01 – The Shift to a Marketing Dominated Funnel
The rise of eCommerce and COVI-19 has made consumers more dependent on digital content to inform their purchasing decisions, giving marketers more responsibility for the funnel than ever before.
Solar marketers must continue to develop online solar education to nurture prospects through the funnel in the ways that were once handled at the kitchen table.
02 – Rise of Rooftop-level Personalization and A.I. in Solar Education & Marketing
There’s no question that personalization has a strong impact on engagement rates and delivers a better ROI than generic marketing. But the need for rooftop-level personalization goes further by unlocking a segment of consumers that are only accessible via a “low-touch” digital environment wherein the value proposition of going solar can been clearly communicated without pressure. These tools also make homeowners feel like they’re in control allowing them to make more informed purchasing decisions. Examples of this include SunPower’s Design Studio, Vivint’s Design Center, and Stella from Demand IQ.
03 – Self-service in the Solar Customer Experience
Nothing compares to the frustration of a customer intake process that spans several phone calls, text messages, and emails with uploaded attachments or phone calls to the utility company. Solar’s antiquated customer intake process is ripe for innovation and with the advent of accurate meter-level data and APIs, much of the information necessary to pre-qualify and produce a quote can be provided in a matter of seconds online. A more seamless intake process will increase customer satisfaction and reduce the solar sales cycle.
These trends leave us with a few unanswered questions
- Will the middle market and long tale step up to the challenge?
- Will solar companies need to restaff to stay in front of these trends?
- Can solar be sold entirely online? Will a hybrid approach emerge?
