Survive and Thrive: Energy Needs a Digital Rethink

Most energy companies have embraced operational digitalisation, but their commercial strategies are still stuck in the past. It’s time to apply the same data-driven mindset to marketing and sales, or risk missing out on growth in 2025 and beyond.

The energy sector is no stranger to disruption. Geopolitical instability, volatile markets, and the continued push toward net zero have created a level of uncertainty that challenges even the best prepared organisations.

The latest EIC Survive & Thrive IX Report captures this tension with clarity. It reveals an industry that is simultaneously delivering record growth and battling unprecedented unpredictability. What struck me most, however, was not just the big-picture themes -energy security, diversification, globalisation - but a single telling statistic:

More than 60% of companies report having artificial intelligence (AI) strategies in place, yet only 9% see digital strategies as central to growth.

That is a disconnect that should set alarm bells ringing.

The industry has cracked predictive maintenance and operational digitalisation, but commercial functions, such as marketing, stranded sales data, and business development, are evidently still running on outdated models. In a world where budgets are under relentless scrutiny, that’s a problem which needs addressed.

Digital savvy should equal marketing savvy

The Survive & Thrive report points to something we have observed for years at Fifth Ring. Energy companies are quick to invest in digital tools for operations, but when it comes to marketing, many are still applying old-school thinking: siloed teams, limited data sharing, and a focus on campaigns rather than revenue outcomes.

Being digitally savvy operationally should make you marketing savvy too. The same logic that drives predictive maintenance, for example data, insight, and forecasting, can and should be applied to predicting revenue by analysing marketing data and sales intel to forecast future opportunities. But too often, it still isn’t.

The result? Marketing is seen as expendable when uncertainty hits. According to the report, companies are optimistic about growth (with 86% expecting to grow again in 2025), but the reality is that many will miss these targets if their commercial functions don’t catch up with their operational sophistication.

The Predictive Revenue response

At Fifth Ring, we’ve spent over 30 years supporting energy companies across the full value chain, and we have seen these cycles first-hand. When downturns hit, marketing budgets are often the first to be cut - not because they don’t work, but because they are not connected tightly enough to revenue to be seen as essential.

That realisation was the catalyst for our Predictive Revenue methodology. Developed initially in response to COVID-19 and energy market downturns, Predictive Revenue directly links marketing to commercial outcomes by aligning sales, marketing, and leadership around a single, measurable view of the sales pipeline. We practice what we preach - we delivered two Predictive Revenue projects for ourselves, and proved the model first hand.

The results speak for themselves:

• A significant uplift in our tender pipeline over the past year, driven specifically by Predictive Revenue projects.
• Record profitability in 2024, achieving our strongest EBITDA to date.
• Continued momentum into 2025, with forecast double-digit growth built on deeper, longer-term client partnerships.
• But more importantly, our clients are finally able to understand, forecast, and influence their revenue with the same rigour they apply to operations.

One example Fifth Ring featured in the report involves a client with a broken CRM system, zero pipeline visibility, and disjointed sales and marketing data. By rebuilding their environment around Predictive Revenue principles, we helped them connect input to outcome - enabling smarter decisions, better resource allocation, and scalable growth.

From campaigns to commercial strategy

This shift in mindset is critical. Survive & Thrive highlights diversification as a major theme, with companies exploring new revenue streams and markets. But diversification isn’t just about entering new sectors, it’s about changing how you think about growth.

Impressions, clicks, and brand awareness aren’t enough anymore. Our repositioning at Fifth Ring from agency to strategic revenue partner is a response to exactly this need. Today, our conversations with clients are about pipeline, performance, and revenue outcomes.

This approach doesn’t just survive cycles, it thrives in them. When you can show how every pound spent on marketing contributes to a measurable revenue pipeline, marketing shifts from cost centre to growth engine.

Why this matters for the C-suite

For C-suite leaders, this isn’t just a marketing conversation, it’s a strategic one. If you can’t forecast revenue with confidence, you can’t effectively plan investment, manage risk, or build resilience against the very energy trilemma concerns dominating boardroom discussions.

The Survive & Thrive Report makes it clear: the companies that will succeed in 2025 and beyond are those that close the gap between operational and commercial digitalisation. Predictive Revenue does exactly that by applying the same data-driven discipline you already trust in operations to your revenue strategy.

As the report’s globalisation and diversification themes show, the stakes are only getting higher. As companies expand internationally and diversify into new markets, the ability to see, forecast, and influence revenue across multiple regions and business lines will be a competitive advantage.

The call to action: Own Your Space

The energy sector has always been cyclical. But the cycles are getting shorter, sharper, and harder to predict.

The companies that will thrive (not just survive) are those that treat revenue generation with the same rigor they treat operations.

At Fifth Ring, our positioning promise is simple: Own the Space. Predictive Revenue is how we can help you do it - by giving you the brand clarity, demand generation and data insight to not just defend your market position, but to grow it.

So here’s my challenge to you: If the second half of 2025 is going to deliver the growth you’ve budgeted for, ask yourself—is your commercial strategy as sophisticated as your operational one? If not, maybe it’s time to make Predictive Revenue part of the conversation.

About the Author

Ian Ord is the founder of Fifth Ring. Featured in the EIC Survive & Thrive IX 2025 report, Fifth Ring helps companies transform marketing from a cost centre to a data-driven growth engine.