The level of competition in the solar industry is getting more reckless than ever before. Plus, generating quality leads is becoming even more critical each day. Although this task is one of the difficult and least favorite errands in the business, it is the key to thrive in the solar industry. Without solar lead generation and effective marketing ideas, it is not easy to grow your company. It is tough to survive in the solar industry without sales. So let us scrutinize the methods that help you generate solar leads that are apt to your brand.
Table of Contents
How to find more solar customers?
Most solar entrepreneurs don’t consider lead generation one of the interesting aspects of their job. But they are well aware that without enough flow of leads getting a rewarding remainder of their hard work is nigh impossible. Solar panel installations, maximum deals, and contented customers are the results of a high number of leads that turns into sales.
We have stepped into an era where you will get far better ways to generate leads than in earlier times. There are several options to gain more solar clients. Some marketing ideas are not only fun but also provide rewarding results. It can create new prospects who are all set to do business with you and eager to take the next step in the solar installation process. These tactics get you those leads that certainly become your next customers.
How to generate solar leads?
Many solar companies followed traditional marketing styles where they generated leads through door-to-door knocking and telemarketing. These methods might get a few leads but it is very time-consuming and the result is never certain. Nowadays top solar companies are embracing high-end technology and other types of tools that allow them to create solar leads in less period of time.
The competition is neck to neck in the solar industry and if you want to grow your business in such a fierce environment you have to produce high-quality leads for your business’s survival. It is not possible to yield profits and expand your brand if you fail in generating fresh leads that convert into sales.
Top solar lead generation tactics and marketing ideas for sustainable sales
You already know how important solar lead generation is for making profits and sustaining your business. Now we will quickly take a look at the best solar marketing ideas both unpaid and paid for consistent sales, growth, and betterment of your company.
1. Inbound Ads
This is the initial marketing strategy to help you reach your goal i.e. lead generation. Inbound marketing involves getting maximum leads to your solar firm with the help of relevant content that is intended for your targeted audience. This marketing tactic help in establishing your company as the most reliable brand in the community. Inbound ads also make the selling process more predictable in the long run. Hence, this strategy is one of the effective techniques to attract more leads to your business.
People who are interested in solar but have less knowledge about it get special treatment under the inbound advertisement strategy. Create great informative content and website pages around all the how-tos of solar and put a clear call to action. We are aware that how tough it is to rank organically in search engines, and this tactic is exceptionally advantageous.
2. Property intelligence study
This free solar lead generation method includes proactively finding such houses or properties that are a good fit for solar installations. For instance, you can gather a list of potential customers by discovering their houses on Google Maps that have a suitable location for solar installation because you need to locate those customers who are a natural fit for your services. This method is one of the excellent approaches for generating leads. Also, focus on those houses where the neighborhood already has solar panels installed. This is because recent research has shown that people are keener to invest in solar panels when their neighbors had already done so.
Property intelligence research is beneficial but it requires a lot of time to reach out to potential customers. But it can help you gain organic customers without paying for marketing services.
3. Money saving calculator
The most important factor in the solar business is the cost of the service. Before making the purchase decision every individual desire to get an estimation of how much they need to spend and how much they can save on the solar installation service. You can monetize this option and propose a reasonable cost for your offerings. Here money saving calculator acts as a useful lead generation tool that shows your clients how much they are saving with you.
This technique can be the first contact with your potential customer. You can combine this tool with a WhatsApp bot to make it more effective. It should be able to guide your customers with the cost inquiries. You can also provide additional help with their other questions.
4. Informative blogs
We all are well aware of the significance that strong content holds in modern marketing. It is one of the effective tools that establish authority in your field and gains the trust of your audience. You can create blog posts that introduce your products and offering to your customers naturally.
As solar is a technology that most people don’t understand well or completely this leads to a lot of misunderstanding. You can tell everything about solar through your content and educate them well about it. Your content should include general information about solar installation and the number of benefits that installers get after taking the service. You can also compare solar with other energy sources to help your audience know what advantages they will get after solar installations.
5. Product explaining videos
Videos are unquestionably more effective than text content when it comes to explaining complex topics. This tool allows you to educate your target audience and answer their queries or objection that many might have about the video. Not only you should put explanatory videos on solar energy but also include product explanations. It will help your potential customers clear all their misconceptions about solar.
You can create your YouTube channel along with posting on your own business website. This will get you closer to your sales and make people understand your products.
6. Web chat
As already told, most people don’t understand the solar business completely and it is yet to achieve majority acceptance. This means many people have several inquiries and uncertainties regarding its installation. Here web chat plays an essential role in addressing all the queries of your potential customers.
This tool allows you to promptly respond to people’s queries and doubts they have before doing business with you. Many might ask about the cost of your solar services. You can quote your offer and the rate of solar installation. This helps in building trust. Also, this benefits your customers in terms of convenience and simplicity to learn about your offerings and also helps you in promoting your services to them.
7. Customer reviews and testimonials
People are smarter now and without checking actual users’ reviews they don’t buy any product from any business. Almost 54% of consumers read product reviews of at least four products before moving forward with their buying decision. Installing solar panels is a huge decision and involves a good amount of money, so your leads are going to read the reviews of your services before doing business with you. This is why testimonials and reviews are imperative in the lead generation effort.
Reviews and testimonials show your potential customers what they can expect if they choose you as their solar service provider. It acts as social proof for your business that builds trust factor and helps in converting leads into sales. You should earn these positive reviews through considerate follow-up.
8. Local SEO
Local SEO is a tactic that boosts your solar business to appear in local searches like ‘solar installation services near me. This is extremely important for your solar business to generate leads because there will be several searches for ‘solar installers near me’ before actually contacting them.
There are numerous strategies that help in succeeding with local SEO, one of the most substantial steps is by adding your business on Google My Business. There are still a lot of solar organizations that have not taken this step till now. Being absent on local SEO searches means a handful of customers will discover your business. This won’t go well with your firm survival in the long run.
9. Webinar
Presenting a webinar shows that you have thorough knowledge in your field. This automatically increases the credibility of your firm. As webinar is very personal it helps you gain the trust of people. Online courses are among one example of webinars where you can mold the entire perception of your audience on solar energy while offering your solar services. For instance, you can tell them what are the common problems in solar and how your business helps in solving them.
When you directly connect with your target audience, your influence naturally grows. This makes it easier for you to move the leads to the next level of the purchasing process. Webinars are an extremely effective marketing strategy when done by two people. Self-hosted webinars help in building a rapport with the audience through the dynamic flow of information.
10. Social media
Social media is certainly an excellent source of generating new leads. Rather than uploading a big bulk of data, make your post more engaging by giving useful info. Always prioritize quality over quantity because social media platforms are highly capable of differentiating between excellence and useless content. Quality posting will take your solar business further.
Facebook and Twitter have service capabilities that can assist you in managing and serving your target audience. Your potential customers can directly send messages to know about your services or comment on your service page where you can respond quickly.
All the above lead generation and marketing strategies can be done without spending much money. Now let us know what paid options you have to generate leads.
Paid social ads
Getting organic leads is very challenging and time-consuming. If you are fine spending money on this aspect rather than time then investing in sponsored social advertising is one of the smartest options. But you need to ensure your business ads should stand out in the lot. Nowadays people are bombarded with so many ads on a daily basis that numerous of them go unnoticed unless they are unique and intriguing.
Paid social ads appear on news feeds and sidebars on various social media platforms. Most social media platforms offer different advertisement options starting from $1 to $10 per day.
Paid search ads
When you opt for paid search ads you easily appear in front of your potential clients who are looking for solar installations. Google is the popular and most preferred search engine present on the internet. People who look for ‘solar installers near me’ are leads that are actively looking for solar services. These prospects have a great rate of finalizing the deal with you. So, investing your money in this marketing technique is worth it. Google ads provide a variety of tools and targeted marketing solutions for leads, sales, product consideration, brand recognition, app promotion, website traffic and Explain the ways to reduce your CPA.
You can choose from a range of advertising campaigns to put your products and services in the limelight you need.
SEO and content marketing
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a tactic to appear at the top of the search results. When any interested client looks for the ‘best residential solar installer’ then a great SEO strategy can help your organization appear in front of the prospects by appearing on the initial page of the search engines.
In content marketing, you create material keeping in mind the SEO which doesn’t directly promote your brand but is intended to encourage interest in your offered products and services. It is one of the popular marketing tactics to attract people but it can be difficult without a substantial investment.
Creating and implementing a content marketing strategy and SEO plan needs in-depth knowledge, a good amount of devotion and time, and of course money. If you have the right resources and or are ready to hire a person who has the expertise in this arena then why not monetize this marketing idea?
Wrapping up
Attracting leads is one of the toughest things to do in the solar business. But with effective lead generation and marketing strategies, it gets simpler with time. Start with a user-friendly and appealing website, add informative content, social media campaigns, and blog posting. Your goal should be attaining a reliable name for your solar firm in your community.
Whether you choose zero cost marketing tool or paid one, once you gain a consistent flow of leads, the next step is to do your job which you are best at i.e. solar panel installation.
