How Utilities are Responding to the Customer's Fear

Savings has a new outcry and meaning. It’s a term coined nationally and the energy efficiency industry is noticing during this pandemic. How are utilities responding? ¹Some say there has been a decline to energy-efficient programs, but EFI says otherwise. EFI has seen an increase in marketing requests, shipments, and overall participation across the board, with a particular spike in energy efficiency kits.

of workers are now working from home nationwide.*4

Although EFI agrees that times have changed and the energy-efficient programs today are not equivalent to January of 2020, they have not come to a screeching halt. Instead, utilities and EFI have switched focus onto what customers’ needs are during this pandemic. EFI’s thought leadership is, “Fear can cripple customers’ participation, which is why it’s important to make programs seamless and easy for them,” said Jonathan Coons, Director of Marketing. The solution is simple and EFI has seen it. While online marketplaces stay steady in the race, the focus has turned to energy efficiency kits. ² People are in their homes now more than ever, and it’s imperative their savings needs are met. Jonathan Coons, the Director of Marketing at EFI, stated, “Now is the time for relationships to strengthen. If you can meet your customers during this time of need, you’ve proven to be a trusted source. People will not forget your kindness.”

https://news.gallup.com/poll/306695/workers-discovering-affinity-remote-work.aspx

Kits are allowing utilities to reach their customers and provide positive reassurance of relationships. Depending on the products selected by the utility, ³one kit could offer up to 50% energy savings from standard lighting and water fixtures. Looking at a sneak peek of EFI’s February and March’s efforts, there was 31% lift in kit offerings. Over the past two months, clients have ramped the outreach with products such as thermostats, LEDs, water products, and advanced power strips that are completely free to the customer.

Here’s how it works.

#1	Utility designs the personalized kit with personalized messaging 72% lift in program adoption
#2	Select your energy-efficient products of choice Usual 50% of savings in a kit
#3	EFI procures and ships the kit directly to the customer doorstep 78 NPS Score

Ultimately, the utility and customer relationships are strengthened with personalized touchpoints.

[1] - https://www.utilitydive.com/news/energy-efficiency-efforts-are-shutting-down-due-to-covid-19-threatening-jo/575496/

[2] https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/brags/news-releases

[3]  https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/energy-saver

[4] https://news.gallup.com/poll/306695/workers-discovering-affinity-remote-work.aspx