How Can I Grow My Solar Business? Here are 5 Tips
Solar energy has become an increasingly-adopted power source today. People are more willing than ever to switch to solar, considering the significant savings they can enjoy on their energy bills. With increased demand, however, comes increased competition, and you need to stand out to generate more commercial solar leads and sales. So, how do you grow your business in a burgeoning market where the competition is fierce but the opportunities are not scarce either?
Well, you can win projects by doing one of the following two things:
- Cutting down your rates to beat the competition
- Be recognized as a solar expert and reach the masses with a solid marketing plan
To be honest, we don’t think it is sustainable to lower your prices and undercut your competition. So, that leaves you with only one option: devise a solid marketing strategy and ensure that your target audience knows you as the expert solar provider in the market. But how are you going to achieve that? Here we have 5 tips for growing your solar business like a pro!
Know Your Product
Even when you have the best commercial solar leads, the worst thing you can do to turn away your potential buyers is not give them the answers they are looking for. You can only capitalize on your solar leads if you know your product well and can guide your potential customers on exactly why they should buy from you. Of course, there is no need to memorize all those ultra-precise specs, but you should ensure that you’re aware of the industry’s general aspects and know your products well enough to convince potential buyers that they should buy from you.
You should also have the resources to assist you in finding specific information whenever needed. You should provide your employees with a knowledge database that is easy to navigate and contains all important data, company procedures, and industry facts. It will help them answer customers’ queries instantly and help you expand your business by securing more deals successfully.
If you don’t have enough knowledge of your product to make sales and keep your customers coming back for repeat business, you may not achieve success in your business expansion endeavors. There are a lot of myths about solar power, and potential buyers are often confused about which solar products they should buy. If you can’t address their concerns, you may lose sales as the buyers will keep looking for answers and will likely settle for your competitor’s product. This undesirable buyer behavior can be prevented with up-to-date and accurate knowledge of your solar products.
Set Up A Business Website And Make Your Business Easily Discoverable
In a time and age when everyone is leveraging the power of the internet, you should too. Most of us start looking for new products on the internet, and if you don’t have a professional business website, many of your potential buyers won’t even be able to find you. So, to begin dominating the digital world, the first step is to establish your online presence and try to be visible in the SERPs.
Your company’s digital marketing strategy revolves around a professionally developed storefront where potential buyers can find out more about you and your business. You can also have a dedicated sales team available 24/7 to answer customer requests and queries online and treat them well. The better the online customer experience, the more visitors you’ll be able to convert into paying customers.
Identify Your Target Market
Once you have the basics ready, the next step toward growing your solar business is identifying to whom you should be selling your products. With thorough market research, you can get insights into whether your attempt at expanding your business will turn out to be a success or a failure. In addition, if you end up targeting your marketing campaigns at the wrong prospects, you’ll only be wasting your marketing dollars and won’t see the desired business growth.
During your market research, try to identify:
- Your potential buyers
- Current trends in the market regarding solar products you are selling
- The demographics surrounding your potential buyers
- The geographical location where most of your prospects are
- The types of products your target customers are interested in and that can drive your business growth
Every bit of information collected through market research will enable you to put together a successful marketing plan to see your business grow. When you take a targeted approach, you’ll be able to deploy your funds and resources in the right direction to meet your buyers’ needs.
Develop a Marketing Strategy
No business can see growth without a well-laid-out marketing plan. Therefore, you should put together an effective marketing strategy using collected data. Keeping in mind the myths surrounding the solar market, your marketing strategy should focus on providing your potential customers with authentic information. You should incorporate the following aspects into your marketing plan based on your analysis and data collected.
- Run advertising campaigns using digital and print channels
- Introduce loyalty programs to attract new commercial solar leads and encourage repeat orders
- Offer incentives on bulk buying
- Introduce interactive options to your company website
- Buy solar leads or rely on online tools for lead generation
Every aspect of your marketing strategy needs research and resources deployed strategically to achieve the best outcome.