Gary Satterfield and I go way back. We met while I was working on a marketing research project for Gary twenty years ago at a utility. And he’s since gone on to become an expert in the retail energy space and was kind enough to sit down with me and my team to talk shop. The topic of deregulation, removing restrictions in a particular industry, ran a thread through much of our conversation. This has implications for consumers – and therefore, marketers.

As marketers – and as consumers – connecting the dots between previous and future behavior is the key to appreciating a good offer when we see one. And today, that’s not as simple as recommending a fun pair of boots after I bought designer jeans. With our offices, mobile devices, and homes all connected and talking to each other, being on time and on message is increasingly complicated. I recently sat down with our CEO Michael Caccavale to talk about the challenges and opportunities that marketers can uncover when we look at the smart home market.

United States energy suppliers face a challenge that is not unique to their industry and yet each and every one of the suppliers feels the pain in one way or another. Deregulation has forced energy companies to consider new ways to profit for the first time ever: to diversify their product offering and market for the first time. An increasingly crowded field of service providers offer an ever more varied assortment of pricing, packages, promotions, and add-ons, including energy. While this is happening, domestic utilities consumers are becoming more sensitive to the value of the service compared to the price they're paying. Consumers expect to be able to purchase only the services that they require based on their individual needs. And they are becoming more discerning on customer service when they need individualized attention – and more vocal when their expectations are not met.