ATLANTA, March 17, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- In the energy industry, introducing new products is risky. Chartwell research shows that dozens of utility products are pulled from the market each year. Product developers must be both innovative and cautious simultaneously. But how can one person or group of people wear two opposite hats? Many utilities have found that a formal product development process provides the framework that allows product developers to go out on a limb with creative ideas while concurrently guarding against failure.
Chartwell's latest report, "Utility Product Development Strategies," analyzes the results of Chartwell's annual marketing survey and provides details on more than a dozen utilities' product development strategies. In addition, the 36-page report includes two in-depth case studies on the step-by-step product development processes used at Progress Energy and JEA in Jacksonville, Fla.
Chartwell's survey shows that about one-third -- 34% -- of utilities surveyed have a formal product development process. As might be expected, larger utilities (those with 1 million or more customers) are more likely to have a formal product development process (58%), as are investor-owned utilities operating in deregulated markets (46%), states the report. Only 28% of utilities with fewer than 100,000 customers and 28% of cooperative utilities have a formal product development process. In addition, the data details utilities' use of activities supporting product development, including corporate intelligence, competitive analyses, market analyses, pilot programs and more.
Utility Product Development Strategies, which is available from Chartwell for $395, is part of The Chartwell Utility Marketing Research Series, which focuses on products, services, and customer relations issues such as marketing, promotions and public communications.
The Research Series is a 12-month membership that includes a data summary and report and accompanying database based on Chartwell's extensive annual utility survey; regular in-depth reports and case studies covering specific products/services or marketing-related issues; one-on-one consultation with Chartwell research staff on topics covered; profiles of vendors poised to help utilities in this arena; and more.
For information on membership in The Chartwell Utility Marketing Research Series or the individual report, Utility Product Development Strategies, contact Bill Grist at (800)432-5879, (404)237-9099 or bgrist@chartwellinc.com; or visit www.chartwellinc.com or Chartwell's Energy Library at www.energylibrary.com.
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Chartwell Inc. seeks to provide a better understanding of technologies, issues and management practices in the utility and retail energy services industry through best practices case studies and quantitative research.