Utility communicators looking to boost their storytelling skills might want to check out eulogies. Not trying to be morbid here, but the best eulogies offer a master class in storytelling. Earlier this year, as you may know, there was a ...
Blog, Customer, Effective, Messaging, Utility Communications, Utility Marketing, Utility Rate Case Communications, Utility Stakeholders
Utility Rate Case Communications: Do It Right
Among policymakers, there’s a lot more talk about energy infrastructure these days, following the catastrophic Texas power blackouts and the Biden administration’s $2.25-trillion infrastructure plan. That means rate cases and rate ca...
Customer, Customers, Utility Communications, Utility Customer Satisfaction, Utility Stakeholders
Customer Outreach: You Reap What You Sow
Ever wonder why some companies emerge from crises faster, with more of their reputation intact, while others die a death of a thousand cuts? The answer can be found in the adage, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” You can find all kind...
Communities, Customers, Efficiency & Conservation, Employees, Utility Community Relations, Utility Marketing, Utility Stakeholders
Communicating on ESG: An Emerging Need for Utilities
Many utility communicators and marketers have Earth Day (April 22) circled on their calendar. This year’s Earth Day, if history is any guide, promises to be busy. Employees will volunteer to pick up trash from streams, rivers and parks...
Blog, Effective, Messaging, Utility Communications
Repetition, the Secret Sauce of Message Discipline
One of the cornerstones of effective communications, a former presidential adviser once said, is message discipline: “Right about the time the communications staff is about to throw up from repeating the same message,” he said, “th...
Blog, Creative, Effective, Utility Communications
New Year’s Resolution: Ban Buzzwords!
Credit: iStock Take a look at that wall of Post-it notes. How many of those buzzwords and meaningless phrases have crept into your vocabulary (and hence your writing)? I will own up to using a few of those phrases, including “client fa...
Blog, Effective, Utility Communications
Gifts for Energy Communicators: Our Best-Read Content from 2020
Gifts for Energy Communicators: Our Best-Read Content from 2020 We’re finally winding down a year like no other. Nearly all of our workplaces, if not our lives, were roiled by the COVID-19 pandemic. A record number of hurricanes hit th...
Blog, Customer, Utility Communications, Utility Marketing
Boost Your Marketing ROI with Hero’s Journey Storytelling
When developing content to market customer programs, there are several options for energy company marketers and communicators. One approach is straightforward, fact-based and quantitative: “You will save about $250 per year if you enro...
Blog, Customer, Customers, Utility Communications, Utility Customer Satisfaction, Utility Stakeholders
Getting Outside Yourself: Customer Communications
Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “Get over yourself” sometime in your life. Today I’m going to adapt that and say, when writing for customers or other external stakeholders, “Get outside yourself.” Years ago, when I was a commu...