Utilities

We've grouped together all the information our site contains on conducting research in the utilities industry to help you quickly and easily find related articles, suppliers, events, jobs, associations, glossary definitions and more.

Recent Articles

Below are the 5 most recent articles on this topic. These articles were published within the last three years and are only available to registered subscribers.

In search of synergy: Looking at an advertising and marketing campaign as the sum of many parts can help give a truer picture of the impact and effectiveness of each part. The author explores how to think about this holistic process and cites examples from an energy utility which saw returns from a series of ads that focused on different aspects of being environmentally friendly.
Beyond mere customer retention: Creating customer advocates can be especially important for a company in a regulated industry such as the energy/utilities industry. Without customer advocates, or in situations where customers feel unfavorably toward an energy concern, utilities can suffer a variety of negative consequences, including increased business costs, lawsuits, fines and construction delays.
Growth or stabilization?: The author examines recent trends in the market for customer information systems (CIS) and explores some of the factors that utilities rated as important in a CIS.
Losing steam: Energy Pulse is a national consumer study that analyzes consumer energy use, energy conservation and purchasing behaviors relative to energy-efficient and “green” products and services. About to enter its fourth consecutive year in 2008, Energy Pulse is a national consumer study that analyzes consumer energy use, energy conservation and purchasing behaviors relative to energy-efficient and “green” products and services.
Empowering the people: Using a 22-person, cross-functional team, energy firm Ameren Corporation tracks customer satisfaction along a number of metrics and has used the process and the results to improve and restructure the company's interactions with customers.

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There are 13 articles in our archive related to this topic. Below are 5 selected at random and available to all users of the site.

'Lite' Meter: Boston Edison conducted a comprehensive study to answer questions about its Lite Lights energy conservation program's four major components: program delivery, target market, promotion and estimation of energy savings. The company used a broad range of research strategies: in-depth one-on-one interviews, focus groups, phone interviews and customer surveys.
Restoring power: Detroit Edison used focus groups to define and test a host of issues related to the implementation of a new system for reporting power outages. Customers overwhelmingly supported an automated telephone solution.
Form reform: Northern States Power (NSP) took advantage of new technology to improve surveys. This article discusses how NSP switched to and uses machine-readable image/OCR (optical character recognition) forms to survey customers.
Seven rules for observational research: how to watch people do stuff: Observational research is becoming a popular method, yet many clients are not comfortable with it simply because they don't know how to get value from watching people. This article discusses seven rules for observational research that will help client and moderator alike.
The people have spoken: Portland General Electric used usability tests and focus groups to make the company's power outage telephone reporting system more user-friendly.

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Related Events

CONFIRMIT CONVERGENCE CONFERENCE: May 21-23, 2008; Confirmit will hold its first conference centered on convergence on May 21-23 at the Tower Hotel in London. For more information visit www.confirmit-community.com.
AMA MARKETING RESEARCH BOOT CAMP: May 22-23, 2008; The American Marketing Association will hold its Marketing Research Boot Camp on May 22-23 at the Embassy Suites in Chicago. For more information visit www.marketingpower.com.

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