Home > Partner Resources > Manufacturers > Develop an ENERGY STAR Strategy

To help manufacturers fully maximize their position in the ENERGY STAR market, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide representing how our most successful partners have integrated ENERGY STAR into their business plans.

Manufacturers

  1. Conduct an inventory to determine which products currently meet ENERGY STAR specifications and integrate ENERGY STAR requirements into your company’s research and development efforts. ENERGY STAR is continuously updating its specifications and revising old specifications and invites manufacturing partners to participate in this process.
  2. Identify your objectives for energy efficiency (e.g., sales, corporate stewardship, or customer loyalty).
  3. Determine how to integrate ENERGY STAR into your current tactics to best meet the identified objectives. The convenience of developing an ENERGY STAR marketing strategy is that you don’t necessarily have to create new tactics exclusive to ENERGY STAR, but rather, incorporate energy-saving education into your current tactics. We suggest incorporating ENERGY STAR into all aspects of your customer outreach strategy to maximize results:
    • Employee training — Integrate ENERGY STAR into employee training with the help of training resources so that ENERGY STAR is effectively leveraged in the wholesale process.
    • Tradeshows — Highlight the energy-efficiency of your ENERGY STAR qualified products at trade shows to help differentiate your products from the competition. This will also demonstrate to a very important audience, including the press, your commitment to helping the environment.
    • Advertising/Marketing — Integrate ENERGY STAR into your advertising and marketing efforts — i.e., customer brochures, print and broadcast advertising, coop advertising, direct mail, etc., to help educate customers about the energy-saving benefits of your products.
    • Internet — Use the Internet to feature ENERGY STAR labeled products online. The Internet has become a staple of any customer outreach strategy. Whether it’s your Web page or Internet marketing or advertising, there’s a role for energy-saving education to help drive sales. ENERGY STAR has web support materials to help you feature your qualified products on line.

    • Public Relations — Ensure that your energy saving projects or products get recognized. Energy savings can offer a strong hook for press — especially during the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter. Your success story can be about energy-savings opportunities and recommendations, featuring a representative from your company as an expert. This exposure will get your name in the press without appearing like an advertisement. EPA will offer quotes to increase your news credibility.

      Identifying ways to weave ENERGY STAR into your current activities will allow you to fully leverage ENERGY STAR for the greatest benefits using the least resources. You’ll also find that designing a comprehensive ENERGY STAR plan will put you in a strong position for our Partner of the Year awards — so don’t forget to include your strategy in your application.

  4. Design a method for evaluating the effectiveness of integrating ENERGY STAR through quantitative measures, such as sales, or quantitative measures, such as positive public relations. ENERGY STAR partnership agreements require qualified product shipment data to help EPA measure market penetration. This quantitative data can also be used as an evaluative measure. Tracking media coverage and/or impressions can also demonstrate the success of your ENERGY STAR efforts. Formally evaluating your ENERGY STAR successes will help you justify your continued investment of ENERGY STAR to upper management and may prove to be an argument for expanding ENERGY STAR efforts.
  5. Coordinate with other partners on promotions for ENERGY STAR products for a greater impact in the marketplace. Attend ENERGY STAR partner meetings to exchange information about promotions with other partners. Find out what promotions other partners are conducting by searching the partner activity database.