Emotional marketing and storytelling for retrofit: do feelings fuel retrofit decisions?

This piece is the result of ongoing research, practical exploration and a fair share of trial and error. As we’ve worked across retrofit campaigns and engagement, we’ve seen firsthand that marketing retrofit isn’t just a matter of logic or facts - it’s about connecting with what people care about a lot: their comfort, identity and everyday experience of home. This isn’t a final word on emotional marketing, but an evolving attempt to bring structure to what we’re learning - with a touch of curiosity.

Retrofit has long been positioned as a rational decision: a sensible investment with benefits such as lower energy bills, carbon reduction and improved performance metrics. But as the sector matures, it becomes increasingly clear that emotional comfort - not technical performance - is what also drives retrofit decisions. Research by the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) highlights that homes are not just shelters or assets; they are spaces of meaning, memory, identity and care.

Retrofit is not simply a financial or technical transaction. It affects how people feel in their homes - how they live, interact and find peace or stress in their space. This is where the psychological concept of perezhivanie becomes helpful. Originating in cultural/historical psychology, perezhivanie captures the unity of emotional experience and environment. It suggests that individuals interpret and feel their surroundings in ways shaped by both external conditions and deeply personal factors.

This insight calls for a slight shift in retrofit messaging - not away from abstract concepts like kilowatt hours or payback periods, but towards a more balanced approach that combines these with emotionally resonant stories about how homes feel after retrofit. Both are important. Retrofit professionals need to develop a broader kind of empathy: one that recognises the home not only as a technical challenge, but as a deeply personal space. Every intervention touches not just bricks and systems, but someone’s daily life and sense of wellbeing.

If retrofit is also emotional, then emotional marketing is important. Research and industry evidence alike show that people do not act on data alone - they also act on stories. Emotional storytelling translates complex technical solutions into relatable, human experiences. A good retrofit story isn’t about the U-value of triple glazing - it’s about a cold bedroom turned cosy, or about feeling proud to host guests in a warm, quiet space. It’s about more manageable energy bills, confidence in a home that will keep the family comfortable for years to come, or about cleaner, healthier air in the living room while you’re watching TV...

The Home for the Common Future framework developed by CREDS simplifies these motivations into three core pairs:

• Happiness and health: warmth, comfort and peace of mind

• Caring identity and climate concern: the desire to do one’s part, set an example and live according to personal values

• Future resilience and financial confidence: security against energy shocks, control over living conditions

These themes could guide how organisations craft retrofit narratives. Every story could begin with a relatable problem - a damp living room, high energy bills, or a noisy home. The retrofit intervention should be introduced as a turning point, followed by a satisfying resolution that highlights emotional and practical outcomes. Ideally, the storyteller is someone the audience recognises - a neighbour, a parent, a local business owner…and their language is natural, not technical.

Testimonial content is especially powerful. According to research in the homebuilding and insulation industries, customer testimonials outperform abstract claims. People are persuaded by seeing others like them benefit - just think of all the times you’ve noticed scaffolding thrown up around a neighbour’s house and wondered what they’re having done and why.

Video interviews, quotes and before/after stories - especially when paired with photos - are vital to retrofit marketing. Showcasing real voices and - more importantly - what real retrofit looks like can help potential clients visualise their own journey, normalise the installed measures and reduce fear around disruption or regret.

Emotional marketing also plays a role in brand trust. People are more likely to engage with organisations that feel human, transparent and caring. Messaging that focuses solely on efficiency metrics can feel cold or transactional. By contrast, language that speaks to well being, climate responsibility or peace of mind resonates more deeply and reflects the broadened reasons people retrofit.

Centering the real people of your organisation - the client facing assessors, advisors and surveyors - in your marketing and having them utilise these familiar phrases and narratives reassures homeowners that they are understood.

Recognising the emotional drivers behind retrofit is only the first step. The next is to map and design emotionally intelligent customer journeys. Emotions fluctuate throughout a retrofit journey - from hope and curiosity at the start, to anxiety around decisions, to relief or frustration during works, and finally, confidence or uncertainty once the work is done. Marketing and service design must anticipate and respond to these emotional highs and lows.

At the awareness stage potential customers may feel sceptical, overwhelmed or intrigued. Marketing in this phase could lean more on aspiration and trust building. For example, stories of local families enjoying a warmer home, or more interactive content might spark curiosity and help people see retrofit as achievable. Jargon could be replaced with everyday language that reflects how homes actually feel, or relate more to the words they might use themselves. Changeworks, in their most recent campaign, moved away from using the word ‘retrofit’ and instead used ‘renovation’, helping people to associate the work with a phrasing they were already familiar with.

During the consideration stage, emotions may become more mixed. People often worry about costs, disruption and whether they’re making the right decision. Here, content could take on a more supportive role: clear roadmaps, quotes from similar households, or simple guides might reduce uncertainty. Sharing testimonials of others who hesitated but went ahead could also encourage confidence and support the ‘social norming’ of the process.

At the decision and installation stages, fear of disruption or making a mistake can surface. Providing a dedicated advisor could be one way to reduce stress. Respectful communication, clarity about what will happen, and some form of follow up might all contribute to greater emotional security.

In the aftercare phase, feelings of abandonment or confusion may emerge. Since this stage is often overlooked, it might be explored as a way to build longer term trust and referrals. Helping customers understand new technologies, offering follow up calls, or inviting them into retrofit communities (local groups or platforms?) could reinforce belonging and positive emotion.

Across all these phases, personalisation and localisation prove powerful. Materials that reflect local climates, housing types, housing usage or community values resonate more strongly. A homeowner in Glasgow may connect with stories about retrofitted tenements, while someone in rural Wales might relate better to a stone cottage, farmhouse or small terrace. Tailoring messaging to life stages - young families, retirees and others - could also help people situate themselves in the journey. Throughout marketing development, it’s crucial to really understand the people you’re talking to - our work on personas may help in this!

Organisations might also explore how they measure emotional response. Feedback tools, social media insights and follow up surveys might reveal not only satisfaction but also how people’s feelings evolved across the process. Were they reassured, excited, frustrated? What shifted them toward action? Insights like these could guide future refinement of both messaging and delivery.

People invest in retrofit not only to save money or meet climate targets, but to feel safe, proud, in control and at peace in their homes. Emotional marketing does not replace technical rigour - it complements it by aligning messaging with how people actually make decisions.

For organisations, this means storytelling, empathy and emotional insight must be core skills. It means understanding retrofit as a life improvement, not just a technical upgrade. And most of all - it means honouring the home not just as a building, but as the foundation of people’s lives.