Trust can be a barrier to participation in energy-efficiency programs. And while complexity, cost or lack of awareness may play a role, communication deserves a closer look, too.
Do people understand why the program exists? Does the language reflect the way they actually talk about energy use at home? Are they hearing from people they recognize and trust?
These questions can help communications teams look beyond simply explaining a program and start thinking about what makes people feel confident enough to participate.
Here are a few places to start.
Start by Asking What’s Behind the Hesitation
When participation is lower than expected, it’s tempting to reach for simple explanations: the program is too complicated, people aren’t interested or there’s too much competing for their attention.
Those things may be part of the picture. But they can also leave some important questions unanswered. Sometimes the barrier isn’t the program itself. It might be how the program is being introduced.
If people don’t understand why an organization is offering an incentive, they may question its motives. If the language is highly technical, they may struggle to see how the program relates to their everyday lives. And if all the information comes from an institution they don’t know or trust, even a useful program can feel distant.
As we explored in Missing Motive: Building Trust in Energy Participation, understanding those underlying questions can help communications teams think differently about participation.
Instead of asking only, “How do we get more people to sign up?” it can be useful to ask, “What might be making people hesitate?”
Make the “Why” Easier to Understand
One of the simplest questions about an energy-efficiency program can also be one of the easiest to overlook: Why does this program exist?
Program communications often need to explain eligibility, incentives, applications and technical requirements. Those details matter. But starting there can mean the purpose gets buried.
Consider what someone needs to understand before the details feel relevant.
Maybe the program can help make a drafty home more comfortable during a Manitoba winter. Maybe it can help reduce energy costs. Maybe there’s a broader community or environmental goal people want to understand before deciding whether to participate.
Being clear about those motives doesn’t mean promising an outcome you can’t guarantee. It means giving people enough context to understand what the program is trying to do and why they might want to learn more.
That’s a useful distinction: transparency isn’t about saying more. It’s about making the information people need easier to find and understand.
Use the Language People Use
Energy efficiency comes with its own vocabulary. The people you’re trying to reach may not use it.
“Air sealing,” for example, might be perfectly accurate terminology within the industry. But someone experiencing the problem at home may be thinking about a room that’s always cold or the draft coming through a window.
Neither description is wrong. The question is which one helps someone recognize that the program might be relevant to them.
Plain language can make technical information easier to understand without oversimplifying it. Real experiences can help, too. Stories about comfort, energy bills or changes people notice in their homes give audiences something concrete to connect with.
The goal isn’t to remove all technical language. It’s to translate what the program does into terms that make sense in people’s everyday lives.
Think About Who’s Delivering the Message
What you say matters. Who people hear it from can matter, too.
An official program website may be the right place for eligibility requirements or application details. But that doesn’t mean the organization behind the program needs to be the only voice explaining its value.
Depending on the audience, local contractors, community organizations, neighbours or past participants may bring different context to the conversation. They can help explain an idea in more familiar language, answer practical questions or connect a program to the realities of a particular community.
The question isn’t simply, “Who can repeat this message for us?” It’s worth considering who your audience already turns to for information and whose perspective could make the program easier to understand.
What Community Advocacy Can Teach Us About Trust
There’s another lesson we can borrow from advocacy marketing: involving people isn’t the same as giving them a role in shaping the message.
In our conversations with community leaders about effective advocacy marketing, the idea of “Nothing about us without us” came up as an important reminder. David Kron of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba spoke about the importance of including people with lived experience in the conversations and decisions that affect them.
Energy-efficiency programs are a different context, but the principle raises a useful question for communicators: Are we creating messages for a community, or creating them with the people who understand that community firsthand?
That could mean inviting community partners into the process earlier, listening to how people describe their own needs or making room for local voices and experiences in the creative work. The goal isn’t to make a message appear more authentic. It’s to build communication from a better understanding of the people it’s meant to reach.
Build Transparency Into the Communication
Trust isn’t something a communications team can manufacture with the right headline. But there are ways to make communications more transparent, relevant and responsive.
The Transparency-to-Trust Framework gives us three useful places to focus:
- State intent at the start. Don’t make people search for the reason a program exists. Explain its purpose and the benefits it is designed to offer before getting deep into requirements and processes.
- Invite shared authorship. Test messages with the people they’re intended for. Listen to the questions that come up and involve community partners where their knowledge and perspective can improve the communication.
- Show real-world impact. Connect technical program information to outcomes people can recognize, whether that’s greater comfort, potential savings or benefits within their community.
These aren’t shortcuts to trust. They’re ways to make sure the communication isn’t creating unnecessary distance between a useful program and the people it’s intended to reach.
Keep Listening After the Message Goes Out
Communication doesn’t stop once the campaign launches or the program page goes live. The questions people ask afterward can tell you a lot.
Are the same eligibility questions coming up again and again? Are people misunderstanding an incentive? Is there language that makes sense internally but isn’t connecting outside the organization? Are community partners hearing concerns that aren’t showing up through your usual feedback channels? Those signals can help communications teams identify where clarity is still missing.
A few practical ways to keep learning include testing messages with small groups, paying attention to recurring questions, checking in with community partners and looking beyond signups when evaluating communications.
Participation is important, but it isn’t the only thing worth understanding. You can also look at whether people understand the program, whether they know why it’s being offered and whether common questions or concerns are changing over time.
The point isn’t to react to every piece of feedback. It’s to stay curious about what the response can teach you.
Key Takeaways
When participation in an energy-efficiency program is lower than expected, communication may not be the only factor. But it’s one worth examining.
Start by looking beyond surface explanations for hesitation. Make the program’s purpose clear. Use language people recognize. Think carefully about who is involved in shaping and sharing the message. And keep listening once that message is out in the world.
You don’t need to make a program sound simpler than it is or promise benefits you can’t guarantee. The opportunity is to make it easier for people to understand what’s being offered, why it’s being offered and whether it makes sense for them.
That’s a more useful place to start building trust.
FAQ
Why do people hesitate to join energy-efficiency programs?
There isn’t one reason. Cost, eligibility, complexity, awareness and individual circumstances can all play a role. Communication can also contribute when people don’t understand why a program exists, how it relates to their needs or whether they can trust the organization delivering it.
How can communications teams build trust in energy-efficiency programs?
Start with clarity. Explain why the program exists, use language people understand and make important information easy to find. It can also help to involve community members and trusted partners in shaping communications and to keep listening to the questions people ask after launch.
Why does explaining the purpose of an energy-efficiency program matter?
Program details are easier to evaluate when people understand the reason behind them. Explaining the purpose up front can give audiences context for incentives, eligibility requirements and other information they encounter later.
Why is plain language important in energy-efficiency communications?
Industry terminology may be accurate without being familiar to the people a program is trying to reach. Plain language helps connect technical concepts to recognizable experiences, such as a drafty room, high energy bills or difficulty keeping a home comfortable.
How can community voices support energy-efficiency communications?
Community members, local organizations, contractors and program participants may bring perspectives or knowledge that an organization doesn’t have on its own. Involving them early can help identify questions, language and concerns that communications teams might otherwise miss.
What is the Transparency-to-Trust Framework?
The framework focuses on three areas: stating the program’s intent clearly, inviting people and communities into the communication process and showing real-world impact. Together, these practices can help make program communications more transparent and relevant.
How do you know if energy-efficiency communications are working?
Participation is one measure, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Look at recurring questions, feedback from participants and community partners, message comprehension and changes in common concerns alongside program signups. These signals can help show where communication is working and where more clarity may be needed.
