- Gustav, in traditionally commoditized markets like energy, what role do you believe brand plays in differentiating a company’s market position?
A few years ago I would have answered that brand mattered primarily with the residential and small commercial market segment and less-so with the larger commercial and industrial market segments. This has been changing. Electric energy delivered over wires is no longer a pure commodity for any of the market segments. Brands with a dedication to service, transparency, flexibility and sustainability matter for all client segments. Brands that offer value-added services also matter for the large C&I segments.
2. How can superior market intelligence and operational support — like the services CES provides — contribute to building a stronger, more trusted energy brand?
For the large C&I market segment, market intelligence begins with transparency and education. The retail electric products preferred by large C&I are complex. Think about how a high wealth individual plans their investment portfolio and makes modifications each year with the help of an investment advisor. The ability to easily present and explain the impacts of retail electricity product choices made and opportunities to adjust each year support a Retailer’s trusted brand. CES’s SaaS platforms make this readily available, easy-to-use and understand. We continue to advance our services using technologies such as LLM AI and insights dashboards.
3. As customer expectations around transparency, reliability, and sustainability grow, how are you seeing energy brands reposition themselves to stay relevant?
Energy brands are repositioning themselves by packaging value-added services and modernized technology to their customer services and self-service portals. This is true for both end-use customers as well as in support of the large network of brokers and consultants in this space. Almost all providers offer renewable products. Those that seek to differentiate themselves with sustainably-conscience end-use customers offer more tangible renewable offerings (e.g., specific sources, local sources, real-time monitoring and tracking, …)
4. Looking ahead, what actions can the energy companies you work with take to reshape and elevate the industry’s reputation over the next five years?
The retail electricity industry’s reputation is currently under attack in several states due to the lack of transparency requirements and a handful of bad actors. The electric utility’s reputation is also at risk with rapidly increasing costs without a commensurate increase in perceived delivered value. Retail electric providers and utility companies can work together on educational/ inspirational marketing campaigns (e.g., bringing power to life, got milk). They also need to work together to develop a set of service provider rules that can protect the industry from bad actors.
5. What are you most excited about at CHARGE North America this year?
I am excited to learn and brainstorm with my peers how to improve company and industry brand by leveraging the amazing changes in technology occurring in our industry, (e.g., small-scale nuclear, demand growth from AI/ datacenters, growth of EVs and energy storage, continued growth of renewables, the use of LLM AI in customer services, …).