Engaging Utilities’ Business Customers:
An infographic series
Part 1
Select the right audience to
achieve your program goals
Delivering the right message to the right customer at
the right time is the key to a successful program—from
customer engagement and energy efficiency to demand
response (DR) and operational effectiveness.
It begins with effective segmentation and selection.
Business customers account for
over 50% of a utility’s demand.
There are over
235 million
businesses across 200 countries worldwide
60
billion
Energy efficiency savings
opportunities are worth more than
$
130
$
billion
is spent by businesses
on energy in the US
every year: they can’t be
ignored by their utilities.
annually to the
US economy.
There are over 2000 business categories of
NAICS codes—and businesses overwhelmingly
want recommendations specific to them.
This means there is a broad
diversity of business types to
develop expertise in, and too
many categories to develop
targeted messaging for.
GS-3
ES-1
Most utilities don't know much
about their small and medium
enterprise (SME) customers
beyond their rate class.
While they know more about their
large commercial and industrial (C&I)
customers, up to 30% of their
demand is still wasted.
Segmentation
helps utilities achieve their demand-side program
objectives while reducing cost to serve and improving
customer satisfaction.
First, start with key data including:
Square
Footage
Business
Type
Historical
Data
Segment 2,000 business types.
Where do you start?
One option is to organize the 2,000 NAICS codes into 100 logical
verticals for effective targeting. This involves a three step process:
Unbundle NAICS codes for smaller businesses with
significant differences.
1
Sometimes two very different
businesses can have the same NAICS
code. Dry cleaners and laundromats
use energy in different ways.
Dry Cleaners
Laundromats
6:00 a.m.
2
11:00 p.m.
Bundle NAICS codes for larger businesses with
common attributes together.
Businesses with similar operations
can be grouped together.
Automotive Body,
Paint, and
Interior Repair
3
General
Automotive
Repair
Automotive
Oil change
& Lubrication
Tackle your largest customers independently.
Leverage relationships with large C&I
customers directly to inform the best way
to serve these key accounts.
The Outcome:
100 logical SME verticals and high potential
C&I customers for effective targeting.
The next step is selecting the most suitable
verticals to achieve your program goals.
Select
100 verticals - which are right for your program?
Next, consider these three variables when determining the
suitability of a vertical for your program: the total energy
usage, the savings potential, and the engagement potential.
Total Energy
Usage
X
Savings
Potential
X
Engagement
Potential
=
Suitability
Suitability:
Program managers can prioritize which
verticals to target for best results.
Limited service restaurants or fast food restaurants are one of
the largest verticals in terms of total energy use.
Supermarkets are one of the verticals with the highest savings
potential because of refrigeration related energy waste.
Hotels have higher engagement potential due to low churn rates
and high owner operation rates.
Manufacturing facilities can have strong potential for achieving
demand response goals due to high energy consumption and
significant financial incentive to participate in DR.
Savings and demand management potential
y
it
bil
a
it
Su
Total energy
usage
Small
Medium
Large
Engagement potential
Limited service
restaurants
or fast food restaurants
are one of the largest
verticals in terms of total
energy use.
Supermarkets
are one of the verticals
with the highest savings
potential because of
refrigeration related
energy waste.
Hotels
have higher
engagement potential
due to low churn rates
and high owner
operation rates.
The next step is to focus on
the channels and the message.
1
2
3
Select the right
audience to achieve
your program goals.
Drive action with
personalized messaging.
Continuously evaluate
and improve your
program.
To learn more visit: energysmart.enernoc.com.
SOURCES:
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dun_%26_Bradstreet
Green Building Law Blog:
http://www.greenbuildinglawblog.com/uploads/file/mckinseyUS_energy_efficiency_full_report.pdf
U.S. Energy Information Administration:
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=11971
http://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/archive/cbecs/cbecs2003/detailed_tables_2003/2003set10/200
3html/c13.html
International Finance Corporation - World Bank
http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/9ae1dd80495860d6a482b519583b6d16/MSME-CI-AnalysisNote.pdf?MOD=AJ
PERES&CACHEID=9ae1dd80495860d6a482b519583b6d16
US Energy Information Administration
http://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/data/archive/cbecs/cbecs2003/detailed_tables_2003/2003set10/200
3html/c13.html
Navigant Research
http://www.navigantresearch.com/blog/small-and-medium-businesses-an-untapped-energy-efficiency-market