Zappy Insights
What Electric Utilities Can Learn From The Auto Industry
Electric utilities have it easy when it comes to acquiring new customers — in most of the United States, the power sector is composed of local monopolies. Automakers, on the other hand, have to compete and convince buyers in a crowded marketplace, and get really good at understanding how their brand impacts sales.
Electric Vehicles Are Changing The Talent Game for Utilities
On June 6th 1884, Nikola Tesla arrived in New York from his native Europe.
He was one of many talented engineers eager to participate in the nascent American electricity industry. They all aspired to work with the likes of Thomas Edison to invent and improve generators, distribution systems, light bulbs, motors – the basic building blocks of power grids, still in use today.
Talking to Customers about EVs
As new business models develop, utilities are engaging consumers on the benefits of EVs. Historically, the interaction between the consumer and their utility has been around the delivery of electricity, so when a utility promotes EVs, it needs to do so in a way that is aligned with familiar triggers associated with the experience of car ownership instead of the consumption of electricity.
The Utility Credibility Gap
Here is an uncomfortable truth: the average customer doesn’t think their utility can help them find a car.