If you missed it, be sure to go back and catch blog #1 in our Consumer Sentiment Pulse series!

Consumer Sentiment You Can Use

As our teams reflect on the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and we start to go back to market in this new normal, we recognize that some business components necessitated by the pandemic have become an integral part of our strategy and marketing, both now and in the future. We are confident in our new methods of using data to continue evolving our services in ways that provide more value to our clients and their customers. The focus on regular research of consumer sentiment is one of those components that have become essential. When we launched our Consumer Pulse Survey in April, we knew it would help inform our strategy and go-to-market approach. We didn’t initially anticipate carrying these surveys forward into our new normal, but they have proven vital to our teams and clients.

The electric vehicle (EV) market has been experiencing significant and sustained growth in recent years as drivers seek to cut their carbon footprint and reduce gas costs. While EVs still make up a relatively small share of the automobile market, that’s expected to change within the next few years. By 2025, it’s estimated that EVs will account for 20% of new car sales.

As stay-at-home orders are lifted, businesses reopen and programs restart, we remain optimistic about the future of our industry. While the development of new technology—like virtual energy audits and touchless installation support—has undoubtedly changed the landscape of energy efficiency, it's important to keep traditional programs in mind as well. Relying on a mix of brand-new offerings and proven reliable services is the key to success for the utility of the future.

My husband and I went to college together; we’re familiar with “working together alone.” It was how he wrote his thesis on McCarthyism and I wrote mine on Post-Soviet Russia, two feet apart on a hand-me-down couch in a cramped upstairs apartment in a sketchy part of Schenectady, NY. Headphones firmly planted in ears.

But until COVID-19 hit, we never really worked from home together, except for the occasional snow day. And on those days, he was more likely working from the couch with Sports Center on in the background, while I toiled along like usual in my home office.