Expert Marketing for Solar Companies: Drive Growth with Proven Strategies

Written by Matthew Ludden / January 15, 2024 / 8 Minute Read
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Want to ignite your solar business? Discover the essential marketing strategies for attracting leads, boosting revenue, and outshining the competition. Learn how data-driven tactics, from paid ads to SEO, fuel sustainable growth while adapting to a changing market.

Solar

Data-Driven Marketing for Solar Companies

Are you ready to take your solar business to the next level?

At Valve+Meter Performance Marketing we work with solar companies ranging from manufacturers through installation contractors. For a solar company to succeed, you need to create a comprehensive solar marketing strategy.

In this guide to marketing for solar companies, we will cover:

  • What Makes Marketing Essential For Solar Businesses?
  • How Can Solar Businesses Use Data To Build Digital Marketing?
  • How Do You Build An Ideal Customer Profile For Your Solar Company?
  • What Are the Best Digital Marketing Strategies for Solar Companies?
  • How to Create Engaging Marketing Campaigns for Solar Businesses?

First, let’s explore how performance marketing for solar businesses drives better decision making.

What Is Performance Marketing For Solar Businesses?

In competitive markets, the right solar marketing plan can make all the difference.

When it comes to marketing for solar companies, you have two main avenues to explore: traditional marketing versus performance marketing.

Both include digital marketing like Google Ads, website design, SEO, and other organic inbound marketing.

But for your business to thrive, you need to understand what marketing activities are driving revenue.

At Valve+Meter, we describe this as Math-Before-Marketing.

Paid solar marketing involves investing in advertising to reach potential customers. This could include Google Ads, social media ads, or even traditional print and TV ads.

The advantage of paid ads?

You can gain quick visibility. You can get your message in front of potential customers quickly, driving immediate traffic and leads to your solar company website.

On the other hand, organic inbound marketing and search engine optimization attracts customers through native Google search results. This approach relies on creating valuable, people focused content and executing link building and other techniques to increase your rankings in search results.

It’s a slower burn, but it can lead to more sustainable growth and a stronger connection with your target audience.

So, which path should you choose?

Math-Before Marketing researches your current situation, competition, and customers in your marketplace.

Data helps define a balanced approach to marketing your solar company. Investing in quick wins of paid marketing with the long-term growth of organic inbound marketing can give your solar business the best chance to achieve long-term goals.

Most importantly, you have to measure the results of your solar marketing strategy.

Research and planning reduce advertising waste and build smarter marketing for solar energy. Monitoring and analysis build verifiable results for what marketing activities generate solar leads and how to optimize your solar marketing campaign moving forward.

The best solar marketing strategies continuously improve-investing in tools that generate leads and solar sales while also improving or eliminating marketing tactics that don’t drive revenue.

The primary benefit of working with our performance marketing agency is creating sustainable solar lead generation for your sales team.

Lower Costs 70%
The costs of solar have fallen by 70% since 2010.
Great Potential 0.03%
Only 0.03% of the solar energy available in the U.S. is harnessed to generate electricity.

What Makes Marketing Essential for Solar Businesses?

Is a marketing program necessary for a solar business?

Internet marketing has transformed how consumers discover businesses. Marketing is the powerhouse behind any successful solar business, and understanding the flywheel effect in performance marketing is key.

This concept revolves around creating a self-sustaining cycle of growth, where data and results fuel your decision making.

It’s a continuous, momentum-building process that can drive your solar business forward, turning satisfied customers into your most valuable marketing asset.

As industry trends change, solar installers and manufacturers need to be visible across the internet from search engines to social media. Whether you are targeting local customers or businesses, prospective clients begin the buyer’s journey online.

How Can Solar Businesses Use Data To Build Digital Marketing?

Marketing solar products and services can be efficient using digital marketing tools.

While traditional marketing can be difficult to track, online marketing provides precision to target solar customers in your market.

It is crucial to build a comprehensive strategy, not just a collection of tactics. Here are some key components that make up a solid solar marketing strategy:

  1. Targeted Advertising: Focus your ads on the specific demographics most likely to invest in solar energy. Integrating research into your planning process is key.
  2. Customized Website: Your solar company website needs to have cutting-edge features including core design, SEO, and tracking elements. Your website is a tool to attract, engage, and cover solar leads for your business.
  3. Content Marketing: Share informative and engaging content that addresses common questions and concerns about solar energy. Many solar customers are curious about the technology but need to build trust and understanding before investing. High-quality content builds your brand’s reputation.
  4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Back this content and your website with SEO. A series of best practices and continuous improvement helps your website to rank higher in search engine results, making it easier for potential customers to find you.
  5. Social Media Engagement: Use social media platforms to advertise and connect with your audience, share valuable content, and build your brand.
  6. Paid Ads: When you know your target audience marketing solar with a paid advertising can generate leads. This is a key distinction-you cannot simply advertise your solar company across search engines and social media channels. You need to carefully choose your ad copy, landing pages, and target demographic to create the best ROI on solar marketing spend.
  7. Customer Testimonials: Showcase success stories and positive reviews from satisfied customers to build trust and credibility. This includes customer nurturing tools like email and review management.

By integrating these tactics into a cohesive strategy, your solar company can shine brighter in a crowded market.

How Do You Build An Ideal Customer Profile For Your Solar Company?

The most important element in performance marketing for solar companies is finding your target audience.

The solar customer profile encompasses a diverse range of individuals and businesses interested in harnessing the power of the sun for their energy needs. These customers may include:

  • Customers are environmentally conscious, seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs.
  • Homeowners looking to invest in solar panels for their residences, or businesses aiming to adopt sustainable and cost reducing practices.
  • Off-grid and energy independent consumers seeking an alternative to traditional electricity sources.

Each of these audiences has distinct motivations and the marketing platforms and messaging should be distinct.

Understanding the profile helps solar companies tailor their marketing strategies to address the specific needs, values, and concerns of their target audience.

Why Knowing Your Target Audience Is Key?

Your website content, ad copy, and content marketing campaigns should all speak directly to the needs, interests, and pain points of your potential customers.

When you research your target audience-looking in your current CRM and perform market research-your overall messaging is more authentic, branded, and effective.

How to Identify Potential Customers for Solar Energy?

Identifying potential solar customers involves research.

You should start by auditing current sales data. Existing satisfied customers are your best resource for building a profile.

Next, you can perform market research. This includes auditing your competitors and analyzing consumer behavior. Using Google Ads and other tools like SemRush, Moz, and Ahrefs, reveals the demographic data, such as age, income level, geographic location, and even the most commonly searched phrases and keywords to pinpoint in your solar marketing campaign.

Current Market 3.4%
About 3.4% of the electricity generated in the U.S. is powered by solar energy.
Potential 30.0 GW
Battery storage in the U.S. may reach 30.0 gigawatts by the end of 2025. (EIA)

What Are the Best Digital Marketing Strategies for Solar Companies?

Creating a stellar marketing strategy for your solar business involves a blend of understanding your audience, setting clear goals, and choosing the right channels to reach your potential customers.

At Valve+Meter, we follow a ThinkFirst process.

This begins with an in-depth discovery workshop.

Our strategists collaborate with your team to learn about your current situation.

What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)?

We also help define your unique selling propositions and the key benefits of your solar solutions.

Next, set measurable objectives for your marketing efforts and execute research.

You need to plan your marketing campaign before spending any marketing dollars.

At Valve+Meter, our subject matter experts dive into your data, competitors, and market research to build a comprehensive strategy.

Campaign launch and tracking is the final step.

Know your goals, track every marketing activity, and learn what generates sales for your business.

Tracking and analysis helps you refine your marketing efforts to align with your long-term goals. Using the most effective marketing channels creates the sustainable movement within your flywheel.

How to Create Engaging Solar Marketing Campaigns?

There are dozens of digital marketing tools and platforms solar businesses can utilize. With renewable energy technology changing rapidly, there are some key elements that the solar industry should consider to reach new leads and build their online reputation.

  • Brand Standards: Focus on building a brand voice and vocabulary across all your marketing. Be authentic and connect with your target audience.
  • Quality Content: Generic copywriting, stock images, and drag-and-drop websites blend into the crowd. To stand out, savvy solar companies invest in high-quality content especially for your website images, text, and video.
  • Performance Focused Business Website: While many marketers track metrics like search visibility, domain authority, clicks, impressions, and leads, website design may be overlooked. Conversion rates reveal how visitors engage with your business.

These three core elements are vital for any solar company marketing plan, but the solar market is diverse.

Every business owner and marketing leader in the industry should focus on the marketing methods that drive success in your unique business.

How Do You Measure Success in Solar Marketing?

Data allows you to create custom plans faster and more efficiently than ever.

Measuring the success of marketing for solar companies involves tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your business goals.

Early indicators include website traffic, lead generation rates, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs.

Long-term metrics like return on marketing spend, monitor your return on investment of complete plans and individual tactics.

Regularly analyzing these metrics will provide insights into what’s working and what needs improvement, enabling you to make data-driven decisions to optimize your marketing efforts.

At Valve+Meter, we create customized dashboards to provide clear insights into your marketing campaigns.

How to Adjust Your Solar Marketing for Better Results?

The goal is to know when to tailor marketing efforts for better results.

Solar marketing can be scrutinized in real-time, but certain activities like search engine optimization and content marketing need time to gain momentum.

Paid advertising in the solar industry should be monitored constantly to earn the best results.

Analyzing your current performance metrics and identifying areas for improvement for website content, SEO, and organic social media should be checked at least once each month.

Creating quarterly reviews and planning sessions for all your solar marketing is best practice.

This allows for experimentation with different tactics, such as refining your target audience, testing new marketing channels, or adjusting your messaging.

Based on the results, scale up successful strategies and refine or discontinue those that are underperforming.

Continuously monitor your metrics and adapt your strategy to stay aligned with your business goals and market trends.

Partnering With A Solar Marketing Agency

Valve+Meter offers complete marketing assessments and free one-on-one consultations with business leaders.

Request Marketing Analysis

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Focus on highlighting the environmental and financial benefits of solar energy. Utilize digital marketing strategies like SEO, content marketing, and social media to reach a wider audience.

Solar companies can attract customers through targeted advertising, engaging content, referral programs, and partnerships with local businesses or communities.

Identify your target market, such as environmentally conscious homeowners or businesses looking to reduce energy costs. Use online marketing, community events, and networking to connect with potential customers.

 

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