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Effective Marketing Strategies for Budget-Conscious Utilities

Marketers across all industries face the ongoing challenge of managing marketing initiatives with a conscious budget. For utilities, this challenge often means a lack of time and bandwidth, technology restraints, competing priorities and more.

However, utilities can still make a significant marketing impact by strategically addressing these challenges. With careful planning and innovative approaches, utilities can achieve substantial marketing results, even with a conscious budget.

Understand Your Audience

Before you can effectively market to customers, you first need to understand them. Knowing your customers’ needs, interests and how your utility can provide value to them is the first step in creating an impactful marketing strategy.

Identify what your team wants to accomplish with your marketing efforts and make sure it aligns with your customers and the utility’s overarching goals. Whether the focus is on increasing customer engagement, promoting conservation or driving program participation, clear objectives will guide your strategy and help decide where you allocate your budget.

Leverage Different Marketing Initiatives

While it may seem that marketing always requires a large budget and an expansive team of experts, the reality is that not every company has that luxury. There are many cost-efficient ways to reach customers and affordable marketing solutions that can showcase your utility’s offerings, including through:

Digital
Social Media
Email
Content
Community Engagement

Example of affordable marketing solutions for conscious-budget utilities.

Digital Marketing

There are many inexpensive digital marketing strategies for utilities with a conscious budget. To start, ensure that your website is professional and up to date to maintain relevance. Platforms like WordPress, Wix and Squarespace offer user-friendly templates compatible with mobile and desktop at an affordable cost.

Your utility can also take advantage of search engine optimization (SEO) to bring people to your website and other pages. While SEO can be expensive, tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner or Yoast SEO are affordable ways to drive organic traffic. By optimizing your website and content for search engines, your utility can improve your visibility in search results, driving organic traffic to your site without the need for additional advertising costs.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is a powerful marketing tool for your utility to leverage. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and X are free and widely used, providing an effective way to reach customers with a conscious budget.

While your utility can opt for paid ads, organic social media marketing offers an affordable marketing solution while still achieving a significant impact. Remember, consistency is key to maximizing your social media presence. Regularly sharing important, timely and valuable information with customers shows you care about them and helps enhance customer engagement in the long run.

When it comes to creating design images on social media, your utility can take advantage of free tools such as Canva and Adobe Express. These tools include ready-to-use templates for various social media platforms, and both have free and paid versions.

Email Marketing

Email is one of the primary affordable marketing solutions to use to your utility’s advantage. With email marketing, your utility can reach a wide audience while on a conscious budget. Connect with customers via email and share important information, such as educational content, recommendations for programs and services and timely updates.

Your utility can use targeting capabilities to segment your audience based on specific criteria, and then tailor messages to meet their needs and interests. Additionally, email marketing platforms often come with built-in analytics, so your utility can track the performance of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

While many email marketing programs offer free versions of their services, this is something your utility will want to invest in if it’s looking to make an impact with customers. It’s important to understand which platforms will be most valuable for them and subsidize your budget accordingly.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is an impactful way to position your utility as a thought leader and trusted resource to customers. Develop valuable and informative content to educate and engage your audience. Consider various formats, such as blogs, infographics, videos and more to engage with your customers.

For utilities on a conscious budget, utilize cost-effective content creation strategies, like repurposing existing content or reusing successful materials year-over-year. These methods allow you to amplify your outreach and engagement without requiring significant additional investment.

Additionally, partner with service vendors like Questline Digital, who offer content credits, allowing your utility to set its own budget and purchase content when it would be most helpful.

Community Engagement

Community engagement offers a unique opportunity to extend your utility’s reach and impact while on a budget. Collaborating with community partners like the local government, schools or non-profit organizations can be a cost-efficient way to spread the message about your utility’s programs and services.

Your utility can also make an impact by hosting community events and webinars. These events allow customers to learn about important utility topics, available programs and services and get their questions answered. Events don’t have to cost an arm and a leg, either. Utilize the resources and partners you already have to make budget-conscious decisions that can make a big impact.

For example, Elk River Municipal Utilities (ERMU) collaborated with its community partners City of Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority and the Tri-County Action Program (Tri-CAP) to increase awareness and program enrollments for residents facing financial hardship.

Community engagement is a budget-conscious way to increase visibility and foster strong relationships, reinforcing your utility’s commitment to serving its residents.

Consider Cost-Effective Advertising

Advertising doesn’t always have to be expensive. Look out for resources and leverage free and low-cost advertising to further extend your marketing efforts without significant additional cost. One approach to use to your utility’s advantage is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. PPC is highly efficient, allowing you to set spending limits and only pay when users click on your ads. Your utility can always start small with paid advertising and build upon those efforts.

Don’t forget to explore local media and sponsorships. Partnering with local newspapers, TV and radio stations, community events or sponsorship opportunities can increase your reach and impact. There are many affordable marketing solutions for utilities looking to maximize value while maintaining a conscious budget.

Measure and Optimize Your Strategies

Continuously track the performance of your utility’s marketing efforts to ensure you’re on track to meet your goals and objectives. For utilities with a conscious budget, consider using free tools such as Google Analytics to your advantage and monitor website performance and user behavior.

By analyzing key performance metrics such as website traffic, open rates, click-through rates, engagement rates and more, your utility can gain valuable insights into campaign effectiveness, further helping your utility to decide where to spend its budget.

Implement A/B testing for continuous improvement, comparing different strategies to identify the most effective approaches. Use these insights to adjust your marketing strategy and optimize effectiveness for future marketing efforts.

Maximizing Impact with Minimal Spend

Marketing with a conscious budget presents challenges, but it doesn’t mean your utility can’t achieve great results. By developing an understanding of your audience, adopting a multifaceted marketing approach and leveraging innovative tools and resources, your utility can drive impact, boost customer satisfaction and build strong customer relationships – all within a cost-effective framework.

Learn how Questline Digital’s marketing services can help your utility maximize its marketing impact even with a limited budget.

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The Power of Content Marketing for Utility Communications

Imagine Sarah, a busy homeowner, looking at her latest utility bill. The page is a maze of numbers and technical jargon, leaving her frustrated and disconnected. “There must be a better way to understand my energy use,” she sighs, tossing the bill aside.

Sarah’s experience highlights a common shortcoming in traditional brand communication. Historically, brands in all industries have relied on a one-way model. For utilities, that means bills arriving monthly, generic service updates and interactions limited to problem-solving calls. While these methods will always serve a purpose, they fail to truly connect with customers, leaving them feeling more like account numbers than valued partners in energy consumption.

Enter the power of content marketing: a game-changing approach transforming this outdated landscape. Instead of a generalized paper bill, imagine Sarah receiving an engaging email newsletter filled with personalized energy-saving tips or a link to a helpful video explaining her usage patterns.

Through informative blogs, interactive tools and customer-focused stories, content marketing conveys information while building relationships, fostering engagement and empowering customers like Sarah to take control of their energy use.

Transforming Utility Communications

Content marketing hinges on the power of storytelling and creating connections. By offering educational, engaging content that helps customers increase energy and water efficiency, save money and better comprehend complicated topics, utilities can:

Become a thought leader: Utilities position themselves as thought leaders in the industry by sharing insights and trends.
Build trust: When customers see their utility as a knowledgeable partner rather than just a service provider, it nurtures confidence and trust.
Foster brand loyalty: When engaging content fosters a sense of connection and trust, customers end up with positive brand associations.
Improve customer satisfaction: Over 70% of consumers expect a personalized experience when interacting with a company. By addressing concerns and providing helpful tips, content marketing can meet those expectations and increase satisfaction.

The power of content moves beyond transactional communication, opening a two-way channel for meaningful dialogue between utilities and their customers. This presents a pivotal opportunity for utilities to reimagine their role in customers’ lives — from mere service providers to trusted partners.

Content Formats For Effective Communication

Utilities can use various formats to fully leverage the power of content marketing and create the most effective content strategy for customers.

Blogs: Informative and engaging blogs on relevant industry topics and customer concerns serve as the backbone of many content marketing strategies. Utilities can use blogs to discuss industry trends and provide seasonal energy- or water-saving tips.

Example of leveraging the power of content marketing for utility communications with blogs

Infographics and videos: Visual content simplifies complex information and increases engagement. An infographic sharing energy myths or a video explaining how water is treated at a processing facility can make technical information accessible, exciting and memorable to a broad audience. In fact, studies show that people can remember 65% of visual content even after nearly three days, as opposed to written content, which is typically recalled at a rate of 10%.

Example of leveraging the power of content marketing for utility communications with infographics

Newsletters: Email newsletters provide utilities with a regular, personalized touchpoint to engage customers beyond billing and service updates. Monthly newsletters can deliver a variety of topics, such as smart home technology and energy efficiency home improvement, directly to customers’ inboxes.

Social media: Social media platforms are powerful tools for content distribution and fostering two-way communication. Share snippets of blogs, infographics and videos, provide essential outage updates and engage with customer questions and comments.

Example of leveraging the power of content marketing for utility communications with social media

Webinars: Host educational webinars on subjects like energy-efficient lighting solutions, developing an energy plan, using gas appliances safely and conserving water. Webinars allow for in-depth discussions and real-time customer interaction, which increases utilities’ value propositions.

Example of leveraging the power of content marketing for utility communications with webinars

Understanding your audience is crucial. Utilities must conduct research to identify customers’ preferences, pain points and information requests. This knowledge helps tailor a content strategy that resonates.

Maintaining a Powerful Content Strategy

To ensure the long-term success of a content marketing strategy, utilities should focus on several key aspects:

Consistency: Regularly publish high-quality content to maintain audience engagement and improve search engine visibility.
Relevance: Keep content aligned with customer interests and needs. Use data analytics and feedback to inform content creation.
Personalization: Tailor content to different segments, addressing their concerns and preferences.
Multichannel approach: Distribute content across various platforms to reach customers where they are most active.
Measurable goals: Set clear objectives for content marketing efforts and frequently assess performance using key metrics.

Remember, successful content marketing is an ongoing process requiring continuous evaluation and refinement. Utilities should review their strategy regularly to ensure it aligns with customer goals and needs.

Focus on these attributes to unlock the power of content marketing

Unlocking the Potential of Content Marketing

The true power of content marketing lies in its ability to educate, inform and empower customers. When executed effectively, utilities not only enhance the customer experience but also position themselves to thrive in a complex industry landscape.

By fostering a more informed and engaged customer base, content marketing doesn’t just benefit communication strategies — it can also drive innovation, support business objectives and contribute to a resilient and sustainable future.

Learn how a content marketing strategy from Questline Digital can help your utility improve the customer experience.

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Best Practices: Customer Segmentation for Water Utilities

Every customer is different, so a single approach to connecting just won’t work. Customers want to see messages that align with their needs, interests and preferences and, simply stated, don’t want to be inundated with messages that don’t. In fact, according to Campaign Monitor, 74% of consumers get frustrated when content is not aligned with their interests.

As businesses, including water utilities, compete for customers’ attention, one strategy that should not be overlooked is customer segmentation. By employing this strategy, water utilities can cut through the digital clutter and deliver relevant content that matters to each customer, in turn boosting water utility customer engagement.

What is Customer Segmentation?

Customer segmentation is a marketing strategy used to identify and connect with target customers. It involves organizing customers into groups (or segments) based on shared characteristics, then tailoring outreach efforts with relevant messages.

Relevant communications with utility customers are no longer nice-to-haves — they’re expected. That’s why segmentation is crucial for water utility customer engagement. It allows utilities to better understand customers and customize communications to meet their distinct needs. To boost water utility customer engagement, your utility can segment your customer base in several ways:

Demographics: One of the simplest, yet most effective ways, is grouping water customers based on shared demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, income and education.
Geographics: Geographic segmentation divides customers into groups based on their location, such as service territory, zip code or neighborhood. Your utility can target messages effectively to people who are in a particular location.
Psychographics: This type of segmentation is based on customer interests, values and personality traits. Your water utility can determine what motivates your customers and provide value based on those interests.
Behavioral: Group customers based on their actions, behaviors or responses. For water utilities, this could mean paying attention to what programs customers participate in or what content they engage with.
Firmographics: Water utilities have many business customers across industries, such as agriculture, healthcare, education or retail. Water utilities need to engage these customers based on their specific industry needs.

Benefits of Customer Segmentation

The benefits of customer segmentation can be substantial — marketers who use segmented campaigns can see as much as a 760% increase in revenue.

Some of the key benefits of customer segmentation for water utilities include:

Increased Efficiency and Performance: Targeting groups of customers rather than your entire list can be more efficient and cost-effective. By sending offerings to those customers who are genuinely interested, your utility can reduce wasted resources on ineffective marketing efforts.
Better understanding of customers: Segmentation provides valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, allowing your utility to gain a better understanding of what customers care about.
Increased Customer Engagement: Tailored messages are more likely to resonate with customers, leading to higher engagement rates and increased program sign-ups.
Improved Customer Satisfaction: Customers feel uniquely communicated with and understood through targeted communications, increasing overall customer satisfaction.

Water Utility Customer Segments

77% of return on investment comes from segmented, targeted and triggered campaigns. Segmentation for water utilities can be approached in various ways, and it can be difficult to know where to start. When grouping customers into segments, consider the following:

Residential vs. Business Customer: Residential and business customers have distinct needs, goals and interests. To ensure that your messaging resonates with a particular audience, pay attention to the type of customer that you are communicating with and tailor those messages to meet their needs.

Small vs. Large Business: ”Business customer” is a broad term that can be segmented into smaller groups. Commercial and industrial business customers differ greatly from small businesses, so it’s important to communicate messages according to employee count or facility size to increase engagement.

Recognizing that not all business customers have the same needs, newsletters are a great way to segment and curate communications based on the type of business. For example, when AEP Ohio was looking to boost engagement among its business customers, the utility took advantage of segmented newsletters through Questline Digital. The newsletters targeted individual industries like healthcare, manufacturing and retail with industry-specific educational messaging. The newsletters were so successful that AEP Ohio saw an 84% increase in customer engagement for its healthcare segment.

Income-based Messaging: Tailor messages about low-income assistance programs to households that meet eligibility requirements or to those identified by behavioral factors such as high bills or late payments.

When it comes to income-based messaging, your utility should only target customers who are eligible and interested. For example, FirstEnergy was seeking ways to reach customers with financial assistance programs and utilized Questline Digital’s personalized video platform, SmartVX. The technology behind SmartVX allowed the utility to send personalized information about beneficial programs to each customer (those who were eligible for the program but hadn’t yet enrolled). The segmented campaign resulted in a 162% increase in program enrollments over four months, prompting an additional 6,800 customers to apply for financial assistance.

Example of how segmented income-based messages could boost water utility customer engagement.

Water Usage-Based Messaging: Segment customers based on their water usage patterns for a more targeted outreach. High-usage customers might benefit from water-saving programs and resources.

Program Promotions: Promote specific products and services tailored to segments based on their engagement with content, eligibility and previous interactions.

Focusing communications on segments rather than your entire customer list can yield significant results. For example, when PSEG Long Island aimed to enroll 1,200 participants in its EV rewards program, the utility began by conducting customer surveys and analyzing data to shape campaign messages and segmentation strategies. Questline Digital deployed a segmented marketing campaign spanning five months, utilizing advanced tactics such as behavioral email sends to maximize registration and enhance water utility customer engagement. PSEG Long Island surpassed its initial goal, achieving 1,300 new enrollments.

Example of how segmented program promotions could improve water utility customer engagement.

Build Stronger Customer Relationships with Segmentation

Customer segmentation is crucial for water utility customer engagement. With segmentation, your utility can drive program participation, boost conversions and increase customer satisfaction – all by delivering relevant information to target audiences. As the competition for customer attention continues to grow, implementing segmentation could be the distinguishing factor for success.

Improve water utility customer engagement and satisfaction with a segmented strategy from Questline Digital.

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Best Practices in Building Community Engagement: Social Media Examples

Municipal utilities deliver necessary services like electricity, water, sanitation and gas to customers across their service territories. For these utilities, building a strong bond with customers is not only important but necessary. Highly engaged customers tend to be more satisfied with services, more likely to participate in programs and exhibit greater brand loyalty. Fostering this engagement, however, requires reaching customers where they are very active – in the digital sphere.

Social media emerges as a powerful tool for fostering municipal community engagement, building trust and creating meaningful connections. It uniquely positions utilities to interact with customers where they spend considerable time. The average person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media daily. Social media also leaves additional room to reach and connect with younger generations, such as millennials and Gen Z. In fact, over one-third of Gen Zers spend over four hours a day on various platforms.

Municipal utilities can reap substantial rewards by embracing social media as an engagement catalyst rather than just a broadcast tool. This shift in perspective allows for a more interactive and mutually beneficial relationship with the communities they serve.

Redefining the Customer Relationship: More than Just Ratepayers

Customers are more than just ratepayers – they’re individuals with diverse wants, interests, needs and preferences. Brian Lindamood, VP of Marketing and Content Strategy at Questline Digital, emphasizes the importance of leaving the bad habits of the ratepayer days behind and not taking customers for granted.

“Customers today have robust digital relationships with every company they do business with,” said Lindamood. “They expect companies to anticipate their needs and receive content relevant to their interests.”

Municipal utility companies must strive to add value to the customer relationship by fostering genuine connections and creating opportunities for two-way communication.

By engaging customers through social media, municipal utilities make themselves available as trusted partners. Customers then have the opportunity to become more engaged with their utility, increasing customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores in the long run. Loyal, engaged customers frequently like, share and comment on social media posts. Additionally, these customers contribute suggestions, questions, requests and ideas, showcasing their involvement and desire for interaction.

Best Practices for an Engaging Social Media Presence

Six best practices for creating a municipal community engagement social media presence.

To cultivate an engaging social media presence, municipal utility companies must focus on these seven best practices:

Provide entertaining and educational content: Customers won’t feel compelled to connect if they don’t find content worthy of liking, commenting or sharing. Include a mix of fun, visually appealing posts like animated GIFs or infographics, along with informative how-to articles and short videos explaining energy topics. Videos, for example, get 200% more comments, likes and shares than posts with no media or links, according to Questline Digital performancemetrics. Content doesn’t always have to be utility-related. Sharing posts about holidays and events can also be engaging to customers and shows that there are real people behind the digital platforms.
Plan and schedule social posts: Rather than posting sporadically, municipal utilities should develop a consistent cadence and quarterly content calendar to maintain an active social presence. Planning posts in advance ensures a steady stream of engaging content. Use scheduling tools to make it easier to coordinate and automatically publish posts at optimal times. For example, Facebook offers a free scheduling tool in its Meta Business Suite.
Design content for smaller screens: Nearly 80% of social media users access platforms exclusively from mobile devices. Although most websites are mobile responsive, municipal utilities should still ensure all content is optimized for mobile. Focus on short, concise copy. Limit posts to one link that goes to a landing page optimized for mobile. And consider using eye-catching but simple visuals that don’t clutter a small screen.
Research the most-used platform: Don’t spread resources too thin by trying to master every social platform. Analyze customer demographics and focus on one to three platforms where they are most active. For the majority of utilities, because it reaches the most municipal customers and the broadest audience overall.
Use an appropriate voice: Municipal utilities must maintain a consistent, casual and conversational tone that reflects their role as a trusted community resource. This tone should not include technical jargon and should speak in a relatable way.
Maintain transparency: Social media provides the perfect space for municipal utilities to uphold transparency and open communication with customers and the community. Strive for honesty in posts and replies, especially regarding outages and rate increases.
Reply quickly to customer inquiries and comments: Prompt response times lead to positive customer experiences and brand loyalty. Many times, customers visit social media pages for answers to questions or updates on service information before even navigating to a utility’s website. Be warned that not all comments will be positive. It’s important to recognize this and strategically respond to comments, both positive and negative, when it makes sense.

Implementing the right strategies for resonating content, optimized delivery and meaningful interaction will determine the success of a municipal utility’s social media efforts. While best practices supply a framework, the most engaging social media accounts filter proven tactics through the utility’s unique brand voice and deep understanding of its customer base.

Examples of Municipal Community Engagement Social Media Posts

Developing compelling social media content that builds municipal community engagement requires a strategic approach and creative thinking.

Example of a utility social media post educating customers about energy-savings tips.

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) used this post to educate customers on practical energy-saving tips for working at home. It includes an eye-catching visual and a relevant topic, as roughly 14% of U.S. workers now work remotely. The post’s short, succinct advice ends with a clear call to action that leads customers to a mobile-friendly website with additional information.

Social media example from OEC about effective safety messages for municipal community engagement.

Oklahoma Electric Cooperative leverages pop culture and nostalgia to communicate a serious message about tornado safety. The shoes’ red color stands out in the black-and-white image and captures customer’s attention, making them more likely to read the post and learn safety tips. The casual, friendly phrasing also aligns with the community-oriented, approachable voice.

Municipal community engagement social media example from the Florida Keys about upcoming maintenance.

Florida Keys Electric Cooperative took to social media to inform its customers about upcoming inspections and maintenance. This post features transparency and open communication. It anticipates that customers will wonder why helicopters are operating in the area and features a photo of what the helicopters look like. The post also takes time to address a frequently asked question about drones.

Municipal community engagement example from Elk River Municipal Utility about conserving water.

This Facebook post from Elk River Municipal Utilities features a short, how-to video explaining an easy way to conserve water and reduce energy costs. Customers can quickly view how to replace their faucet aerators. This information provides value to customers by empowering them to take a cost-saving action.

Social media example of municipal community engagement from ODEC about weather changes.

ODEC also featured a short video reminding customers to change the rotation of their fans as the weather warms up. The image copy includes a direct question prompting customers to check out their ceiling fans. The topic is timely for the season and helps customers make the most of their electric-powered appliances and improve their comfort.

Water conservation music video parody from Denver Water.

Denver Water created a music video parody titled “I Water That Way” that promotes wise summer watering habits and shared it on Facebook. The entertaining video riffing on a boy band hit went viral and was even featured on the Today Show, effectively delivering an important conservation message through humor and pop culture savvy. The post earned praise from thousands of “likers” and hundreds of “commenters.”

The Power of Authenticity: Beyond Best Practices

While the best practices outlined here offer a strong foundation, remember that social media thrives on authenticity. Municipal utilities know their customers best. Municipal community engagement flourishes when utilities speak with a genuine brand voice that resonates with their audience.

Learn how social media content from Questline Digital can build engagement with your customers.

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How to Communicate a Planned Water Interruption

For water utilities, ensuring a constant supply of clean and safe water is paramount. However, maintenance, repairs and unforeseen circumstances can lead to temporary water interruptions.

These planned interruptions, while necessary, can often cause significant inconvenience to customers. Therefore, it’s crucial that water utilities implement an effective water utility communication plan to notify customers and manage expectations.

“With planned water interruptions, we have a more precise idea of the scope of the work, and therefore, can more accurately predict how long it will take and how long the customer will be without water,” says John Cox, General Superintendent of the Water Distribution Division, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). “We have the benefit of time and can do a more thorough job of providing notifications.”

Creating a Water Utility Communication Plan

A successful communications plan for planned water interruptions is essential. It not only prepares customers for what they can expect, but also positions your water utility as a transparent and trusted resource. Clear communication is key.

Identify affected customers: Notify all customers affected by the water interruption. In addition to residential customers, consider local businesses, schools and hospitals that might need special preparations.
Define key messages: Keep messages clear, concise and empathetic. Explain the reason for the interruption, the anticipated duration and any steps customers should take. Water interruption communications should answer as many customer questions as possible.
Choose communication channels: Ensure your water utility reaches as many customers as possible with a multichannel water utility communications plan. This might include emails, bill inserts, social media, website content, educational webinars, community events, call center scripts and more.
Coordinate with respective support groups: Collaborate with the necessary groups, whether community partners, local media, government departments or other agencies to get the message out to local businesses and residents.
Have a contingency plan: If the water interruption goes longer than expected, make sure you have a plan B to mitigate negative customer experiences.

Notifying Customers About Water Interruptions

The foundation of any successful water utility communication plan is proactive outreach. When water utilities foresee an interruption, they should immediately inform affected customers. This advance warning allows customers to make necessary preparations, such as storing water or making changes to their schedule or business operations.

In addition to proactive communications, transparency is key. With a planned water interruption, utilities should provide affected customers with as much information as possible. Remember, the difference between a minor inconvenience and a major grievance often lies in the effectiveness of your communications strategy in setting customer expectations.

Essential information in a water utility communication plan includes:

The reason for the interruption: Whether it’s maintenance, upgrades or emergency repairs, explaining the reason for the planned water disruption helps build customer trust, confidence and understanding.
Start and end time: Clearly state when the water service will be interrupted and when it is expected to resume.
Affected areas: Detail which neighborhoods or areas will be affected to avoid unnecessary concern among unaffected customers.
Preparation tips: Offer advice on how customers can prepare, such as storing water, not turning on the faucet, and more.
Alerts and contact information: Provide information on where to get updates and who to contact with questions. This might include a link to sign up for utility alerts.

Channels to Communicate with Water Utility Customers

Utilizing multiple communication channels ensures that your message reaches as broad an audience as possible. Here are several effective channels for a water utility communication plan:

Door hangers and letters: Traditional media like door hangers, letters and bill inserts are an effective way to reach customers.
Social media: Platforms like Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram are invaluable for reaching a wide audience. Updates on social media can keep the public updated in real time.
SMS alerts: Text messages are an excellent way to directly notify customers, especially for time-sensitive information.
Email notifications: For detailed updates, including maps and other visual elements, email marketing is an effective tool.
Website updates: Maintain a dedicated section on your website for planned water interruptions where customers can find detailed information and updates.
Local media: For extensive water interruptions, partnering with local newspapers, radio stations and TV channels can enhance outreach.

According to Cox, LADWP gives customers at least 72 hours advanced notice before any planned water outages. The project team, which can include contractors and LADWP crews, distributes notices to customers as part of the water utility communication plan.

Door hangers containing notification letters with pertinent information is the most effective method for communicating with their customers. LADWP shares the date and time of the interruption, the reason for the interruption as well as contact information in case they’d like to reach out for more details. Since water interruptions are an inconvenience, it’s also imperative to thank customers for their patience.

“We tend to deliver those letters door-to-door, and often we encounter the customer in person during this process,” Cox says. “Therefore, we have the benefit of explaining the upcoming work that we plan to do and the impact to the area. Door-to-door notification is the most effective method for us because it ensures that each affected resident will receive written notification at their home.”

For larger planned water interruptions, LADWP’s Community Affairs team will post information on the social media platform Nextdoor, which allows users to geotarget to a specific group. This ensures that the message is sent to affected customers.

Example of a social media page communicating a planned water utility interruption

“If a significantly large area will be experiencing a planned water interruption, we may also contact the local Neighborhood Council,” Cox says. “They can help notify customers through their channels and contacts. Using both letters and Nextdoor tends to be sufficient to blanket an affected area under normal circumstances.”

Trussville Gas & Water, which services customers in Alabama, is dedicated to proactive communications about planned water interruptions. The utility underwent a major 10-month infrastructure project to replace 2.5 miles of water pipeline, which caused temporary water interruptions for approximately 900 residents.

Their water utility communication plan featured multiple communication channels, including digital and traditional platforms. To notify affected customers, Trussville Gas & Water placed large signs in front of affected subdivisions in the community.

Example of a web ad from a water utility communicating a planned water interruption

Additionally, the utility updated customers on their website and Facebook page. To reach a wider audience, they also reached out to the local newspaper, the Trussville Tribune, to publish project updates.

Communicating Water Interruptions to Business Customers

When it comes to communicating planned water interruptions to business customers, utilities must take a different approach. Collaboration with local businesses and community partners is vital.

For multifamily buildings and apartments, Seattle Public Utilities works with landlords and management companies to ensure residents are aware of the water interruption and know what steps they need to take.

Example of a water utility website communicating a planned water interruption to customers

Additionally, the utility works with local businesses to determine the best time to shut off water to mitigate the negative impact on operations. As a result, water interruptions may take place overnight or after business hours.

LADWP’s Customer Service Key Accounts team and Corporate Communications and Strategy Division’s Community Affairs are vitally important to the utility’s communication plan. Both teams help to minimize the impact of planned water interruptions at hospitals and schools.

“The impact to a school or hospital is much greater than a single residence,” Cox says. “That’s why it’s ideal to have as much advanced planning time as possible to make sure that the business customers in question — especially sensitive institutions like hospitals and schools — are fully informed and prepared for a water interruption.”

Additionally, LADWP’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs group is responsible for communicating any significant projects to the local council district and/or mayor’s office. Those governmental entities can often help spread the word and alert business customers when a significant interruption is planned.

Why a Water Utility Communication Plan is Important

A robust communication plan does more than inform — it builds and maintains trust with customers. Here are a few reasons why water utilities should develop a communication strategy for planned water interruptions:

Minimizes disruption: By allowing customers to prepare, you can lessen the impact of the water interruption on their daily lives.
Maintains customer trust: Transparent and timely communication demonstrates that you value your customers and their experience.
Enhances reputation: Utilities that communicate effectively are often perceived as more reliable, trustworthy and customer-centric.

While planned water interruptions can be an inconvenience for customers, they also provide utilities with an opportunity to improve trust and long-term customer satisfaction. By developing a comprehensive water utility communication plan and utilizing the right channels to share essential information, utilities can minimize inconvenience and build stronger customer relationships over time.

Learn how a turnkey engagement solution from Questline Digital can help your water utility communicate planned interruptions to customers.

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