Online apps crucial to energy efficiency awareness February 21, 2012
Posted by Will Adams in Utility Industry News.Tags: billing and payment, Chartwell, customer engagement, energy conservation, mobile communications, online energy information, Web-based customer service
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In a hyper-connected world with disappearing waiting lines, fewer phone calls and less face-to-face meetings, “There’s an app for that,” seems fitting for, well, everything these days. The proliferation of smartphone applications and social media has given the expectation of instant gratification. Why call when you can text? Who needs ‘real’ friends when you can have hundreds of Facebook friends? How many readers are buying hard copy books? Just download some and you won’t even have to leave the house.
Whether these innovations in technology are disconcerting or comforting to you or not, there’s no doubt they have changed the way people communicate and interact. The same is true for utilities. As demand shifts to more automated self-service channels online, web-based solutions are becoming increasingly popular and important for utilities looking to enhance customer communications and promote new products and services. (more…)
The industry keeps getting smarter and smarter: Hot topics at DistribuTECH January 31, 2012
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, customer engagement, Customer service automation, demand response, DistribuTECH, electric vehicle, electric vehicles, energy conservation, energy usage, meter data, mobile apps, online energy information, plug-in electric vehicle, smart grid, smart meter, smart meters, utilities, utility, utility communications
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Analytics, metrics, meters, home automation gadgets, bucket trucks, plug-in electric cars, dog bite repellent and some remote control vehicle that looked like the Mars lander. Even Hooter’s girls. Yes, the 2012 DistribuTECH had something for just about everyone last week in San Antonio.
Once again, the exhibit hall was extensive, or, as one attendee quipped, “big enough to land a [Boeing] 747 on.” We at Chartwell couldn’t cover it all. So we stayed focused. What was there to improve the utility customer experience? And the answer: still plenty. Here’s a recap (more…)
Do you live in a barn?! October 6, 2011
Posted by Stacey Bailey in Uncategorized.Tags: cfl, Chartwell, Chartwell research, customer engagement, energy, energy conservation, energy efficien, energy efficiency, energy usage, marketing, Residential Energy Efficiency, school-based programs, utility
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Last week I was sifting through 1500+ responses on one of Chartwell’s recent residential consumer surveys and laughed out loud at a response with which I strongly identified.
The question was “How likely are you to use the following tools to monitor and control your energy use in the future”. We gave respondents choices of website, programmable thermostat, smart phone app, etc. and also gave them an “other” field with a text box to see what they would come up with.
One respondent had written: “a way to get my kid to close the front door.” I can’t even imagine the ROI on that one.
Home energy management and customer engagement: Sprinters should avoid this marathon July 12, 2011
Posted by Scott Johnson in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, customer service, energy conservation, energy usage, Google PowerMeter, market research, meter data, online energy information, smart grid, smart meter, utility customer engagement
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Google and Microsoft’s low-key exit from the home energy management market after just two years underscores what many electric utilities are learning and Chartwell research shows – convincing large numbers of consumers to pay more attention to their energy use and act on that information will be a long, uphill journey. (more…)
The energy industry is quite complex, as some of the customer-oriented tech companies are learning June 15, 2011
Posted by Darren Epps in Utility Industry News.Tags: Apple, Chartwell research, customer communications, demand response, EMACS, energy conservation, energy usage, Google PowerMeter, in-home displays, Microsoft Hohm, online energy information, Oracle, Siemens, smart meter, Tendril, utilities, utility communications
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San Diego Gas & Electric is running a pilot this summer that will include in-home displays like this one and programmable communicating thermostats.
Many people are conditioned to believe that, due to all their resources and innovations, giants like Google and Microsoft can immerse themselves into any industry, exploit the current products, improve them and cash the large check. It’s like the kids in high school who could effortlessly dominate every sport. That would be the script, some thought, for customer engagement in energy management. Here come the jocks. Everyone move aside. (more…)
When it comes to energy conservation, energy consumers consider their wallets first June 8, 2011
Posted by Dennis Smith in Uncategorized.Tags: Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, energy conservation, energy efficiency, energy usage, market research, online energy information, smart grid, utilities, utility customer engagement, utility market research
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Chartwell’s Smart Grid Customer Engagement Council is well into its second year of studying the behaviors of North American consumers concerning their energy usage and attitudes. With a focus this year on energy usage tools and behaviors, the Council, which is made up of utility companies that work with Chartwell, has already made a couple of important findings. Among those:
- Consumers are interested in their energy usage and see the long-term need to stay abreast of it; but
- Engaging them with the right tools is the real challenge. In other words, utilities will have to offer energy monitoring products that are easy to use and which add value to their customers’ lives.
One thing is clear, however, from Chartwell’s years of research and thousands of consumer interviews: (more…)
Unlocking the mysteries of customer engagement March 10, 2011
Posted by Mark Hall in Utility Industry News.Tags: customer behavior, customer engagement, demand response, energy conservation, energy efficiency, smart grid, smart meters
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Today’s industry buzz is that utilities need to better engage their customers to ensure the success of smart meter and smart grid deployments.
Pretty simple message, right?
While it’s certainly easy for anyone to point out the obvious – that more engagement is needed – strategies for accomplishing this would certainly be more useful. It should be noted that I don’t write this to knock those who hammer this point home; in fact, I am just as guilty as anyone. However, I think it’s time to offer solutions to the problem instead of just hyping it. (more…)
Cocktail profiling and how your customers feel when you lead with assumptions November 30, 2010
Posted by Vanessa Edmonds in Utility Industry News.Tags: abt SRBI, Chartwell, customer assumptions, customer profiling, energy conservation, energy efficiency, ENERGY STAR® awareness, energy suppliers, energy-efficient products, energy-efficient services, energy-saving behavior, February utility conference, market research, market research initiative, national random-digit dial telephone survey, Research into Action, utility market research, utility market research conference, Utility Market Research Summit
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During a recent 3-hour layover at the Dallas airport, I sat down at a high-boy in one of the airport’s restaurants. As the waitress approached, she gave me a quick once-over and asked if I wanted a strawberry daiquiri. Was it because daiquiris were on special? Not likely. After taking my order, she offered the travelers next to me a couple of microbrews, and the woman behind me a glass of wine.
Sometimes reality is hard to accept, and on that particular day I had to entertain the thought that I look like the kind of woman who drinks a cocktail that conjures up images of high school grads unsupervised in Mazatlan.
While I sat there drinking Diet Coke, (it was lunch time, afterall) it occurred to me that I have committed the same type of offense as a marketer. How many times have we made assumptions about our customers and prospects based on very few facts? More often than we probably care to admit.
