A new white paper published today by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) provides detailed information on how to engage each of SECC’s five consumer segments and highlights programs and services from electricity providers across the United States, including Xcel Energy, Con Edison, CPS Energy and Santee Cooper, that are likely to resonate with each segment.  

The “Segmentation in Action: Advancing the Customer Relationship” white paper is based on a new customer segmentation developed in SECC’s “Consumer Pulse and Market Segmentation – Wave 8” study, which was released in August 2022. That study took a fresh look at consumer wants, needs and behaviors in the context of a rapidly changing energy ecosystem that includes an expanded range of technologies and programs that can help consumers meet their personal energy goals.  

The five segments defined in the study reflect one way to understand consumer attitudes and behavior around energy use and can help electricity providers develop programs and outreach to engage consumers more effectively in energy-related activities. The new segments range from the Green Pioneers, the “sweet spot” of consumers that highly value technology, energy savings and environmental benefits, to the Comfort Seekers, the 12 percent of the U.S. population that are not concerned with saving energy and are relatively unlikely to engage in utility programs and services.  

The new white paper offers a deeper dive into the new segments, including some of the key differentiators that characterize these segments and program design elements that will effectively engage consumers in each segment. It also provides real-world examples of programs and offers developed by electricity providers that address some of these differentiating characteristics. Examples include a demand response program from San Diego Gas & Electric, a smart thermostat initiative from Ameren Illinois, a smart speaker pilot from Southern California Edison (SCE), an electric vehicle charging program from Xcel Energy and several others.  

For example, SCE’s Energy Expert Alexa Skills pilot is an optimal program for the Connected Pragmatists, a younger, tech-savvy segment of consumers who are more likely to rent their homes and own smart home devices at higher-than-average levels. Since these consumers are not overly concerned about the impact of their electricity usage, letting Alexa educate them with personalized answers to their questions is engaging and fun. The Connected Pragmatists can also provide the feedback necessary to build the knowledge base of the app as well as provide insight about the user interface, making it a win-win for both consumer and utility. The app is also portable, so wherever the Connected Pragmatist moves next, their Energy Expert comes along.  

The “Segmentation in Action: Advancing the Customer Relationship” white paper can be downloaded here and is available to members of the media on request. In addition, SECC’s President & CEO Nathan Shannon and to-be-named guest speakers will host a one-hour webinar on the paper’s highlights and top recommendations for electricity providers on Thursday, February 23 at 1 p.m. (ET).