Simplicity refers to the desire to reduce the stress and clutter of modern life. In effect, it is a response to the consumerism that characterizes much of Europe and North America. Responses to it range from quitting the rat-race to buying goods and services according to how simple they are, rather than because of the price or value as a status symbol.
Scope
Case studies detailing ways for utilities to simplify life at each customer touchpoint.
Market sizing and a three-way segmentation of simplifiers for insight into a key European social trend.
Socio-economic drivers and historical context of the simplicity trend in Europe and the US.
Highlights
60% of white collar workers can be described as mass-market simplifiers - people who will change their buying behavior in pursuit of convenience, but are not willing to change their work, environment or social life. However, only 30% are willing to pay for convenience. This equates to 48 million consumers across Europe.
Advertising should communicate company values and sales propositions clearly and consistently: British Gas wanted to raise awareness of house.co.uk, so it used 50s mock horror posters to warn people about cowboy tradesmen not listed on the house.co.uk website. The campaign represented a total return of £4.80 for every £1 invested.
Kansas City Power and Light was the first energy retailer in the world to implement a total AMR programme. AMR allows accurate bills to be produced on demand without troubling the customer, but converting to an AMR operation requires the adaptation of back office functions - KCPL needed to devise a whole new programme to deal with storm damage.
Reasons to Purchase
Improve insight into customer behavior and understand a key social phenomenon in the developed world today.
Simplify the customer experience of energy provision in order to differentiate the retail proposition and improve customer loyalty.
