The value of listening to people
London, 12th May 2009
As Neil rightly pointed out, energy is not an exciting topic to talk about in the pub or with potential customers. Electricity is like an underground tool – a means to do a variety of things without us knowing about it, other than the bill that is paid from our bank accounts every month. It’s a basic. A necessity. It lets us lead the life we choose through the products that we use. And if something is so basic, so fundamental, we would assume we feel we have control over it.
Since starting at Onzo, I’ve spoken with 100s of everyday people not only in the UK but around the world about the notion of electricity usage. Although maybe not the most exciting topic to talk about, everyone joins in because it’s a subject that affects us all. From the householder who pays the bill, to the kid who plays on his X-box all weekend, everyone has an impact.
Unfortunately, the majority of people I’ve spoken with are suffering from a feeling of lack of control over their usage, mainly because they do not have the tools to understand their usage.
Firstly, they don’t know how much they’re consuming. Although energy labels on products help, they only help when you’re in the shop buying a new appliance; this knowledge does not transfer into everyday use.
Secondly, people don’t have the time to sit down and inspect their bills and work out their consumption. We lead busy lives and this is the last thing we want to do at the weekend.
Thirdly, once they know how much they’re using, people want to know how they can save. However, information on how to reduce consumption is not always accessible, apart from the usual generic advice.
And this advice must let people plan for the future, not just work out what to do now.
Talking with our future users is vital. I’d like to think that it’s not just for our business development process. There’s something deeper than a step in a long process. It is vital to our learning about how to be better designers, engineers and developers and about how our products will contribute to other people’s lives. Just as understanding energy use is a basic to our future users, listening to people is a basic for the Onzo team.