Retail user experience for sustainable energy service

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Understand rising customer expectations of energy providers to deliver innovative, personalized and omnichannel customer experiences for an energy company with a focus on renewable energy.

3 things to know

Understand the energy market

Experientia interviewed energy experts and users with different levels of experience. This allowed us to understand people’s habits, sources of information, and the online platforms currently most used. The emphasis was on sustainable and environmental developments and technologies.

Identify opportunities

Participatory activities with users and client allowed us to identify opportunities and outline three concepts, all considered for further development. Each of the concepts will result in a digital touchpoint for users to inform better customer decisions in the energy market by sharing tips and suggestions in matters of sustainability and energy usage.

Involve users in energy saving on the local level

Experientia conducted a comprehensive communication analysis to highlight the need for a coherent and defined communication strategy, with a focus on environmental and sustainable energy aspects, in order to enable a greater focus on customer-centered energy services.

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Context

A renewable energy company wants to expand its market towards retail customers, strengthening its presence on the Italian market in a context of continuous change in the energy sector.

Challenge

Facing growing environmental awareness, the client aimed to better understand the retail user experience to design an attractive, updated service offering and asked Experientia for support in this challenge.

Research

Experientia conducted desk research on competitors’ energy services, analyzed relevant case studies and interviewed energy experts (including individuals ranging from architects, urban experts, and similar professionals) in order to shape an extensive trend research and identified strategic market opportunities for the client. These experts were carefully selected to bring diverse perspectives and insights into our research efforts.

The Experientia team also conducted qualitative user interviews in order to understand (potential) customer behaviors and their gain/pain points to map and evaluate the user experience. The in-depth interviews allowed us to investigate the research question from a wide, comprehensive perspective.

Model and Design

Experientia utilized findings from the research to frame and define opportunities. The team conducted participatory activities to outline new design concepts. Through sharing sessions and participatory activities we validated and prioritized the opportunities emerged from the research, to develop ad hoc solutions for the client and its targeted users. 

In parallel, the entire research activity involved also analyzing company’s communication to identify weaknesses and opportunities to build a consistent communication strategy.

Impact

The results of the project allow to shape 3 main concepts linked to potential solutions to be implemented in the following phase. The team identified standard services, energy market touch-points, ideas, and best practices that inspired the design phase, working alongside with project key stakeholders to brainstorm and develop potential solutions to attract new retail customers. 

After thorough evaluation and consideration, the client team selected these concepts to be developed in a second of the project, now ongoing. This strategic decision demonstrates our client’s commitment to implementing innovative solutions and underscores the value of our collaborative approach in shaping the project’s future direction.