Palo Alto, Calif. (May 23, 2011) -- Customers expect higher service, are questioning costs, and are often struggling to make ends meet – and they expect their utilities help-out by providing information on savings, conservation, bill management and even rewards. A new study by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council has found that as utility marketers must turn an eye towards relevant, targeted content delivery and improved segmentation and targeting measures to improve outcomes, maximize profitability and effectiveness.

According to the findings of What’s Critical in the Utility Vertical, consumers are making active decisions about bill payment priority, necessitating a shift in how utility marketers activate loyal consumers who would never consider late or skipped payments. Nearly one in four consumers admitted that they have had to delay payment of bills, largely because funds were not available. An almost equal number indicate that their power bill is among their highest expenses along side of their rent/mortgage, credit card and transportation costs.

Looking to address the wallet-challenges of the customer, utility marketers are identifying key value-added communications and engagements to address key points of customer pain and need. Marketers intend to add value to the relationship by providing tips and ideas for conservation (62 percent), educating customers about charges, costs and service solutions (34 percent) and proactively addressing issues, complaints or concerns (34 percent). But only 19 percent of marketers are looking to deliver promotions, coupons or direct savings opportunities, despite a call from consumers for more opportunities to save.

The study, based on insights from an online survey of North America-based consumers (1,425) and global utility marketers (120), reveals that while general messaging about green practices are nice to receive, specific conservation, reduction and savings tips are better received, recalled and actioned upon. When asked to recall messages sent by utilities:

• Nearly 45 percent of consumers surveyed recalled receiving information about how to reduce consumption


• 40 percent of consumers remember receiving information on how to lower or manage payments through various payment options


• Only 30 percent of consumers recall receiving general information about going green

"Relevant, targeted and trusted content is moving the needle for customers," said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. "Marketers must move towards ensuring that the multitude of channels reacting customers leverages the most relevant, fresh and targeted content possible to maximize Content ROI."

Utility marketers, as the report reveals, have a significant opportunity to impact solution adoption and even purchasing decisions through the delivery of relevant, targeted communications. An impressive 40 percent of customers indicated that they purchased the products recommended to them by their utility companies. And, among consumers who recalled receiving communications from their utility companies, 73 percent took action based on messages offering specific offers, tips or solutions compared to 67 percent of consumers who were compelled to respond or react to general messages around green practices. Of the consumers who did not act on the messaging, 36 percent felt that the messages were either unrealistic, impossible to implement, or that not enough information was provided. Twenty-five percent rejected the recommendation or solutions because they felt no real advice was offered – just an abundance of marketing messaging.

"What the study reveals is a real opportunity for the utility industry to improve business outcomes by leveraging content relevance and customer engagement," stated Sandra Zoratti, Vice President of Solutions Marketing for InfoPrint Solutions Company. "While consumers acknowledge their continued struggle through financial hardships, even in a constrained economy there are loyal consumers who are open to building deeper, more engaged relationships with companies who provide more on-target service and support without adding to operational overhead."

Marketers are answering the call for relevance by focusing on better targeting and segmentation of their customers while developing programs that leverage customer insights to provide relevant content. The top three engagement priorities for the year ahead include educating customers through relevant and understandable content (35 percent) gaining a deeper understanding of needs and expectations (34 percent) and improving the relevance and value of content (33 percent).

While utility marketers are well versed in aggregating data and demonstrating a willingness to more effectively segment and target populations, they still struggle to measure and justify program investments. Of the 77 percent of marketers who conducted some form of green messaging campaign, only 29 percent failed to use any segmentation strategy to better target communications and 28 percent failed to measure the effectiveness of the campaign. Among those marketers who segmented their market by broad location based segments (zip code, etc) 50 percent deemed the program a success based on positive response or advocacy from customers.

However, among the marketers who took a more targeted approach, leveraging individual household usage and behaviors, 73 percent rated their campaign a success. Interestingly, those marketers who failed to segment or target communications almost unanimously agreed that their campaigns were not a success as 90 percent felt few customers actioned on the message, few were able to recall receiving the message or that there was no way to know as no measures were placed on the campaign.

"Precision Marketing demands measurement as much as it enables the delivery of relevant content through the optimal delivery channel," continued Zoratti. "Utilities marketers have an audience ready, willing and eager for engagement, so long as it is relevant and speaks to service and solutions. They don’t want wasted marketing messaging. They want engagement that they will repay with advocacy and positive word of mouth – and the continued belief that on-time payment of their bills is critical."

The complete results of What's Critical in the Utility Vertical can be accessed through the Precision Promotion portal, where readers will also find information and resources on how thought leaders are crafting more timely, targeted, relevant engagements with customers, and where and how the customer dynamic has changed. The 25-page paper includes expert insights along with complete detailed findings of the survey consumer and marketer surveys. To access the report, please visit: http://www.cmocouncil.org/resources/forms/download-report/index.php?id=205

About the CMO Council The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide range of global industries. The CMO Council's 6,000 members control more than $200 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 12,000 global executives across 100 countries in multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), Marketing Supply Chain Institute, Customer Experience Board, LoyaltyLeaders.org, Online Marketing Performance Institute, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). www.cmocouncil.org

About InfoPrint Solutions Company InfoPrint Solutions Company (InfoPrint) is a leading provider of Precision Marketing Services which is dedicated to delivering the right message, to the right person, at the right time. This data-driven marketing approach produces highly targeted and relevant customer communication resulting in improved ROI. InfoPrint Solutions works with the world’s leading brands in retail, financial services, insurance, banking, travel and hospitality industries. Precision Marketing Services provided include customer strategy, retention data analytics, campaign design and delivery, and campaign measurement services. The company was created in 2007 through a joint venture between Ricoh and IBM's Printing Systems Division. On July 1, 2010, InfoPrint evolved into a wholly owned subsidiary of Ricoh and a strategic member of the Ricoh Family Group. Today, InfoPrint Solutions is a global company that currently has more than 2,500 employees working across many countries. Its worldwide headquarters are located in Boulder, Colorado. More information is available at www.infoprint.com/precisionmarketing and www.profitwithloyalty.com/