Note to utilities: Best-in-class consumer engagement doesn't just happen

By Patty Durand

SGCC Executive Director

The 2012 Smart Grid Consumer Symposium held at DistribuTECH on Jan. 23 by my organization, Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC), came and went – but not without airing some provocative discussions about the state of the consumer. I presented the opening session summarizing the seven key themes in SGCC’s State of the Consumer Report. This was followed by an engaging discussion with panelists who took a deep dive in answering strategic questions like: what are the set of best practices that drive consumer engagement and acceptance of the smart grid?; how have consumer attitudes and favorability toward the smart grid changed over time?; and how can segmentation enhance the performance of smart grid advocacy efforts, products, programs and marketing strategies?  

Noted highlights from the panel discussion were American Electric Power’s (AEP) efforts to engage residential customers early in the deployment of smart meters. Teri Berliner, Director of Consumer Programs at AEP Ohio described, "We had very few complaints…we hosted community events and public forums to explain our deployment, which added to our foundation of trust and served to further our goodwill." As noted in SGCC’s Excellence in Consumer Engagement Study, AEP Ohio’s marketing and communication plan included staging messages, employing welcome letters and phone calls prior to installation, placing door hangers after rollout, and conducting ongoing communication through outbound phone calls email, and direct mail. Communicating the right message at the right time, using various channels, minimized consumer backlash for AEP.  

The discussion on best practices in consumer engagement flowed into a conversation about the ways in which segmentation of the residential electric market can optimize smart grid program messaging and identify segments who are better prospects for offerings, and which are not. Berliner said, "instead of five consumer segments, AEP developed six segments of the residential customer, which are now being incorporated throughout the business to further our impact. We plan to use these segments to maximize our marketing efforts by communicating relevant program benefits to targeted segments."  

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