Boulder, Colo. – InfoPrint Solutions Company, a Ricoh company, today announced the launch of its first utility-specific conference "Go Beyond the Meter" and a line-up of keynote speakers recognized throughout the utilities industry as thought leaders. This peer-to-peer forum, scheduled for April 27-28 in Boulder, Colo., will bring together utilities companies of all sizes to identify, discuss and share emerging trends and technological advances in customer communications strategies and implementations.

At this exclusive event, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and InfoPrint Solutions will also unveil their newest "What's Critical in the Vertical" study focused on the utilities industry. The unique study will address topics associated with programs, promotions, productivity and profitability relative to optimizing and leveraging the data that utilities work with everyday. The findings include ideas on how to simplify processes in order to increase consumer satisfaction while reducing costs, among many other breakthrough ideas. The study will be shared for the first time exclusively to Go Beyond the Meter attendees, and experts will discuss specifically how to implement these tactics at individual utility companies.

Experts at the event include top utilities industry executives who will talk to the value of implementing a data-driven marketing approach into customer communications. Attendees will hear from:

- Wes Friesen, Portland General Electric (PGE) – Friesen is the Manager of Revenue Collection & Community Offices for PGE. During his session at Go Beyond the Meter, Friesen will share best practices and tips that have worked for PGE and other operations across the country in making needed justifications, a major challenge for the utilities industry. He will also highlight famous Wes' "Ten Tips to Justify Resources." PGE is a utility with nearly one million customers and annual revenues of $1.6 billion.

- Jill Feblowitz, Vice President of Utilities, Oil and Gas, IDC Energy Insights

– Feblowitz is a nationally recognized thought leader in the application of information technology to the business challenges of the energy industry. As Practice Director for IDC Energy Insights, she manages a group of analysts that provide research-based advisory and consulting services that enable energy executives in oil, gas and utilities to maximize the business value of their technology investments and minimize technology risk through accurate planning. She is also a frequent contributor to the research advisory service, Oil and Gas IT Strategies.

- George Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Solutions – Williams has more than 35 years of experience in computers and customer communication and has guided utilities, telecoms and financial services companies through major transactional document redesign projects. He will provide insight into customer communication strategies, document design and customer communication project management, and he will share his take on the "Project Management Bermuda Triangle." Williams will also discuss communication through customer-facing paper and electronic transactional documents.

- Liz Miller, Vice President of Operations, CMO Council – Miller brings a varied career that spans more than 14 years in the sports entertainment, retail, health, beauty and personal care industries. During the event, Miller will unveil the findings from the "What's Critical in the Vertical" study and share collected data of best practices and challenges specific to customer engagement, retention and loyalty marketing, and consumer mandates for relevant valued communications to better map, define and understand the specific needs and requirements within the utilities industry.

- Lee Gallagher, Director of Precision Marketing and Sales, InfoPrint Solutions

– Gallagher is an expert in the field of Precision Marketing and has held many positions from project management to marketing and sales. He has written and published many articles improving top-line performance through the implementation of data analytic approaches to marketing. During the event, Gallagher will discuss best practices in Precision Marketing for utilities companies, specifically highlighting how to cut through the clutter of irrelevancy.

"Utilities companies are becoming more and more aware of the value of data-driven marketing and communications campaigns intended to help educate their customers. The results, if implemented correctly, are immense and should not be ignored," said Feblowitz. "By leveraging communications, utilities can help their customer understand their energy consumption and how it impacts their bill and the environment. By optimizing communications, utilities can also keep their overhead costs in check."

"Data-driven marketing is no longer simply about promotions and advertisements. These tactics can be broadened to help develop a stronger, more effective relationship with customers by educating them on new services, discussing new regulations and laws, and more clearly guiding them through a bill or statement," said Sandra Zoratti, Vice President of Global Solutions Marketing, InfoPrint Solutions. "Specifically, for the utilities industry, there are an abundance of opportunities that can be identified by implementing such tactics in efforts to reduce spend and educate customers. This event is aimed to share with this market what we've learned through our study, what we've seen through our work and how we can help enhance future communications efforts."