Marketing’s Seat at the Utility Strategy Table

By Heather Siebken, Director, Councils & Marketing | 3.5-minute read

Marketing at a utility has traditionally been measured by what it produces: campaigns launched, emails sent, social posts published, and customers reached. But the role of marketing is becoming considerably more strategic.

The strongest utility marketing organizations are influencing decisions well beyond communications. They help determine what customers need to know, how they want to engage, which experiences drive action, and how customer engagement contributes to business outcomes.

That shift requires marketing to work differently within the organization.

Marketing Can’t Work in a Silo

Customer engagement rarely belongs to one department. A campaign promoting a new digital offering may involve marketing, customer experience, IT, operations, product teams, and the contact center. A rate increase requires coordination with regulatory, communications, customer service, and executive leadership. Even a simple email campaign can depend on customer data, technology, segmentation, compliance, and frontline readiness.

Marketing’s effectiveness is therefore increasingly tied to its ability to operate across the organization.

During a recent Chartwell Customer Experience Leadership Council meeting², utility leaders discussed how their teams are structured and how they collaborate across customer service, IT, operations, regulatory affairs, and other functions. While organizational models varied considerably, one theme was consistent: marketing is most effective when it is connected to the teams responsible for delivering the customer experience.

More Channels Doesn’t Mean Better Engagement

Utilities also face a growing challenge around channel strategy. Customers can be reached through email, text, social media, direct mail, digital platforms, contact centers, and in-person interactions. The question is no longer simply which channels a utility has available, but which channel makes sense for the customer, the message, and the desired action.

That requires a more deliberate approach to audience segmentation¹, predictive engagement¹ and customer journey management². Some customers may respond to a digital campaign. Others may be more receptive to an in-person conversation or community event. And in an environment where customers are increasingly selective about how they spend their attention, sending more messages across more channels can quickly become counterproductive.

The opportunity for marketing is to move from channel management to engagement orchestration, truly understanding what customers are receiving, when they are receiving it, and whether the communication is actually moving them toward the desired outcome. Review Chartwell’s 2025 Digital Experience Benchmark Survey¹ for some recent insights.

The ROI Question Isn’t Going Away

Perhaps the most persistent challenge for utility marketing leaders is demonstrating value² (members, peek at slide 10).

Open rates, impressions, clicks, and engagement remain useful measures, but they don’t necessarily answer the questions executives care about: Did the campaign increase digital adoption? Did it reduce calls? Did customers enroll in a program? Did it improve awareness? Did it influence satisfaction or participation?

Marketing’s credibility grows when its measures connect directly to business and customer outcomes. That means establishing the desired outcome before developing the campaign and identifying how that outcome will be measured. It also means marketing leaders need a seat at the table early enough to influence the strategy and not simply execute the communications after the business decision has already been made.

Marketing’s Opportunity

The future of utility marketing isn’t about producing more communications. It’s about becoming more connected to the business. That means understanding customer behavior², influencing product and experience decisions, selecting the right engagement strategy, coordinating across channels, and demonstrating measurable impact. For marketing leaders, the opportunity is significant: Move from being the team that communicates the strategy to being part of the team that helps shape it.

Chartwell’s POWERING FORWARD Brief

Marketing leaders looking to strengthen their strategic role should take action on five areas:

1. Get involved earlier. Make sure marketing is part of business and customer experience planning before communication needs are defined.
2. Build cross-functional relationships. Establish regular collaboration with CX, IT, operations, regulatory, customer service, and product teams.
3. Define the outcome first. Start campaigns by identifying the customer or business behavior you want to influence.
4. Connect channels to customer journeys. Determine where and when customers are most likely to engage rather than defaulting to the same channel mix for every audience.
5. Tie marketing metrics to business results. Move beyond activity measures and demonstrate how marketing contributes to adoption, satisfaction, participation, efficiency, revenue, or other organizational priorities.

Marketing’s value isn’t measured by how much communication a utility produces. It’s measured by how effectively it helps the organization understand, engage, and influence its customers.

¹Requires  Insight Center Membership |²Requires Customer Experience Leadership Council Membership

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Heather Siebken is a product and marketing leader and customer experience expert with more than 25 years of experience driving innovation, customer engagement, and strategic growth. She currently leads councils and marketing at Chartwell, where she designs industry forums and content that help utilities establish a customer experience strategy to navigate customer expectations and digital transformation.

Previously, Heather led product development and marketing at Omaha Public Power District, where she oversaw a broad portfolio of customer energy solutions spanning energy efficiency, demand response, electrification, and customer assistance programs. She is known for her strategic foresight, storytelling, and ability to translate complex trends into actionable business outcomes.