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Small and Midsize Retail
September 10, 2008 | Updated: September 14, 2012
Small and midsize businesses are important drivers of the U.S. economy. Because savings on energy go directly to their bottom lines, these retailers are receptive to energy-efficiency strategies—but only if the strategies are free, cost very little, or pay back quickly.
Content type: Sector Snapshot | Document ID: SMB-S-8 | Author: Maureen McIntyre
Handheld Devices for Small Business Energy Audits
October 22, 2009
What are the benefits of using handheld devices to conduct energy audits for small businesses? Who are the providers of such devices?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: BCO-AskES-4 | Author: Florence Connally
Business Energy Audits
August 17, 2009
What does a typical on-site business energy audit entail? How are utilities marketing energy audits to their business customers?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: BCO-AskES-2 | Author: Kim Knox
Working with National Small Business Associations
June 1, 2009
How can utilities best work with national small business associations to deliver energy-efficiency messages to small business customers?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: SMB-AskES-9 | Author: Kelsie Bell
Marketing AC Cycling Programs to SMB Customers
May 13, 2009
What messages do utility air-conditioning cycling programs use in marketing to small and midsize business (SMB) customers? Do any programs adapt the message for different SMB sectors?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: SMB-AskES-6b | Author: Alexandra Behringer and Chad Garrett
Direct Installation Programs for Small Businesses
March 30, 2009
Can you provide information on direct-installation programs utilities are offering for small businesses? We are interested in installed measures, eligibility requirements, and payback periods, if available.
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: SMB-AskES-5a | Author: Alexandra Behringer
Small Business Efficiency Program Incentives
March 20, 2009
We are designing an incentive program that will promote energy efficiency to small businesses. What technologies are typically included? Specifically, we would like to include a broad range of low- and no-cost upgrades because small businesses are typically capital-constrained.
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: SMB-AskES-5b | Author: Alexandra Behringer and Kim Knox
Keep Your Business Customers Close—but Your Trade Allies Closer
February 15, 2009
If you’re not working with trade allies, what are you waiting for? We take a look at various ways that utilities can build or strengthen existing relationships with trade allies.
Content type: Research Brief | Document ID: SMB-RB-2 | Author: Kim Knox
Federal Incentives for Energy Efficiency and Renewable-Energy Systems
February 1, 2009
Are there any tax incentives in the U.S. Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 (EIEA 2008) that are relevant to small and midsize businesses wanting to make capital investments in energy efficiency or renewable-energy systems?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: SMB-AskES-4a | Author: Yuki Iida
Big Energy Savings from Small and Midsize Business Customers
Insights from Two Efficiency Program Managers
January 15, 2009
Marketing energy-efficiency programs to small and midsize business owners and managers can be challenging—they have diverse needs, are often capital-constrained, and are extremely busy running their businesses. So what are the best ways to reach out to these customers?
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: SMB-F-19 | Author: Kim Knox
Small Commercial Dry Cleaners
December 30, 2008
Dry cleaners work long hours for slim profits. This sector can be highly receptive to energy-efficient strategies that increase the bottom line—but only if the strategies are free, cost very little, or pay back quickly.
Content type: Sector Snapshot | Document ID: SMB-S-10 | Author: Kelsie Bell
Leadership in Gas Efficiency Programs
Results from an E Source Roundtable Discussion
December 1, 2008
Rising energy prices and increasing utility bills, coupled with the financial, environmental, and reputational costs of building new utility infrastructure or acquiring new supplies of gas or electricity, are shining a bright light on the significance of energy efficiency and conservation.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: SMB-F-18 | Author: Gregg Eisenberg
Energy Myth-Busting for Small Businesses
Results from an E Source Roundtable Discussion
September 1, 2008
By dispelling some common energy myths, utilities can help their small and midsize business customers save money and use energy more wisely. This report sets the record straight about 10 of the most prevalent energy myths that we have encountered year after year.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: SMB-F-15 | Author: Gregg Eisenberg
Small Businesses Go Retro
Achieving Greater Penetration for Lighting Retrofit Programs
September 1, 2008
The marketing effectiveness of lighting retrofit programs for small and midsize businesses can be improved by targeting the right businesses through multiple channels and with messages that appeal to those business segments.
Content type: Service Report | Document ID: SMB-29 | Author: Chad Garrett
Local Government Partnerships and DSM: Extending the Community
Results from an E Source Roundtable Discussion
August 1, 2008
Government agencies have a dual role in utility energy-efficiency programs: as customers, and as utility channel partners. As owners of public buildings, local government organizations are good candidates for inclusion in efficiency programs, and signing them on can lead to significant savings.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: SMB-F-14 | Author: Kelsie Bell
What's Cooking in Restaurant Efficiency Programs?
Results from an E Source Roundtable Discussion
June 1, 2008
With food and energy prices rising far faster than the ability of restaurants to raise prices, utilities face a choice: Help restaurant customers use energy more efficiently, or watch a rising number of them become former customers as they close their doors and auction off their fixtures.
Content type: Focus Report | Document ID: SMB-F-16 | Author: Gregg Eisenberg
Effective Small Business Lighting Programs
May 1, 2008
We are planning to launch a lighting audit program for small businesses soon. How can we drive the uptake of small business lighting audits and increase the conversion rate once they have received an audit?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: SMB-AskES-3a | Author: Alexandra Behringer
Lighting Programs for Leased Spaces
May 1, 2008
The problem with leased space is that although tenants pay for their electricity use, they do not have a long-term stake in the building; and owners don't pay the electric bills. Are there any creative programs to encourage the installation of energy-efficient lighting in this situation?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: SMB-AskES-3b | Author: Alexandra Behringer
Improving Demand-Response and Energy-Efficiency Program Participation
March 1, 2008
Why do utilities’ small business customers participate in certain demand-response and energy-efficiency programs but not others?
Content type: Ask E Source | Document ID: SMB-AskES-1 | Author: Kelsie Bell
The Rapidly Changing Photovoltaic Landscape
What You Need to Know to Effectively Serve Your SMB Customers
April 24, 2007
Headlines about global warming and energy security abound. After decades of a kind of—forgive the pun—overexposure, the political and regulatory climate for solar power in the U.S. is more conducive to market growth than ever before. On-site photovoltaic (PV) projects are now genuinely ...
Content type: Service Report | Document ID: SMB-28 | Author: Barry Friedman, Sue Wallace
ABCs and kWh's
Educating Future Customers Through K-12 Outreach
April 19, 2007
Many energy providers are using innovative methods for reaching the education sector. Within the K–12 segment, there are numerous opportunities to creatively and cost-effectively engage teachers, students, and parents—and through them, the broader community as well. In this report, we ...
Content type: Core Report, Service Report | Document ID: MS-2 | Author: Kelsie Bell, Gwen Farnsworth
Utility SMB Web Offerings: Programs, Products, and Services
March 1, 2005
This report provides an overview of the offers that utilities promote on their web sites as targeted to small and midsize business (SMB) customers. The programs, products, and services reviewed include energy-efficiency information, power quality and reliability services, customer service, billing and ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: SMB-24 | Author: Tertia Speiser
Buying Green Power: Does It Make Cents for Your Company?
July 1, 2004
Although a green energy purchase should not be expected to pay for itself with a direct economic return, it can have tangible benefits that have been persuasive with decision-makers. The three most compelling arguments are quantifying the “earned” media value of renewables; using renewables to help ...
Content type: ESCD Report, Focus Report, Research | Document ID: GE-F-7 | Author: Barry Friedman
Independent Supermarkets and Grocery Stores
December 1, 2003
Supermarkets and grocery stores have prodigious appetites for energy, spending more than US$4 billion annually on electricity alone in the United States and Canada (all dollar amounts in this report are in U.S. dollars). The rapid proliferation of food-preparation equipment in these stores means that ...
Content type: Sector Snapshot | Document ID: SB-S-2 | Author: E Source Staff
2003 Small Business Market Assessment Survey
November 1, 2003
This study was designed to help energy providers better understand the needs and expectations of small business customers. Our research has made it possible to better understand how customer segments perceive their energy provider, identify those most likely to participate in energy-efficiency programs ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: SB-19 | Author: Clay Fong
2003 Small Business Energy-Efficiency Program Roundup
October 1, 2003
Alongside renewed interest in energy efficiency, a number of utilities are promoting well-developed small business efficiency programs. These include Alliant Energy, which has taken great pains to position its small business offerings as distinct from its overall commercial products and services, as ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: SB-18 | Author: Tertia Speiser, Clay Fong
Independent Restaurants
June 1, 2003
This is an overview of the restaurant sector, with an emphasis on independent restaurants. For a more detailed look at this sector, see the E Source Multi-Client Study "Delivering Energy and Energy Services to the Restaurant Sector." Call member services to determine whether you have access to ...
Content type: Sector Snapshot | Document ID: SB-S-03-1 | Author: E Source Staff
How to Make the Most of Small Business Utility Bills
October 1, 2002
Utility bills are underutilized as a tool for reaching, helping, and engaging small business customers. Bills are an important communication channel, and they are often the only regular contact a utility has with a small business customer. Therefore, it’s important to make the most out of bills by ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: SB-15 | Author: Tertia Speiser
An Efficiency OPUS: Silicon Valley Power Reaches Out to Small Business
August 1, 2002
It's not that small businesses are disinterested in energy efficiency, it's just that finding time to research technologies, manage contractors, and secure financing is a nearly impossible task for small business operators given their wide-ranging responsibilities. Silicon Valley Power (SVP), Santa Clara, ...
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: SB-F-3 | Author: Clay Fong
Power Quality Products and Services for Small Business Customers
May 1, 2002
In the push to develop products and services for the small business market, utilities and energy service companies are giving fresh attention to power quality and reliability offers. Surge suppressors and arrestors, uninterruptible power supplies, and surge insurance are among the more popular recent ...
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: SB-F-2 | Author: Tertia Speiser
