Developing a Marketing Strategy for SSE Metering

Introduction

Economic development was a primary goal for global organizations. Nevertheless, the impacts of economic development activities have contributed to significant climate change challenges. As a result, climate change has over the past decades caused significant challenges following the high natural systems and human risks projected by climate science together with the uncertainties relating to the pace and weight of the total impacts. In efforts to minimize the challenges, nations around the globe including the United Kingdom (UK) are focused on promoting a low carbon economy and society through initiatives that include the Zero emissions target by 2050. UK-based organizations are focused on minimizing electricity energy wastage which increasingly crucial for both human consumption and production. The efforts have seen the promotion of the Smart Energy GB Campaign seeking to utilize smart metering for promoting efficiency in energy use. Therefore, these pages will focus on developing a marketing strategy based on SSE Metering.

SSE Background

SSE PLC is a UK-based energy company with investments and operations across Ireland and the UK (SSE, 2020, N.p.). The organization is a builder/ provider, an owner, and operator of businesses and assets of low-carbon, through a strategic focus of regulating renewable energy and electricity networks. SSE takes part in the generation, production, storage, transmission, electricity distribution and supply, gas distribution and supply, as well as other energy-related services (SSE, 2020, N.p.). The company has different segments including Gas Distribution, Thermal Generation, Business Energy, Electricity Distribution, Electricity Distribution, Gas Storage, Energy Portfolio Management (EPM), Enterprise, and Airtricity.

The huge SSE’s operational profits are generated from renewable energy sources and regulated electricity networks. The company has investments and maintains networks for electricity transmission in north Scotland under the Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission PLC license. Equally, the company has shares in Scotia Gas Networks operating two regulated networks of gas distribution in the South of England and Scotland. Through the SSE renewables, the organization focuses on generating renewable sources power which includes offshore and onshore windfarms together with pumped and river runoff hydro assets in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. In addition, the organization is focused on storing gas with the aim of profiting from fluctuations in market prices.

SSE’s mission is to ensure responsibility in proving energy and the related services required currently and in the future in a low-carbon world (SSE Enterprise Telecoms, 2020, N.p.). The company utilizes a corporate strategy of sustainability which focuses on ensuring society and shareholders value through operating, developing, owning energy, as well as related assets in a sustainable manner (SSE, 2019. N.p.). The strategy supported by strong financial management is reinforced by pillars of focusing on the core which is low-carbon; developing, operating, and owning; creative value, and remaining sustainable. As the organizations focus on promoting Smart Metering as a path for promoting the government campaign for Zero emissions targets by 2050, a marketing strategy is critical to support the marketability of the energy-efficient meters.

Existing Issue

Climate change continues to pose significant risks despite the global understanding to reduce carbon emissions that are the primary reason for global warming (Sinha, and Chaturvedi, 2019, p. 114; Jordan et al. (2017, 3). Different human activities and industrial processes contribute to carbon dioxide emission but could be controlled through the utilization of advanced technologies. Focusing on the most emitting sectors such as the energy sector could enable emission reductions. Electricity is among the most significant forms of energy and is a fast-growing end-use energy consumption type. According to Corbett, Wardle, and Chen, (2018, p. 3) the world electricity demand within the residential sector alone is expected to surge by 1.4% yearly to 2040.

Experts argue the need for appreciating technologies that focus on promoting energy sustainability while reducing climate change due to carbon emission. Corbett et al. (2018, p. 3) note that electricity production contributes 30% of the greenhouse emissions in the United States since close to 67% of the total electricity is generated from fossil fuels that include natural gas and coal. Even as emission challenges continue to threaten the world, the increasing demand for electricity energy poses concerns relating to the efficiency of ensuring that all people access sustainable, reliable, affordable, and modern energy while reducing emissions. As a result, the United Kingdom government has adopted the net-zero by 2050 campaign which seeks to wipe out carbon emission using innovative ideas (Smart Energy GB, 2018, p.11). The campaign is focusing on smart meters that seek to ensure zero-carbon power production, electrification, fuel sift, and energy efficiency.

The move has seen the United Kingdom join Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA in a move to ensure the installation of smart meters in millions of homes in the country. Smart meters are a complex metering tool that includes the suggested smart grid offering efficient options in managing smart energy services and will equally be crucial to promoting environmental impacts through consumption reduction and shifting the load (Buchanan et al., 2017, p. 87; Buchanan, Russo, and Anderson, 2015, p. 90). Nevertheless, the campaign's success is relatively unconfirmed since, despite the government focusing on promoting the installation of smart meters in all UK homes, the institution promoting them (Smart Energy GB) notes that they are not mandatory which gives consumers an option of installing them or retaining their meters. Buchanan et al. (2017, p. 87) note that the realization of the smart meter benefits demands consumer acceptance as well as the appreciation of the services linked to the meter.

Objectives

Despite the United Kingdom’s government to take part in implementing the Smart Energy GB Campaign promoting smart meters, the fact that the metering process is not mandatory creates the need for a strong marketing strategy. The marketing strategy will focus on promoting the acceptance of smart meters within the United Kingdom. Previous studies evaluating the acceptance of the smart meters among the people of Britain indicate the lack of notable opposition or support. Nevertheless, the residents appear uncertain about the meters with 53% showing they are vague on whether the meters should be put in all UK homes (Buchanan et al., 2017, p. 90). Further, the study highlights that even in homes where the meters have been already installed, only 5% were proactively requested by the customers while 84% were installed after the energy suppliers contacted the customers.

According to Buchanan et al. (2017, p. 90), the issue could be attributed to minimal consumer knowledge relating to the smart meters with 76% British customers arguing to know very little or nothing about the meters. Therefore, the marketing strategy seeks to meet objectives that include creating awareness to United Kingdom citizens about the smart meters and their services. Further, SSE wishes to utilize the marketing strategy seeks to promote consumer behaviour change in a manner that will help them re-evaluate their uncertainties about smart meters and promote acceptance. The SSE marketing strategy will key marketing strategies that are branding strategy, internal marketing strategy, and social medial marketing strategy.

Branding Strategy

In less than a century, the marketing rules have changed significantly following changes in behaviour change among consumers. Environmental issues are among the issues that have contributed notable changes in marketing rules, which is partially contributed by the appreciation of climate change concerns. While the idea of green marketing could not capture a customer’s attention back in the 60s, it’s an important marketing tool today (Ottman, 2017, p. 1). Green marketing has been appreciated in different marketing options especially in branding as it offers consumers an idea of the product and its services. Organizations should focus on ensuring that the branding strategy explains what the product is and offers insight into the uniqueness of the product to those provided by competitors.

SSE must, therefore, ensure that the branding strategy utilized for the smart meter focus on the specific environmental advantages. Experts argue that the inclusion of a product’s environmental aspects in branding increases the organization's chances of promoting a competitive advantage (Wang, 2016, p. 1). Wang notes that the high consumer concerns and preference for products highlighting their environmental advantages result from the need to reduce environmental pollution. For example, SSE could use green colour for the packaging of the smart meters as a way of informing the consumers about the products energy saving abilities. According to Buchanan, Russo, and Anderson (2015, p. 90) smart meters could be efficient for promoting environmental conservation by enabling consumers to monitor their conservation for both gas and electricity which could regulate energy use behaviours.

The branding strategy of a product especially visual representation plays a significant role in promoting the organization's image. Considering that SSE is a power company focused on promoting renewable energy and minimizing emissions through the smart meter product, the colour and logo style used for the product is crucial for communicating the company culture to consumers (Raines, and Khosravi, 2019, p. 1; Zaman, 2018, p. 14). As such, the green colour on the packaging could be used to signify both environment commitment and could evoke similar feelings to consumers. The logo should equally be clear enough to evince that SSE is focused on distributing renewable energy.

Further, Wang, (2016, p. 1) notes that in the wake of green marketing, organizations are evaluating their policies to meet government eco-regulation and environmental concern policies. The move is normally a move towards establishing credibility in the market. As a leading organization offering electricity distribution services within the United Kingdom and Ireland, SSE should focus on ensuring that the branding strategy promotes organizational credibility. SSE should focus on the social responsibility aspect as a way of promoting the use of smart meters (Wang, 2016, p. 1). For example, SSE could focus on holding local meetings as well as writing blogs about smart meters which would promote information sharing with potential customers. Again, in regard to establishing credibility, SSSE could liaise with television, radio, and newspaper groups especially those with high numbers of fans to advertise stories and advertisements relating to the benefits of smart meters.

In addition, the branding strategy could also focus on pricing. Basically, pricing strategies are among the commonly used methods for promoting competitiveness especially when organizations are seeking to introduce a new product. Similar to product image seen in both a product's colour and logo, the price of a product plays a significant role in consumer consciousness that further influences their behaviour towards a specific product (Nadanyiova, Gajanova, and Moravcikova, 2018, p. 151). Considering that a significant share of SSE’s target market has operating meters, using a low pricing strategy to promote the smart meter brand could encourage consumer acceptance. For example, using a discount method to position the smart meters brand in the market could increase the brand acceptability as homes could voluntarily reach out to SSE requesting the installation of smart meters.

More so, SSE could utilize the delivery of excellent customer services while transacting with customers on power distribution and more so during the installation of smart meters. Basically, the services rendered to customers to determine their loyalty degrees and promote commitment to the specific brand (Radha, 2019, p. 810). Although SSE could assume the minimal need for utilizing service delivery as a branding strategy arguing that every home requires a single smart meter, the loyalty of the customers to SSE smart meters could enable them to grow their sales as customers tend to refer others to brands that offer top-notch services.

Similar to other aspects that promote changes in consumer behaviour, the aspect of excellent service delivery plays a significant role in influencing positive behaviour towards a product (Radha, 2019, p. 810). For example, considering that among the issues associated with smart meters including common errors, SSE could focus on developing a strategy for solving the problem in real-time. Efficiency in service delivery would enable SSE to promote the creation of an excellent bond between the consumer and the product (Radha, 2019, p. 810), which makes the consumer stick to the brand tell others about the brand.

Internal Marketing Strategy

Typically, marketing revolves around offering customers sufficient knowledge about the specific product. In internal marketing, the organization focuses on offering employee’s sufficient knowledge about the product. Internal marketing targets to promote the product to workers who make focus on promoting the success of the organization. Basically, for a company like SSE to practice internal marketing, the company must accept the workers are the company’s internal market (Alvar et al., 2018, p. 132). According to Alvar et al. (2018, p. 132), the process of internal marketing focuses on ensuring employee training and rewarding as a strategy for promoting their service delivery expertise to customers.

Internal marketing is utilized to enhance organizational pliability to cope with presenting balancing and change, coordinating and motivating tasks, as well as promoting the involvement of employees in implementing the organization strategies and tasks for consumer satisfaction (Alvar et al., 2018, p. 132). Evidently, employees play a significant role in shaping an organization’s position to the public. The efficiency of internal marketing in reaching the specific goals is best achieved when an organization manages to create “employee-driven and customer-driven employees’ (Alvar et al., 2018, p. 132). Internal marketing is a primary focus for human resource management (HRM), as the companies seek to enhance employee performance in undertaking organizational duties (Abidin, Roslin, and Kamaluddin, 2018, p. 19). Some of the strategies that could be employed by SSE HRM include training employees for improved customer services.

SSE move to educate workers about smart meters promotes their service delivery expertise more so in explaining the effectiveness of the smart meters to customers. According to Hendrickson, (2019, p. 148) and Tian, and Gamble, (2018. P. 2). customers appreciate the services rendered to them without forcing them to wait for long hours contributing satisfaction. Internal marketing increases employee’s efficiency in offering both new and existing customers knowledge about the smart meters and their benefits such as those increasing their abilities to help customers observe their consumption rates.

Further, internal marketing could be promoted through increased employee involvement which is achieved through the promotion of employee commitment and morale. Among the issues identified in limiting the acceptance of smart meters in the United Kingdom included minimal knowledge about their benefits, employee involvement could increase their productivity in marketing the meters to external customers (Hossain, Khatun, and Mursalin, 2018, p. 46). Further, employee involvement is outlined as an effective strategy for promoting change (Hussain et al., 2018. P. 124) and as SSE seeks to influence British homes to adopt the use of smart meters, internal marketing could use employees as the change ambassadors.

Social Media Strategy

In the current business environments, digital marketing is among the areas that realized significant growth following resource efficiency in regard to both internet and computerized gadgets accessibility. Today, social media is perceived as an important tool for most individuals especially with the appreciation of virtual interactions thus the increased behaviours for appreciating digital technologies (Alalwan et al., 2017, p. 1186). Online platforms including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube are common for online marketing (Alalwan et al., 2017, p. 1186). The efficiency of social media marketing has been evinced in offering the management teams a chance to respond and analyse conversations in real-time, thus promote understanding consumer demands (Felix, Rauschnabel, and Hinsch, 2017, p. 119; Rana, 2020, p. 3).

SSE could appreciate the use of social media to market the smart meters especially while taking advantage of the significant availability of resources likely to promote social media use in all homes. Basically, United Kingdom is a developing country whose homesteads have internet access and computer objects which are required for social media use. Further real-time communication between consumers and SSE could enable the organization to offer potential customers about the efficiency of the smart meters and equally respond to questions posing uncertainties (Rana, 2020, p. 3). Other than the existing uncertainties preventing British homes from making proactive calls for the installation of smart meters, social media marketing strategy could be employed to promote efficiency as SSE could manage to address the faults identified with customers to smart meters in stock. Basically, the use of social media marketing is crucial to enabling organizations to utilize communication to enhance harmony between technology and traditions (Ali, and Allan, 2017, p. 97).

Future Outcomes

The Smart Meter Implementation Program (SMIP) within the UK explains a complex transition that whose acceptance poses significant challenges to power companies. The challenge facing the transition results from the complexity contributed by the installation being optional and has thus limited acceptance (Barton et al., 2017, p. 2779). The marketing strategy seeks to promote the flagship energy policy focused on the installation of about 104 million smart meters seeking to offer in-home display (IHD) energy consumption monitors and a communication network between SSE and the customer (Sovacool et al., 2017, p. 2). Smart meters have multifarious benefits that include enabling users to change energy tariffs, monitor energy consumption, and promote environmental management. The marketing strategy will ensure increased awareness about smart meters and thus promote consumer acceptability within Britain. Further, the marketing strategy will be effective in promoting the proactiveness of consumers following understanding of smart meters together with the top-notch customer service experience offered by the SSE employees.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the emission greenhouse gases contributing to climate change continue to pose significant risks to humans and natural resources. The unpredictability of the duration of impacts together with impact severity creates the need for adopting emission prevention options. Smart meters are among the option adopted by the government of the United Kingdom through the Smart Energy GB campaign. Nevertheless, power distributing organizations like SSE faces significant challenges since the installation is not mandatory, thus creating the need for a marketing strategy. The SSE marketing strategy will focus on significant areas of product branding to enhance the smart meter image and SSE commitment to environmental conservation, internal marketing to promote employee involvement in the transition, and social media strategy to promote real-time communication with customers. The marketing strategy will focus on increasing smart meter awareness among Britain citizens as well as influence proactive acceptance in all homes. Smart meter acceptance will be crucial to minimizing emission since energy use consumption will reduce wastage, thus enable SSE to minimize electricity production from carbon-emitting processes.

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