Branding Update
February 23, 2015
Communicating to
Change Customer Behaviors
In our last Branding Update we covered the different ways
that utilities communicate, and specifically addressed the communication and
branding that occurs during customer-service interactions. Go to www.utilitybranding.blogspot.com
to review this Update.
Water-Use Efficiency
Communications - For this Update we will focus on utility communications designed
to change customer behaviors, specifically water conservation or water-use
efficiency programs. These programs have
been effective because the objective is very clear: encourage customers to take
advantage of water-saving devices (for example washing machines, shower heads,
and smart sprinkler systems) and if possible adopt habits that conserve water.
Communicating the
Motivations - The added opportunity is to make sure that customers
understand why saving water is important.
Even utilities have a tendency to categorize water-use efficiency as
simply the right thing to do. But
customers can and have become confused when they conserve water and their rates
go up. This is a likely scenario unless
the utility’s rate structure is designed to cover fixed costs independent of
demand. So it’s important to embed
information about the motivations for water-use efficiency in communication
materials and content. The primary objective
of these programs is not to help customers save money today, but to ensure long-term
water reliability and cost effectiveness.
Saving water also creates environmental benefits. Every drop of water saved is a drop that is
not pumped to the customer, which saves energy, reduces carbon footprint, and
means that less water needs to be extracted from the natural environment. It’s important to recognize that when we are
communicating the motivations for increasing water-use efficiency, we have
crossed a relationship line. We are no longer
communicating to customers who simply buy water. We are now relating to customers as
shareholders, and therefore investors in the long-term performance and
reliability of the water system.
It turns out that being clear about the motivations for any
activity or investment is the key to being meaningfully transparent. And transparency is the topic for our next
Branding Update.