Small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) make up 75% of the business segment and represent around 17% of U.S. national electric usage, but are often overlooked for utility programs since they are so hard to reach. 

Despite the widening availability of options, uptake on advanced rates for small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) has been slow. Uplight partnered with See Change Institute to speak with 20 SMB business owners across the United States and managers to better understand why.

First, most SMBs are not aware of their current rate status, the options available to them, and potential benefits of switching to an alternative rate. Many SMBs are wary of changing to a rate that does not align with the way they operate their business. As a segment, SMBs are also understandably risk averse and reluctant to make changes that could increase their monthly bill. 

Even if they are interested, this segment perceives switching rates as difficult and time intensive, and assume they need to decipher the rates themselves without personalized insights. And contacting them can be difficult, especially as many are wary of fraudsters posing as their utility. 

However, our research found that once customers learned about new rate opportunities, they were interested in exploring them or even switching–provided that they had the right information in front of them and that the process was easy. More broadly, SMBs want to hear from their utility on a regular basis around rates and billing specifically. 

Hear from our participants firsthand and learn tips on engaging with this important, but hard to reach segment by downloading the eBook.