When it comes to selling water conservation enhancements to residential clients, what matters most varies drastically from what convinces commercial customers.
While financial incentives like lower water bills and rebates help, behavioral motivations drive lasting change on the residential side.
According to the Healthy Green Spaces Coalition, homeowners change their landscape and irrigation practices for a combination of practical, environmental and social reasons.
By understanding the psychology of homeowners, you can tap into different techniques that make water-saving practices more appealing to them.
Primary Drivers for Water Conservation
In the National Landscape Transformation Study by the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the number one reason cited for landscape transformations was to save water, followed by reducing maintenance and responding to the drought. Another reason shared was seeing neighbors participate and receiving social encouragement to join in.
Some of the underlying factors that lead to a change in water conservation with residential customers are when these choices align with individuals’ values, sense of control and what others are doing as well.
Early adopters often make a change not for economic gain, but out of a sense of civic responsibility or environmental concern.
Homeowners are also far more likely to invest in a water conservation project when they feel capable of managing the change themselves or can access technical help.
According to the HSGC, the more a conservation upgrade feels like a major, high-commitment endeavor, the fewer homeowners will engage. You are more successful in suggesting low-involvement, low-disruption changes such as installing a smart irrigation controller.
“When homeowners see thousands of dollars required out‐of‐pocket today to secure savings accruing years from now, the immediate cost becomes a loss in their mind — regardless of the actual future benefit,” Marco Palma, professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University and director of the Human Behavior Laboratory, tells HSGC.
Others tend to follow suit when they become aware of their neighbors’ participation and actions. Additionally, when they are able to receive aesthetic assurance that water-wise landscapes are still beautiful and functional, they are far more likely to proceed with a project.
There is no one-size-fits-all customer mindset in the residential world. Target your messaging so you can appeal to the environmental stewards, the aesthetic investors, the practical savers and the skeptics as well.
Make It Visible
Water waste is a problem because so often it goes unseen, and similarly, water savings can go unnoticed, so utilizing visible proof triggers imitation in neighborhoods.
For instance, if you finish a smart irrigation controller install, adding yard signs that say something along the lines of “This yard saves 30% more water — scan to see how” can prompt curiosity and additional enhancement work for other neighboring houses.
You can also feature upgraded properties with water-wise landscaping under a specific tab in your project gallery so residential clients can see firsthand what these types of spaces look like aesthetically.
Provide Social Proof
Nobody likes to feel like they’re falling behind, and sharing what others are doing can prompt additional homeowners to want to step up their own water conservation efforts. Norm-based messages cut water use by 5% on average and increase participation in other programs, according to HSGC.
One marketing tactic you could try is sending out a ‘Neighbors like you” mailer that compares a water-wise landscape’s water usage versus a typical landscape with no conservation upgrades.
You can also celebrate your existing clients who have already made these changes with social media shoutouts and badges such as ‘Top Saver of Your Street.’
“If most people skip, then there is a social norm for skipping water conservation, and no one likes being in the minority, so it is important that a critical mass of adopters is needed to generate the impact scale required to produce tangible benefits,” Palma says.
Tap Into Emotional Triggers
Water efficiency shouldn’t come across as a sacrifice to your customers. It should be something that fills them with pride. Encouraging them to join the movement and protect local water can resonate with individuals who value doing their part and supporting the community.
Also, you can address their fears of ending up with an ugly landscape by sharing before-and-after journeys instead of statistics alone. Customer testimonials of how they love their water-wise landscape can increase homeowners’ confidence in these types of changes.
Lastly, highlight the ease of use and personal control they can gain by making water management changes such as installing smart irrigation controllers.
Individuals act when the choice to conserve water feels simple, secure and rewarding.
