Trust and confidence for efficiency investments

The larger the investment, the more people want to make sure they are making the right choice. There are often rumours around that berate energy efficient products. When people feel uncertain, they are more likely to follow the lead of others, especially people similar to themselves.

 
What you need to do: 
  • Provide personal advice by a trusted party
  • Reduce risks of failure (guarantees, quality labels, certificates, etc.)
  • Reduce transaction costs (e.g. time and effort to find credible information and reliable products and services)
  • Build on real-life examples that are as similar as possible to your target group
  • Open Homes: get people who have conducted successful energy renovations to invite neighbours to see and ask questions on ‘open home’ days
  • Partner with reliable and credible organisations.
When does it work?: 
Increasing trust is very important, in particular if you are approaching the target group as an outsider. It is important both when working with private households and with organizations. It works best if:
  • if your organization and your partners are perceived of as trustworthy
  • there are good real-life examples available and they are willing to share their experiences
What do you need to look out for: 

► You may find it difficult to build up trust unless you know whom or what your target group is likely to trust as a source of information and assurance.

Template / Checklist:

No Templates/Checklists refer to this tool.