Changing consumer behaviour by speaking the language of energy efficiency

EiD is always looking for good articles addressing consumer attitudes and behaviour. In this article, John Hargrove, president and CEO, of the Association of Energy Services Professionals in the US, explains the importance of the write language. Do you have views on this?

To speak energy efficiency, you have to know the language

Energy industry leaders who gathered last week in Portland, Oregon for the Association of Energy Services Professionals spring meeting were schooled in speaking the language of energy efficiency — in more ways than one.

The long part of the challenge to energy efficiency adoption has been changing consumer behavior. And two speakers at the conference emphasized that communication may be the key to unlocking that challenge.

Renee Lertzman, PhD, with Brand Cool, a branding firm based in Rochester, NY, said that some basic truths should apply to communicating with energy consumers: “acknowledge me, love me, and engage me.”

Lertzman encouraged attendees to shift to a human-centered approach and discussed the six truths about consumers’ relationship with energy:

• Information can be, and should be, emotional. Don’t rely on information alone to do the trick.
• Incentives create instant gratification, not lasting change. Present incentives as one of many perks.
• Energy isn’t abstract, it’s what makes everyday life possible. Don’t talk about energy as “little things you can do.”
• Saving money is just a small part of the picture. Tell a more nuanced story than just “savings.”
• Conversations convert: don’t persuade — engage.
• Consumers have (and demand) more control than ever. Show efficacy through feedback.

Lertzman quoted Rosemary Randall, founder of Carbon Conversations, who said, “If you want people to change, you’ve got to listen to them. You’ve got to understand what stops them from making changes or engagement with issues. And you find that happens with conversations.”

But the barrier may be as simple as speaking the right language.

Catalina Lamadrid with Inova Energy Group explained that energy efficiency professionals marketing to the Hispanic community need to understand their audience’s beliefs and behaviors when it comes to energy.

Lamadrid emphasized that the Hispanic community is a cost-effective marketing target, and that barriers to participation are relatively easy to break.

She noted that “Hispanics tend to ‘adopt and adapt’ to customs and habits in the U.S. without shedding traditions and value systems.”

And she pointed out interesting contrasts between Hispanics and Caucasions:

• 70 percent of Hispanics say the Earth is warming because of human activity vs. 44 percent among whites
• 77 percent of Latino voters believe that global climate change is already happening vs 52 percent of all Americans
• 92 percent of Latino voters agree that they have a moral responsibility to take care of God’s creations on this earth.
• 86 percent of Latino voters are convinced that we have a moral duty to give our children a clean planet
• 42 percent of Hispanics are very interested in making their homes more energy efficient, vs. 25 percent of Caucasions
• 85 percent of Latino voters say they would be willing to pay higher energy prices for clean energy

So how can this information be utilized? Lamadrid said that the information can be used in program and education approaches, as well as marketing and outreach and customer service.

She said that marketers need to understand Hispanic’s relationship with energy, which includes limited interaction with the utility, a non-existent customer service culture, and very few energy efficiency programs geared to the community.

One consistent theme emerged among both presentations: “To make energy matter, we have to make energy human,” Lertzman said.