Making energy an interesting commodity
By Francesco CALABRETTA
Cluster Leader Italy and Hungary Audax Renewables
We close this 2021 with a reflection on the world of energy companies and their customers starting from two evidences with which, every day, we have to deal and from an interesting consequence that arose from them.
Done number one. The opening of a free market in the energy sector has led to the birth of a significant number of companies that distribute gas and electricity to the final consumer.
Done number two. Competition has become, to use an overused expression, "ruthless" both for historical reasons of the market (well-rooted dominant positions) and of the product. And what is offered - energy - is practically a commodity that none of us can do without but that ultimately no one is happy to pay for. As is well known, theappeal of the gas and electricity supply is poor on the final consumer who considers the energy expenditure as an unavoidable tax and not as a rewarding purchasing choice. gratification, at most, lies in the price which – it goes without saying – must be the lowest with the best conditions of withdrawal.
How to act to reverse the trend? One solution was to converge two different needs so that, from their union, satisfactory answers could come for both parties involved: customers and sales companies.
Let's start with the first ones. The 2021 BVA-DOXA report on housing desires showed how Italians are inclined towards a house that has among its characteristic features sustainability, efficiency, technology and that is "effortless". In fact, half of the interviewees say they are ready to embrace this approach to simplification when it comes to questions of home management. So: guaranteed assistance and maintenance and solutions for energy saving, sustainable mobility or safety are welcome factors.
The companies that sell energy, on the other hand, aim to increase the rate of loyalty of users who very frequently abandon them to switch to others with lower prices. One problem is the rate of switching which the ARERA Authority quantifies at 13% per year.
What convergence, then? In recent years, numerous initiatives have been moving in the direction of making the needs of both parties converge through co-marketing operations. Not only energy, but also additional services that on the one hand create that loyalty which sales companies need to build increasingly high-performance services and on the other hand improve daily life in our homes.
And the interesting twist is right here: from a useful marketing strategy a portion of that vast concept of smart home which has long been the subject of theories. In it, solutions for alternative mobility, energy efficiency, increased connectivity or the internet of things have been integrated into a single place, according to sustainable logic and in a way that guarantees well-being to those who live there. This is perhaps an unorthodox path of adoption - at least as theorists intended it - but ultimately very effective.
In this context, we too Audax Renewables we have adopted this approach, offering value-added services and products. Today we have gone further, using a prize competition to generate customer loyalty. The rewards? Like the products and services related to energy supply, they are linked to the world of technology, alternative mobility, well-being, living comfort, efficiency and sustainability.
