Tracking Brand Health in Utilities: A Pulse on Perception and Loyalty
In the fast-evolving world of utilities, brand health is no longer a “nice-to-have” metric—it is a strategic imperative. Even in regulated environments, where there is no competition and customer choice is not an option, perception drives reality and performance in ways that reach far beyond marketing. Utility leadership is under increasing pressure to quantify brand equity and measure how their organization is perceived across crucial dimensions such as trust, innovation, and customer focus. Why does this matter? Because the stakes are higher than ever: regulatory decisions, stakeholder alignment, and internal buy-in on priorities for customer experience (CX) initiatives are all influenced by the strength and clarity of a utility’s brand health across key strategic areas.
Why Brand Perception Matters in Utilities
Traditionally, utilities have operated in a space where customer choice is limited by geography and regulation. However, the landscape is shifting. Today, regulators, investors, and advocacy groups are scrutinizing utilities with greater intensity, demanding transparency, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to the needs of its customer base. Brand health is emerging as a vital benchmark in this environment—a barometer for public sentiment that can sway regulators and other key stakeholders to shape the future of the organization.
Moreover, utilities are facing new challenges and opportunities: the rise of renewable energy, the push for digital transformation fueled by artificial intelligence (AI), and the urgent need to address environmental and social concerns. In this context, the perception of a utility’s brand—including its trustworthiness, its capacity for innovation, and its commitment to its customers—can be a decisive factor in securing regulatory approvals, attracting investment to maintain and build key infrastructure, and developing and sustaining customer loyalty.
Quantifying Brand Equity and Loyalty: The New Mandate for Market Researchers
Gone are the days when brand health was measured by vague notions of awareness or preference. Today’s market researchers working for or on behalf of utilities are tasked with developing robust, tangible metrics that capture the full spectrum of brand equity. This means going beyond simple one-size-fits-all quantitative exercises to measure nuanced perceptions across key dimensions.
Recently, Bellomy partnered with an electric utility to identify and subsequently track the factors that most impact brand health and loyalty among its customer base as well as those non-customers in their current and potential service areas. The resulting research approach combined robust Advanced Analytics techniques with a nuanced understanding of area residents to produce a customized and actionable brand health metric.
First, a benchmark study was conducted to identify the key factors that most influence brand health among dozens of attributes that cover all aspects of the service offering. As part of this initial research, several key performance indicators (KPIs) were identified to build a “composite score” to quantitatively measure brand loyalty.
This initial quantitative research, through its measurement of performance across all key service areas and its overall loyalty assessment via the composite score, provided a comprehensive baseline evaluation of the utility’s brand health. The data the study yielded was combined with insights gathered from qualitative internal and external stakeholder interviews, residential focus groups, and commercial in-depth interviews (IDIs) to provide the utility a broad and deep view of its brand health.
The benchmark study was followed up with the development and launch of a tracking study that is continually measuring brand health, including performance of key attributes and service diagnostics, over time.
The tracking study provides the utility with an ongoing assessment of its brand which enables it to make real-time, data-driven adjustments to its related strategies and initiatives on a regular basis.
Brand Health and Regulatory Outcomes
One of the most compelling reasons to track brand health in utilities is its growing influence on regulatory outcomes. Regulators are increasingly attuned to public sentiment and the effect it has on the utility’s ability to effectively serve the community. A utility with a strong brand—one that is trusted, innovative, and customer-focused—may find it easier to secure rate cases, gain approval for new initiatives, and navigate the complexities of transitioning to more sustainable and greener energy sources.
Conversely, a utility with weak or negative brand perceptions may face heightened scrutiny, delays, or even outright opposition. In this context, brand health insights become a powerful tool to understand advocacy and support, as well as identify potential risks. Strong brand metrics demonstrate a utility’s commitment to stakeholders (both internal and external) and customers and, ultimately, help make a compelling case for their proposals.
Driving Internal Buy-In for Customer Experience Initiatives
Brand health metrics also play a critical role inside the organization. Customer experience (CX) initiatives often require significant investment and cross-functional collaboration. Gaining internal buy-in can be challenging, especially in organizations where operational efficiency, siloed priorities, and regulatory compliance have historically taken precedence.
Clear, indefensible brand insights can bridge this gap internally throughout the utility. By demonstrating the tangible impact of brand perceptions on customer loyalty, regulatory outcomes, and long-term business strategy and performance, consumer insights partners (like Bellomy) help their utility clients build a strong case for investing in CX. This data-driven approach not only aligns leaders around a common vision but also empowers teams to prioritize initiatives that deliver the greatest value to customers, stakeholders, and the community at large.
Uncovering Perception Gaps and Operational Blind Spots
Utilities serve diverse bases, from residential and commercial customers to civic and community organizations as well as the community at large. Each group may have different expectations, pain points, and perceptions of the utility’s brand. Tracking brand health allows market researchers to identify perception gaps within and across these groups—gaps that can signal critical opportunities and threats to the organization operationally and strategically.
For example, a utility may enjoy high trust ratings among residential customers but struggle with perceptions of innovation among commercial customers. Or there may be geographic disparities in customer satisfaction that reflect underlying service, infrastructure, or community relation issues. By bringing these opportunities to the surface, utilities can target customer and community engagements more effectively, allocate resources where they are needed most, and ensure that no segment within its sphere of influence is left behind.
The Power of Monitoring Brand and Sentiment Data in Tandem
Brand health is not static—it evolves in response to market trends, operational changes, and external events and touchstones. To stay ahead, leading utilities are combining brand tracking with real-time sentiment analysis. By monitoring both structured brand metrics and unstructured sentiment data (from social media, direct customer feedback, and public forums), insights teams gain a 360-degree view of public perception.
This holistic approach enables utilities to:
- Highlight Potential Long-Term Trends: Identify emerging opportunities and gaps before they become critical issues
- Pinpoint Areas of Risk: Detect early warning signs of reputational challenges, such as negative media coverage or stakeholder and community dissatisfaction
- Shape Messaging and Engagement: Tailor communications to address specific concerns, reinforce positive attributes, and build trust with key audiences
Integrated insights platforms, like Bellomy’s Research Cloud and AI Analytics for Text tool, provide a single ecosystem to review and analyze both sentiment data and brand health metrics—enabling the most efficient means of uncovering and understanding these brand insights.
By integrating these insights into key decision-making, utilities can proactively manage their brand, respond to stakeholder and community needs more quickly, and build brand staying power and resilience, in a rapidly changing environment.
Building a Future-Ready Utility Brand
In today’s utilities space, brand health is more than a marketing metric—it is a strategic lever that influences regulatory outcomes, stakeholder and community trust, and long-term business performance. By investing in sophisticated brand tracking and sentiment analysis, utilities can gain a steady pulse on public perception, uncover hidden risks, and drive meaningful changes in key strategic areas across the organization.
The utilities that succeed in this new era will be those that recognize the power of perception, embrace data-driven brand health assessments, and put customers and the community first, ahead of everything else they do. By tracking brand health with rigor and purpose, utilities can not only navigate today’s challenges but also build a foundation for lasting loyalty and sustainable growth.
Consider Bellomy as your next strategic insights partner to evaluate and assess the current and future state of your company’s brand health. By leveraging Bellomy's expertise in brand equity and performance research, your organization can assess its brand’s vitality and market position through the measurement of customer perceptions, brand loyalty, and engagement.
