Ep. 9 – Inspire — Mission-Driven Consumer Insights, with Stephanie Freier.

Transcript

 

Intro

 Welcome to the Elusive Consumer. Today, Ellie is speaking with Stephanie Freier, (Fmr) Director of Consumer Insights at Inspire. Join us as they discuss the work Inspire is doing to provide renewable energy, new strategies for connecting with less engaged customers and working for a mission-driven B Corp. Let’s dive into today’s conversation on the elusive consumer.

Ellie

 Thank you so much for joining us, Stephanie. We’re so delighted to have you with us today to talk about the work that you’re doing as consumer insights director at Inspire Clean Energy and also to talk about your passion for all things research.

 Stephanie

 Before we start, thanks for having me.

 Ellie

 Before we talk about Inspire specifically and the work you’re doing there, tell us a bit about the path that led you to your current role.

 Stephanie

 Sure. So, my background has always been market research to varying degrees. So, in college, I graduated in marketing, but I really had a specific interest in consumer behavior, and that led me to a career in market research. But I worked on the agency side for a bit. That’s really where I got my training. So I worked for a Kantar company at the time, where I started my career and got terrific training on all things research. And then, I moved to a social listening startup in Chicago, which gave me a different view on other methodologies and sparked my interest in working for startups.

And so that was a really fun experience, too, which then led me eventually I moved to LA, and my time at the honest company, I would say was really pivotal in my career as well because I moved from working for the agency side, research partner side, to working for a brand in house. And I think that really showed me a different side to research and how impactful it can be in a company. And so I would say that really just launched a new passion in me for the work I was doing for research. And then also, obviously working for a mission driven company was a whole other topic in my career.

But that then led me to Inspire where I’m at now, and I’m able to basically use all of my experience from the past to essentially build the entire research arm at Inspire from the ground up. And so all of my training from the past really helped me in my role here at Inspire in creating a consumer insights department. And then also just aligning again with that mission-driven part has been really crucial for me in my career to keep me motivated and really interested in the work that I’m doing.

Ellie

 And I want to touch upon that later in this conversation in terms of making an impact. But before that, what led you to have an interest in consumer behavior to begin with?

 Stephanie

 Yeah, I think it probably started pretty young. I’ve always been interested in kind of understanding why people do what they do or what makes us all the same in some ways, what makes us different in other ways based on certain experiences. And I think that really came to life for me. Honestly. In college, when I had a consumer behavior course, it really just kind of aligned where it seemed like such a focal point and important part of marketing. Trying to understand the consumer first seems like it should be the first step in any marketing strategy. And so that really connected with me then and essentially just led me into my career in market research and consumer behavior.

 Ellie

 Right. And in terms of coming from, like you said, an agency background and moving into the client side, talk us through the differences a bit more and also the similarities from your perspective.

Stephanie

 Yeah, I would say working on the agency side, I would say one of the benefits is that you’re working with a team of researchers, and so you have people to throw ideas at, to learn from their experience, to teach them. And it’s a much more collaborative learning environment versus, and it depends on the brand. Some companies have much larger insights teams, but at the honest company and Inspire, the teams have been very small. And so the experience there is that you’re really pulling in all of your expertise from these other roles to then create the best pathway for whatever you’re working on there.

 So I would say that’s been one big difference for me, is just kind of the environment of working with a team of experts versus being the sole expert for a company and having them rely on that expertise is a great opportunity and challenge in its own. And then the other thing that I’ve seen is really just the follow through on the research. It’s a little different when you’re working inside the company. One thing that was frustrating for me, working within a marketing research firm, was that we would hand off this great work to our clients and would never really know if they used it or if it had an impact.

Stephanie

 And so that was hard seeing all of your great work and not really knowing what’s going on with it, but working in house, you obviously get to see if it’s connecting with people, if they’re making decisions based off of it. And so for me, that’s been really rewarding, is kind of seeing that follow through, which is great feedback for yourself and the work that you’re doing, if they’re taking your recommendations or if they’re not trying to adjust your research strategy, it makes for a more cohesive workflow.

Ellie

 Right. And in terms of the consumer research arms at the companies that you’ve worked at and where you currently are, you mentioned that at the honest company, it was a small team. And at your current organization, it’s also, from what I understand, a small team. What do you think makes certain companies choose to actually have a consumer insights arm versus some that do not emphasize the importance?

Stephanie

 It’s a good question. I’m not sure what would make them choose versus not. I think it honestly, it just depends on probably the leadership team’s past experience of working with research. I think at Honest and Inspire, both of the leadership teams that I work with, they were already searching for answers or searching for validation for things they’re doing. And so they were already in that mindset of, we know that there’s a better way to doing this than just kind of guessing on our own. And so that made the whole process a lot smoother because we had that support from the leadership. So I’m not really sure from companies that don’t.

 I think it may just be that they haven’t had the experience to see how useful research and data can be to inform their decisions, to optimize their business plans, and sky’s the limit on how it can impact the business.

Ellie

 And that leads me to my other question. What responsibility do you think lies on researchers to show the impact that data and research can have?

Stephanie

 Yeah, I think it’s very important to really close that loop, and I also think it’s a big challenge, too. So within Inspire, for example, I can give recommendations, but then it’s really up to me to follow up with those teams to see, hey, did you take that recommendation? What impact did that have on the business? And then trying to make sense of that in terms of numbers and additional data points to then use it as a proof point for we need a bigger research budget next year, or I think we should do these studies. And so I think it’s challenging in a way, because sometimes the recommendations are not always quantitative, and then it’s really trying to turn that into some sort of quantitative metric to support your needs to continue doing the research you’re doing and then also expand into more impactful areas.

Ellie

 Right. And do you find that you need to change your tone, sort of, when you’re addressing different types of stakeholders?

Stephanie

 Yes, definitely. I think that’s a crucial part. I would say for any market researcher is reading the room and understanding different styles and preferences, and that’s a learning curve, too. I would say coming into a new company is really trying to understand the consumer behavior of the people you’re working with. So some people are very data-driven, very comfortable with data, and they’ll ask a million questions. And so you kind of learn to cater that discussion differently from maybe there’s, like, another executive who just wants to know what the data is saying, the final line, and what your recommendation is. And it can be a much simpler report.

 And so I think definitely catering to the leadership style of the stakeholders is really crucial in making sure that the research is coming across well, that they understand it and that they know what to do with it. Right?

 Ellie

 Absolutely. So I want to transition over to the role at Inspire. Tell us about Inspire Clean Energy and what specifically differentiates your company.

Stephanie

 So Inspire clean energy. We are a clean energy supplier. We work in deregulated markets. So, for those that are unfamiliar with the energy industry in the United States, we have regulated and deregulated markets. And in deregulated markets, the customers are able to choose who supplies them their energy. It’s not just the utility. They have a lot of options. And So Inspire is a clean energy company that is providing clean energy to customers in these markets by supporting clean energy that’s being created on the grid and then having customers sign up for those clean energy plans so that we’re producing a greener grid, essentially for the entire country. And so I would say what makes Inspire different? We have a couple of different product offerings that I think are unique.

 We have, like, a subscription plan that is helpful for customers who want that subscription model of paying the same flat price and not seeing the fluctuations of high bills in the winter, in the summer. But having that flat bill, I think that’s one unique offering that we have. But also just being able to provide renewable energy in a market that has traditionally not had that offering is really what differentiates us from other suppliers out there. Right.

Ellie

 And I read a bit about your company on your site in terms of the impact that you’re making. And there was a sentence that says that switching to a renewable energy company can be five times more effective than going vegetarian, seven times more effective than recycling, and ten times more effective than composting over the course of the year. I certainly wasn’t aware of that myself. Do you feel that the majority of consumers are, and that the awareness levels of what impact this has is where it should be?

Stephanie

 No. I would say that is one of the biggest challenges for renewable energy right now is the awareness of our customers. And so the first barrier is that customers don’t even know they have a choice. And so that awareness level in itself is pretty low. It’s growing. Customers are becoming more and more aware of what their options are. But even being able to choose a different supplier, many are unaware of that. But then switching to renewables, I think that if you were to ask, most customers would say, yes, this is beneficial for the environment. Yes, this is a good thing and I want to do it. But they aren’t necessarily aware of how impactful that is. And so that’s why our brand and marketing teams worked really hard on creating those. We call them equivalency metrics.

 But having those comparisons so that you can take a quick look at, oh, I recycle every week and that’s the number one thing I’m doing for the environment. And then you can see on Inspire’s website that, oh, we actually have much greater impact by just doing a simple switch to clean energy. And so finding those more relatable ways to educate consumers has been a huge part of the marketing team’s job over the past couple of years and just trying to help bring lift that awareness. Right.

Ellie

 And talking more about the consumers, focusing on the sector overall, the energy sector is fairly regulated, particularly in this country, and less consumer-oriented, I guess. How is Inspire energy disrupting this notion?

Stephanie

 Yeah, I think we are disrupting it in the markets where we are able to, obviously, so looking at those deregulated markets. But again, it’s a challenge and it goes with the awareness. I would say we’re disrupting through awareness tactics. And so having local marketing campaigns or local initiatives that are connecting consumers with the Inspire brand is the best way that we can in terms of educating consumers on the choice they have, and then also showing again that impact that Inspire can make. It’s definitely a slow burn in terms of seeing that progress because there is such an awareness gap right now, but it’s something that we really prioritize in not only to help our own brand, but to help the mission of getting more and more customers on clean energy, regardless of which company they sign up for.

Having increased awareness of that is beneficial to our mission overall. Right.

Ellie

 Going back to your role specifically, and when you joined Inspire, that’s quite some task of building the research arm from the ground up. What were some of the initial challenges that you faced and how did you overcome?

Stephanie

 I mean, I think, first of all, coming from an industry outside of energy, that’s kind of the first challenge in itself. I would say for anyone that’s coming into energy industry, it’s a lot to learn. There’s definitely a learning curve lots of acronyms, different regulations in different states and things like that. And so I would say getting a lay of the land is kind of part one of the challenge of moving into this space. But then from the research perspective, just trying to understand what the needs are of the company and then prioritizing that was essentially how I tackled it from the get-go, was meeting with different leaders in different departments and getting key stakeholders to talk about their day to day where they think research might help.

 And just kind of taking notes and doing, like, a data download the first couple of weeks. And then I was able to really understand, okay, these are the top five areas that I think I should be working on in the first year to really start building this out. For that, it was having customer feedback reports, things like that, kind of those basic things that you would think about weren’t in place. And so making sure that were building a foundation of ongoing reports that would help the company and then also building in key strategic projects that would help the company’s goals. Right.

Ellie

 And in terms of reaching your customers, if you were to say energy consumers, in terms of what makes them elusive, what strategies do you employ to better understand their needs and how do you continue to reach them, particularly in the deregulated markets?

Stephanie

 In terms of research, yes. Are you actually. Yes. Well, I would say the biggest difference that I’ve seen from past experience in other industries is that the energy industry, from a customer standpoint, is pretty low engagement. It’s not the most exciting thing. Customers are not thinking about their electricity all the time. They’re really just thinking about it when they get their bill or when they’re moving and those certain trigger points. And so having that low engagement customer can definitely be a challenge, I think an important way through research for us to keep learning on how to reach them better and talking to them better is really kind of marrying the questions around their energy experience with their perceptions around the mission and so environmental impact, trying to understand how we can reach them in different ways through that.

We do various different messaging tests to understand if they’re understanding what we’re talking about. I think that’s another big part, too, is just that some consumers do need education on how it works in the energy industry and also how clean energy works. And so we want to make sure we’re talking to them in an effective way. And so research really helps with that, too, to understand if we’re using language that hits the mark or if it’s just kind of too technical in the way we talk about things. And so I think research has been a really supportive tool in that, in trying to find ways to reach these customers, knowing that basically their general behaviors around energy, we’re probably not going to be able to change that.

Ellie

 We’re not going to be able to create some amazing product that’s going to change how they think about electricity. So what are other ways that we can shift the experience around mission and understanding of clean energy?

And do you have any examples you can share with us in terms of initiatives or actions you’ve taken based on consumer research?

 Stephanie

 Sure. I would say our segmentation research has had a big impact in the company, and we refresh that every couple of years, knowing that renewable energy trends are always changing, customer awareness is always changing. But I think that’s been really crucial in terms of understanding who we’re targeting, how we message to different segments, and really understanding what their core drivers are. So that’s helped. In terms of our marketing strategies, our digital targeting strategies, that’s been very, I would say, very widely used within the company, and then also just doing general attitudes and usage types of research. It helps us to kind of gut check on everything.

And especially for people who aren’t familiar with the energy industry, having those ANU studies are really crucial to get a lay of the land and remind ourselves, okay, this is how they’re looking at their bill, this is how they are thinking about energy. This is how they’re not even thinking about energy. And that helps us as well to inform product strategies around, do we need certain features? Do we want to build certain things? It’s been able to help inform our product strategy, too, just from a general behavior.

Ellie

 Right.

Stephanie

 And then I would also say our customer feedback reports that we do are really important to the company. We call our customers, our members, and really value our members within the company. And so we put a lot of emphasis on those feedback reports as well. We want to understand how their sales experience was, how their member support interactions are going, if they’re satisfied with their plan that they’re on, and so forth. And having that continuous feedback loop is just really crucial for our right.

Ellie

 And in terms of customers that you haven’t been able to reach yet, or onboard as your customers, how do you navigate that conflict between financial considerations and environmental impact and wanting to do good and better for the environment in consumers decisions to ultimately switch to renewable energy?

Stephanie

 Yeah, it’s hard to say. I think price is always going to be the top consideration factor for the majority of customers. There is a willingness to invest in clean energy. And so I think it’s really finding that balance. And our pricing team is constantly working on this to make sure that we have a balance of providing a reasonable offer for our clean energy product. We know that if our pricing is off, no one’s going to sign up for it. And then that goes against our mission of getting more and more people on clean energy. And so it is a balance of trying to find that sweet spot of affordable, reasonable pricing for a clean energy product. And that’s also why we offer a subscription product as well, just to provide different options for customers.

But we know that some customers are so price driven that they may switch every three months or so depending on what new offer they get. And that’s okay, the customers will come and go, but we really do want to make sure that we’re at least providing something that the majority are going to see as a reasonable price, if that makes sense.

Ellie

 No, absolutely. And I want to touch a bit more upon that in terms of the different generations as well. Do you see any difference in terms of the willingness to change to renewable energy based on what generation the consumers are in?

Stephanie

 Sure. Well, I would say the majority of our customer base are typically in their above. Just because we do serve mostly homeowners, we also serve renters, but a lot of homeowners in that space, and that just tends to skew a little bit older. So, we don’t have the younger generations that I assume will be more and more interested in clean energy as they get older. But in terms of what our current customer base is, I would say that we’ve seen our target audience, the ones that are most eco conscious and the ones that are most interested in taking action tend to be within that, like 30 to. But that’s not to say people outside of that age range don’t care. That’s just where we’ve seen the strongest interest from the research.

 But again, our sales strategies have been mixed so that we are targeting, we do digital targeting to target those ideal customers, but then we also still want to serve these other populations. And so it just depends on our messaging mix and things like that, because we do want to pull in as many people as we can and then help educate on how Inspire can make a difference. And them signing up for Inspire is doing good for the planet. Right.

Ellie

 And speaking of doing good for the planet, focusing on B Corporation specifically, how is working in a b corporation different from other organizations you’ve been part of as a researcher and a professional overall?

 Stephanie

 Yeah, I think from a research standpoint, it just kind of adds a new element to the research. So if I was working for a company that’s not as mission-driven, not a B corp, maybe I wouldn’t ask as many questions about the environmental impact and things like that. And we may be focused on different goals, but since we are so driven towards this goal, it’s always a consideration and a factor that we’re interested in. And so it just broadens how we look at the consumer mindset because it’s not just the product we’re offering and the price we’re offering it at. It’s this greater impact that we want to understand if customers are understanding. And again, back to the messaging, if we’re messaging it correctly. So it just adds a different element, I would say, into the research.

But overall, working for B Corps, I think another huge impact is as an know the initiatives that inspired us in terms of giving back to communities. We have employee treks where groups are going to build solar panels in areas of need, and we have all of these other initiatives that I hadn’t experienced at other companies in the past. And so that’s really been a very enriching part of Inspire’s culture, to have all of those additional initiatives outside of just the core of our work, to give back to the community, right? Yeah. And then also just the people. I would say working for a team where everyone is aligned on the mission, it just adds this magic to the work environment. And working on Inspire, I work with some of the best people. Everyone is so eager and hardworking.

They’re all lined towards meeting our goals because we all care deeply about the mission. And it’s very special to have that type of environment where we’re all working towards a cause together.

Ellie

 Definitely, the idea of doing good while doing business is something that I think every company should strive for. So it’s very interesting to hear how your company approaches that. Can you speak to some of the unique challenges then that you face in your role when gathering and interpreting consumer data for a B corporation?

 Stephanie

 Sure. I think from a research standpoint, there’s not a ton of difference because I try to stay unbiased in how I’m conducting research. I would say more so on building out the strategic implications and any recommendations. That’s where you kind of just wear a couple of different hats. And so you want to make sure that recommendations that you’re making are aligned with the research and with the mission. And if it’s not calling that out and saying, hey, this research study is showing x, which doesn’t necessarily align with where we’re going. Here are some ways to think about that. And so I think keeping that in mind has been really impactful in the way that I communicate research to the different stakeholders in the company. Right.

Ellie

 And speaking of stakeholders, how do you balance the need for profit with the social environmental consciousness inherent in a B Corp while getting insights from consumer data?

Stephanie

 Yeah, I mean, I would say I’m lucky in that’s outside of my role in terms of balancing process and the environmental impact. But we have a team that does a great job with that. But from a research standpoint, again, I think it’s kind of similar to your last question. It’s really showing, this is what the data is saying. And a lot of times the data is saying that customers want lower prices for energy in general. That’s a general trend that we’ve seen, especially in the past year with the market. I still have to report that. I still want to make sure that our stakeholders understand this is where our customers are at right now, or prospective consumers in general. They’re hurting from high energy costs, and so this is where they’re at. And again, this is how they’re thinking about clean energy.

It’s kind of painting the full picture, but also being very honest about what the results are, because I think that just helps to inform more accurate strategies going forward.

 Ellie

 Absolutely.

Stephanie

 Even if it’s not ideal, right? Yes.

Ellie

 People don’t always want to hear what the data say, but that is still equally important. Do you think consumers then respond differently when they know they’re dealing with a B Corp? And if so, how does that affect your strategy in gathering and analyzing the data?

Stephanie

 I think that awareness is pretty low for B Corps. I don’t have a stat top of mind on that, but I would say if you’re talking to consumers, unless they’re in the space, they may not be aware of what it means to be a B corporation. I do think that communicating what it means is really impactful. And so the label B Corp may not mean a lot to an average energy consumer, but then explaining what that all means and what goes behind all of the certification process, it brings out an emotional response in consumers. And we know that buying from companies that give back to community or support local initiatives or support the planet, consumers are becoming more and more interested in that, especially the younger generations, making sure that their purchases are making a difference.

And so whether or not they know what a B Corp is, they are typically aligned with the messaging around that. And so that’s been helpful. I think in terms of research.

We haven’T researched a ton around labeling ourselves as a B Corp or not. It’s more so around education of what clean energy can do and how they can make that easy switch and increase their impact. Right.

Ellie

 And from a consumer perspective, if someone is on the lookout for switching to renewable energy, what advice would you give to them when they’re choosing between different organizations in terms of what to look out for, to make sure this company is credible and the best, so to speak?

Stephanie

 Yeah, I mean, I would definitely look into the details around the plan and trying to understand where the energy is sourced from. And so for Inspire, we have information on where our renewable energy credits are coming from, what projects we’re supporting, and things like that. And I think it’s just important to do a little bit of research to understand if that information is available from the companies so that you get a basic understanding of what percentage of your plan is renewable energy. Inspire plans are all 100%, but some have varying degrees, and then you just kind of align that with your needs and what makes sense for your household. So I would say that’s important. And then also reading customer reviews, I would say for most products, I think that’s important.

Ellie

 And understanding a little bit more about the company and where it came from. I think that’s all just helpful research to get more familiarity around the product that you would be signing up for. And then also what the customer experience would be and what you could kind of anticipate there. Right.

And seeing energy, as you say, not top of the mind of most consumers, what would you say to highlight that if a consumer has the opportunity to switch, that they should do so?

 Stephanie

 Yeah, to me, it’s an easy switch, and it makes such a big impact. And so I think highlighting that low effort, high reward, I think is really attractive to a lot of customers. And then just understanding the impact it makes, and going back to those equivalencies that you saw on our website, understanding how it compares to actions you’re doing every day, I think that is one of the most impactful ways to really connect with a consumer so that they’re really understanding. Okay. There is a huge difference if I sign up for a clean energy supplier versus a regular supplier or the utility. Right.

Ellie

 And in terms of the corporation side of things, what advice would you give companies that are struggling to connect with their consumers, especially industries that are less consumer-centric?

Stephanie

Yeah, that’s a good question. I mean, I definitely support research, obviously. I think that is one of the best ways that you can uncover what’s going on, and I would say different types of research as well. So if consumers are really just not engaging, doing interviews or focus groups can really bring out more than maybe like a quantitative survey. And so making sure you’re finding different ways to connect with the customer so that you can really understand their headspace and kind of break down maybe some of the assumptions that your team has, trying to understand if those are valid or not. I think you really just have to hear from the consumer. And I’ve found that having those open conversations can be a lot more revealing than other research methods.

I would say continuing to try with different types of research studies to really crack that consumer Mindset and bridge the gap there is really important, and then also just continuously doing, keeping the conversation open. So for us, talking with our customers, really important. Part of our overall business strategy is making sure we have a pulse on the customer, and then that then leads to optimization research and things like that to make sure that we are doing other parts of the business in a way that still connect back to the customer.

Ellie

 I love that. Thank you so much, Stephanie. Before we wrap up, is there anything that we haven’t touched upon in terms of research data or inspire energy that you want to tell our listeners about?

Stephanie

I think we covered a lot. I would just say that for me, going back to kind of the mission-driven work, I think that working for a company where you really align with their mission it’s had such a great impact on my day to day, my career. It just kind of is a life changing shift in how you look at your work. And so I think, for me, that’s been something that’s been really impactful in my life. And I think it’s just something that is good to keep in mind. Going forward with all careers is making sure that you have that alignment. It just makes the work so much more rewarding. Yeah, I think that’s about it.

Ellie

 Thank you so much.

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