Building the consumer relationship through operation dialogue.

The co-up reputation is on the line. Coops are known as consumer-directed, consumer-driven businesses. That quality takes front and center with the coming of competition to the electric utility industry. If retail wheeling becomes a reality in your state, as it already has in 14 states, consumers will make decisions that will determine the value and, indeed, the survival of an electric utility.

If there is customer choice, how customers evaluate the products, price and services from their utility will determine which utility wins and which utility loses. And even if there is no competition, we all know the value of satisfied consumers. That's our business.

We have long said that we are close to our consumers. But the potential for choice demands a new focus: on understanding today's consumers, on measuring their satisfaction, and on strategically managing your co-op's relationship with them.

This article will focus on four issues:

1. What national research says about now today's consumers feel about their co-ops

2. The need for every Board to allocate adequate resources for ongoing consumer research

3. How to use research data strategically to plan and budget targeted communications and marketing programs that are responsive to today's consumers

4. Using Operation Dialogue to strengthen the co-up-consumer relationship

   First, let's look at what recent national consumer research revealed about how consumers feel about their co-ups. Earlier this year, KRC Research and Consulting, a subsidiary of the New York-based advertising firm that is working with the Electric Cooperatives' Brand Steering Committee, conducted a series of quantitative and qualitative research projects.

   The "qualitative" research consisted of 21 focus groups held around the country. Fifteen of these groups were made up of electric cooperative members and six groups involved non-members. In-depth interviews were also held with 15 commercial and industrial members, representing mining, school, manufacturing, agribusiness, and hotels and recreation.

   Following this qualitative research, a nationwide telephone survey of 750 randomly selected co-up members was conducted. The results of this survey revealed two significant findings:

   First, the majority of co-up customers, residential, commercial and industrial, prefer to have a choice of energy providers even if they say they don't intend to switch. Consumers believe that rates and service are better when there is competition.

   Second, most consumers express a high opinion of their electric co-up as a service provider. Co-ups tend to receive excellent marks for caring about customers, for being local, and for being connected to the community.

   Four themes were identified from the national research that tend to differentiate electric co-ups from other kinds of energy providers:

1. Electric Co-ups are local. Consumers see us as community based and as small enough to be flexible. For most consumers, being close to home is more important than being big.

2. Co-ops are accessible and offer personalized service. Consumers know our employees, and they know they're accessible. Messages that describe co-ops as benefiting individual customers as well as the community at large received the most positive endorsements by consumers.

3. We are seen as dependable. We get the job done. Many consumers recognize the co-op most directly when they see line personnel at work. Getting the lights back on after a storm represents the co-op at its best.

4. Co-ops offer consumers a "voice." Members feel that we will listen to their concerns, that we are...