Marketing Home Energy Audits: You Can Lead Consumers to a Window but You Can't Make Them Caulk

摘要

Organizations responsible for implementing residential energy conservation programs often find themselves asking why more people aren't taking actions to conserve energy since it is in their, as well as society's interest. This paper draws upon both program research and marketing theory to raise issues and suggest solutions related to this question. The main focus of this paper is on marketing one prominent program, the Residential Conservation Service (RCS). This focus was chosen because the RCS program typifies the challenges posed in marketing energy conservation and because as of early 1983, the state of Minnesota is considering changes in the program. The first section of the paper discusses energy conservation in the context of marketing concepts. The second section examines the Residential Conservation Service as it is implemented in Minnesota. The third section suggest some opportunities for improving the RCS program from a marketing perspective and the need for further research.