Excerpt from “At an Energy Hackathon in Brooklyn” by Pam Roach and Larry Glover in December's PUF:
“To understand customers requires information beyond demographics. An age, where they live, their education, is not the whole story. It’s not what determines their behavior. It's not what makes them receptive to an energy efficiency program. Or decide to pursue a career in energy versus other careers for talented individuals.
What we get out of this is a deeper understanding of the communities. In fact, that is what one of the Hackathon winning teams did. At 7 a.m. on Saturday morning they went to a nearby New York Housing Authority housing project and interviewed residents. They collected data about their feelings and attitudes about energy efficiency and their utility.
[Our firm] Breakthrough uncovers information about the uses of energy. We ask. What are their aspirations? How do those aspirations relate to energy? What does the energy sector need to do to connect with them? Because every one of the energy companies, the utilities, is aware of the importance of being driven by the customer, by the marketplace.
But sometimes energy companies don't know enough about their customers, and don't know how to learn enough to meet their objectives. We see this as an opportunity, a challenge. Our approach is often new to them. We generate insights help them refine what they offer customers and their communications to them.”
