Quick Hits for Utilities: Boosting Trust, ESG, and Communications

AdminBlog, Efficiency & Conservation, ESG Communications, Utility Communications, Utility Stakeholders

People are exhausted — physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially — after spending two years in the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t really need survey data to prove that, do we? And by “people,” I mean utilities’ customers, employees, and other stakeholders like investors, community leaders, and suppliers. So basically everyone. Despite Popular Exhaustion, People Still Trust Businesses Being exhausted means people … Read More

Utility Marketing: Are You Looking for Zebras in the Right Place?

AdminBlog, Efficiency & Conservation, Programs & Services, Utility Marketing

Shortly after I launched Egan Energy Communications, I had the good fortune to work with a business coach. When I asked her how I could find prospective clients, a perennial concern of all businesses, she replied, “If you want to see Zebras, you need to go where the Zebras are.” Her wise advice has shaped our approach to utility marketing: … Read More

Communicating on ESG: An Emerging Need for Utilities

AdminCommunities, Customers, Efficiency & Conservation, Employees, Utility Community Relations, Utility Marketing, Utility Stakeholders

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, plant trees and lead community workshops. Utilities will announce the closure of coal-fired power plants and the construction of renewable energy … Read More

Marketing Electric TOU Prices: The Time is Right

AdminBlog, Efficiency & Conservation, Utility Customer Satisfaction, Utility Marketing

The proliferation of electric vehicles, rooftop solar and other strategic forces afoot in the industry are driving a growing number of electricity providers to implement, or investigate, time of use (TOU) pricing. For some, this is a big step. Many utilities have long offered only one price option: a flat per-kilowatt-hour price. Leaders considering offering TOU pricing may be wondering … Read More

Environmental Communications: When Green is the New Black

AdminBlog, Efficiency & Conservation, Renewables, Utility Communications, Utility Marketing, Utility Stakeholders

In recent years, a growing number of electric utilities have added “sustainable” or “environmentally responsible” or “cleaner” to their longtime vision of providing electric service that is safe, affordable and reliable. That’s one part of their response to a shifting market. Even utilities operating in traditionally regulated monopoly markets, where there is no threat of losing customers to a competitor, … Read More

Utility Marketing: Cash on the Barrel or Cash Down the Drain?

Egan EnergyBlog, Efficiency & Conservation, Programs & Services, Utility Marketing

Raise your hand if you think your utility marketing efforts are misguided. Yeah, that’s what I thought. But rather than call out your utility’s marketing team, a less-confrontational approach might be to consider third-party research. That’s what today’s post is all about. You’re not saying it, I am. For years and years, corporate checkbooks have played an outsized role in … Read More

Talking About Energy (but Not About Prices)

Egan EnergyCustomer, Customers, Efficiency & Conservation, Energy News, Messaging, Non-Verbal, Programs & Services, Utility Advertising, Utility Communications, Utility Community Relations, Utility Customer Satisfaction, Utility Marketing, Utility Stakeholders, Value

It’s not easy to talk about electric or gas service. Unlike consumer goods such as cars, homes or food, consumers can’t interact directly with electric or gas service: They can’t store it, they can’t give some of it to their friends, and it doesn’t really come in different colors. That’s why many utilities end up discussing their service in terms … Read More

Energy PR — Forget Facts, Show Value!

Egan EnergyBlog, Creative, Customer, Customers, Effective, Efficiency & Conservation, Messaging, Programs & Services, Utility Communications, Utility Customer Satisfaction, Utility Marketing, Utility Media Relations, Utility Stakeholders

Whatever utility communicators are selling these days, it doesn’t look like customers are buying. And we expect the problem will get worse before it gets better. A lot of utility communication plans are tied to rate cases, and utilities are filing a lot of rate cases these days. It looks like 100 or more rate cases will be filed across … Read More