Don’t Waste Energy, Save ££££s

The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) announcement this week that UK households have cut their energy consumption by 25% over the past six years is great news for the environment and for those selling renewable energy and energy efficiency home improvements.  Finally, it would appear, the message is getting through about climate change: people are investing in making their homes more energy efficient and are changing their behaviours to save the environment. That’s certainly one side of the story.  The other side, of course, is that energy costs are increasing and disposable income is decreasing, so people are making a concerted effort to reduce the commodity that costs them such a high percentage of their hard earned cash.

As so often when there are two sides to a story, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.  Certainly, homeowners are increasingly aware of the importance of energy efficiency and the need to ‘do their bit’ to reduce emissions. But would they be quite so receptive to the energy efficiency message and quite so enthusiastic about doing their bit if they didn’t need to save on costs too…….my guess is probably not!

Sometimes, necessity really is the mother of invention and it’s because we need to reduce costs that we find new ways of doing things.  That should be as true of your marketing plans as it is of your home.  Instead of cutting marketing because you can’t afford it, you should be asking yourself how you can improve the outcomes of your marketing spend while spending less – just as millions of homeowners have apparently improved their homes to spend less on energy.

The basic premises are just the same:

• Find out how new technology can help you
• Look at where savings can be made
• Change your behaviour to make the most of the resources you have

Just as you wouldn’t expect to save energy by living in the dark or switching off the central heating completely, you can’t expect to save money on marketing by simply removing a tactic from the mix. With a bit of lateral thinking and perhaps a small investment up front, a few small changes can make a big difference to your outcomes and your outgoings.  And if you don’t believe me, just ask the ONS!