Enigin Marketing

Do Your Customers Care How ‘Green’ You Are?

eniginUp until recently, market research indicated that customers did not really care whether a company was ‘green’ or not. At Enigin, we were convinced that this public perception was on the cusp of change and a new Green Marketing Study from Opinion Research Corporation suggests that we were right. When asked how important it was that a company was environmentally conscious, 60% of respondents claimed it was either ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important’!

So how can a company promote it’s green credentials? Enigin believes there are no shortcuts in this area…you have to do something green before you can promote yourself as environmentally conscious. However, many companies already have a green aspect to their business, perhaps without even realising it. At Enigin for example we use lots of recycled goods, from pens to coasters to coffee cups. If you have a look around your organisation you will likely find something you are doing behind the scenes that you can communicate with your customers so they can appreciate the efforts you are making. Add it to the ‘About Us’ section of your website or include a link to your environmental statement on your email correspondence.

But that’s just the start. Your customers will want to see continual progress. There are lots of improvements that Enigin are looking at which might be worth considering including supply chains, manufacturing processes, business travel, remote working & waste disposal. But at Enigin we think the most important to focus on is energy.

Why Energy? Well, energy production is the biggest contributor to carbon emissions and many scientists therefore agree that how we get and use our energy is going to make the biggest difference in the fight against climate change. So what options are there?
The two main ones are Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. From a marketing viewpoint Renewable Energy appears to be the most attractive. Install a wind turbine outside your offices and it will be an instant talking point. It’s easy for people to see and understand the action you are taking. But there are downsides. Renewable technology is expensive, difficult to install, often requires planning permission and the paybacks are ‘eye-wateringly’ long (15-20 years in many cases!). Energy efficiency has none of these negatives, its free or cheap to implement and the paybacks are either instant or very short. But marketing Energy Efficiency has always been difficult largely because the results are often invisible.

This is probably why Enigin’s Eniscope is proving to be such a hit with companies that want to promote their energy efficiency efforts. Not only can it pinpoint energy leaks and highlight energy abusers, it can power a stunning realtime energy display which engages your customers and promotes your improvements. The Realtime Energy Display can be fed to your website or a dedicated VDU (visual display unit) in your premises. Enigin’s Eniscope has proven to empower behavioural changes in energy users with documented savings of up to 40%. This in turn can be communicated directly and instantly with your customers and demonstrates in a highly meaningful way that you are taking energy efficiency seriously.

So, do your customers care how ‘Green’ you are? Clearly, if you’re not green, you could end up on their blacklist.

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The previous was the second Enigin article in the series of “posts from a personal perspective” series.
The following is the first in the Enigin series.
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Enigin PLC – why a plc?

Part of the “Posts from a personal perspective” series

Enigin PLCSeeking employment in the South West of the UK, I responded to an advertisement for the post of Finance Manager with Enigin and identified almost immediately that this was Enigin plc. Before attending an interview I embarked on a fairly intensive review of who and what this Company was.

I have held posts as Company Accountant and General Manager for a number of Companies in the UK and my work has often required that I search all available sources to establish the integrity and creditworthiness of various organizations. My experience took to me Enigin’s own websites as my first port of call and again, quite swiftly I identified that this Company offered “Business Opportunities” in the Energy Saving Business. “Business Opportunities”; immediately my suspicion was aroused. Was this a scam?

I quickly went on to search Enigin’s Company records at Companies House. (Companies House is an Executive Agency of the United Kingdom Government in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. All limited companies in Great Britain are registered with Companies House and file specific details as required by the Companies Act 1985.)

Enigin of-course is incorporated as a ‘plc’ – “Public Limited Company” as distinct from the more usual ‘Ltd’ – “Limited Company” and as such is subject to far more stringent regulatory policies. I was also aware that incorporation as a ‘plc’ required a much more significant financial input on the part of the shareholders than the more usual ‘Ltd’.
There are countless “Limited Companies” in the UK set up with minimal funds. £100 GBP or even £1 GBP shareholdings – you and I might call them “paper” companies, a screen of limited liability set up behind a worthless investment.

A ‘plc’ on the other hand requires a minimum Issued Shareholding of £50,000 GBP. On searching Enigin’s records I discovered that even though UK legislation would allow the shareholders of Enigin to take up these Issued shares with only 25% payment, Enigin’s shareholders had invested the total amount at inception; 100% of the Issued Shareholding.

So, why would a group of entrepreneurs choose to invest these kinds of sums when they could achieve the same with pocket change?
Integrity. Credibility.

Is Enigin a scam? Certainly not; these guys have invested their own funds in taking their own “Business Opportunity” and are not going anywhere.

Did I get the job? Yes, I did. I am now General Manager of Enigin’s Finance & Operations here in St. Austell, Cornwall, UK and have secured a challenging and rewarding career opportunity.

Does the fact that I work for Enigin make my observations any less relevant? Absolutely not; I enjoy my work and am well rewarded but at the end of the day, the shareholders own this business, not me!

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Update 30/11/09
I have to admit that it has been awhile since I have looked at the Enigin page, and although I am short on time I have recently found out about a scheme that is being pushed in London right now that I wanted to share. It is called London 10.10, and the basic premise of it is companies sign up and pledge that by the end of 2010, they will have cut their carbon footprint by 10%. Although that may not seem like much (especially when you are looking at a company like Enigin who can cut a company’s energy bills alone by 20-40%) it would be truly amazing if a substantial number of companies got on board with this project. And just a little bit from a wide range of people and industries would make a huge difference, could it be that the statistics are changing and now it is essential for a company to care about their ‘green credentials’?