Increase Your Sales With a Solar Referral Program

Solar companies and solar marketing experts know that one must find a way to generate solar leads to secure a place in the competitive solar market. Also, it would be best if you strategized how to get solar leads with high closing rates. While numerous solar marketing strategies exist, each has pros and cons, some being costly and unsustainable.

However, customer referral, also called word-of-mouth marketing, is the most preferred solar marketing approach. It is cost-effective and has excellent potential to generate quality solar leads. While satisfied customers naturally refer friends and loved ones to their product suppliers, creating a solar referral program could help you get the most out of it.

What is a solar referral program?

A solar referral program or customer referral program is an initiative that motivates satisfied clients to refer friends, family, or colleagues to purchase from you. The program promises to give rewards to referrers if the leads close.

One of the reasons customer referrals have higher closing rates is that customers speak highly of their trusted suppliers. They also take their time to explain or even show their close friends and neighbors how their system works, its price, benefits, and downsides. As a result, you will spend less time explaining or convincing their referrals to purchase from you.

A well-established solar referral program can generate a steady flow of fresh leads that will likely become sales. It can be an unbeaten advertising method that can generate consistent leads for a long time if well-managed.

How to generate more solar referrals from your existing customers

There are many tested ways to increase customer referrals for your business.

Create the best customer experience possible

Solar marketing experts can bet that the solar market is highly competitive, and everyone is trying to get their leg up on the competition. However, most installers are missing the essential aspect of marketing, creating an unmatched customer experience.

A lot may be involved in creating an excellent customer experience, from warm reception when a customer reaches out to providing excellent customer service. Follow-up before and after an installation is also vital; it shows customers that you not only care about closing a sale but also about customer satisfaction with your system.

Also, invest in hiring quality technicians that perform their work with excellence. A poorly installed panel will fail to work and ruin your company’s reputation. In the end, you will realize that, in addition to helping you close a deal, an excellent customer experience will earn you more quality leads.

Earn customer trust

Naturally, customers refer their family and friends to a supplier they trust hence the need for building a quality relationship with your customers. There are many ways to earn customer trust, e.g., publishing customer reviews and testimonials, manufacturing quality panels, and providing timely customer responses.

It is also vital to stay consistent, especially regarding pricing, quality, and service delivery. If you offer various packages at different prices and specifications, ensure customers get their specified packages. Here, you will need to learn the virtue of honesty, given that some customers may not know how to differentiate the packages.

Practice transparency

Ideally, the customer journey involves several people, including the marketing, installation, and fiancé teams. Therefore, it is critical to have open communication among these departments when handling customers. Additionally, speaking frankly and honestly to customers is vital, especially if you are experiencing delays or a shortage of workers. Instead of giving clients unrealistic hopes, telling them honestly what to expect from you is best.

Offer compensation for referrals

While people refer their friends to suitable suppliers for free, knowing they can earn from it is more encouraging. Adding incentives to your referral program can help you get more referrals as the customers strive to gain from it.

However, it is critical to be more realistic when incentivizing your referrals. Do not promise something you cannot deliver. When you promise a gift card or a certain amount of money for referrals, ensure customers receive these rewards; failure to do that will make your program a scam and therefore fail.

Make the referring as easy as possible

Most customer referral programs fail for various reasons, including complicated referral processes. However, there are many ways to make the referring process easy, thus increasing the flow of new leads. Once you have notified your existing customers of your rewarded referral plan, educate them extensively about your solar packages for effective advocacy.

Additionally, make the information easy to share by giving them a personalized referral link or easy access to shareable details on your system. Also, you can provide customers with an easy way to share on social media and other marketing platforms.

However, it would help if you also had an easy way of identifying the origin of each referral for easy tracking and payments. If you operate a small business, you can ask new clients if anyone has referred them.

Consider a double-sided referral incentive program

While a referral incentive is highly effective, it is mainly limited to close friends and family. To reach strangers effectively, you will need a double-sided incentive program that rewards both the referrer and the referred. For example, while the referrer earns a gift card or money, the referred can earn a discount if they decide to go solar with you.

This approach is the most effective marketing strategy adopted by global giants such as Airbnb and Uber. It makes the referral process easy hence generating mass leads as a result.

Advertise your referral incentive program

Your referral incentive program won’t yield fruits if it is not known to customers. There are many ways to spread the news about it. For example, you can send newsletters regarding the program to your existing list of customers. You can also advertise it on social media and other platforms where you interact with your customers.

The most effective way to spread your referral incentive program is by choosing an incentive that makes sense. Whether single or double-sided referral incentives, customers are naturally encouraged to share with friends on any platform that earns them extra dollars.

Conclusion

Building a successful and sustainable solar referral program may take time since it grows with your list of happy customers. However, it is the most cost-effective marketing strategy with a high rate of closing sales.