Marketing Residential Solar Reduce then Produce Results

Dr. Mary Beth McCabe

National University

Funnel vs. Journey

McKinsey Quarterly, 2009

Source: Wikipedia

The goal, benefit, target market • Introduce ‘Reduce then Produce’ as a Group Savings

Program to San Diego homeowners.

• Promote one brand encouraging Energy Efficiency, as part of Energy Upgrade California™.

• Benefit: Get access to an exclusive “best” solar deal. But first, find out how efficient is your home.

• Cost < $199. Get up to $4,000 in incentives for upgrades. RtP provides a way to finance solar through a credit union & a group buying incentive.

• Limited time offer, San Diego residents

What’s different about ‘Reduce then Produce?’

• Most Solar Ads

• Contacts solar company

• Gets solar

• RTP customer • Contacts CCSE

• Contacts contractor(s)

• Gets bids to reduce energy use/pays <$199.

• Purchases some needed items

• Gets higher HERS rating

• Possibly gets solar with savings

High bounce rate

Half new visits

Spike after blackout

Radio spots

Radio Script: Comfort :60 • Comfort means different things to different people. It could mean

your home’s temperature. Are your comfortable right now? If your home is too hot or too cold, maybe it needs to be fixed. Here’s what to do. The California Center For Sustainable Energy can help increase your comfort and help you stay that way through the changing seasons. Find out more at sdreduceproduce.org. Reduce then Produce can help San Diego homeowners like you, by reviewing your energy use. They will help you find a contractor to assist to reduce your energy needs, which saves you money and improves your comfort. For example, if solar fits into your budget, there are money-saving upgrades and rebates. You’ll see how to reduce your energy usage up to one-third! You’ll get tax credits and your own solar PV system – and, you’ll be comfortable all year round. Visit SDReduceProduce.org by October 20th. That’s SDReduceProduce.org.

In summary,

• 5,647,176 measured impressions (not counting social media) 11,781 measured clicks

• $100,000 real media value for less than half.

• 17 assessed, 5 upgrades, 4 HERS whole house, 2 solar.

• “There may be more participation… We will likely do a similar campaign again with a different structure and learned a lot from this one….Thanks again for all your help on making this campaign happen so quickly. We could not have done it without you!” CCSE

Improvement ideas • Simplify process

• Reach out to manufacturers to request/determine effective use of co-op marketing

• Manage in-home solar parties and webinar programs

• Identify unique co-marketing opportunities with commercial clients, residential and commercial sales along with inside sales teams when planning marketing strategies

• Get into the field on a regular basis to view installations and talk with customers

Solar customers of tomorrow

Journey just starting

McKinsey Quarterly, 2009

Contact Mary Beth

E-mail:

mbmccabe@sunmarketing.net

Solar Blog:

Http://www,Sunmarketingsolar.blogspot.com

Facebook pages on solar:

Solar Power Hour

Your Next Steps

Solar Resale Value

Linkedin.com Group:

California Solar Marketers (700 members)

Twitter: @solarmarketing

Cell: 858 488 2867

Solar Open House Sat. March 24, 2012 San Diego