Interest in renewable energy is booming, and that’s great news for anyone in the business of selling solar solutions. The technology behind solar panels is better than ever, and environmental awareness is at an all-time high. This has created a perfect storm of surging demand for solar energy systems that seems to grow by the year.
Numerous solar panel companies and solar panel installers have moved in to claim their piece of the pie, making it increasingly difficult to market your solar products in a way that makes you stand out from the crowd. The solar market is highly competitive, and effective solar panel marketing strategies are more important than ever.
By understanding the basic characteristics of your potential customers in the solar target audience and deploying some of the most proven solar marketing ideas, you can build strategies that transform your solar company into a solar leader. Leveraging digital marketing strategies, such as social media marketing and local SEO, can amplify your marketing efforts and drive solar leads.
Marketing Needs of the Solar Industry
The solar industry has seen some serious growth since the turn of the millennium. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar deployments have experienced an average annual growth rate of 25%. This impressive pace of expansion is largely thanks to:
- Government subsidies.
- Decreasing installation costs.
- Increased demand for sustainable energy solutions.
In 2022, residential solar panels generated enough electricity to power 3.4 million homes. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, over 4,227,503 million homes have rooftop solar panels as of February 2024. With such a massive demand for solar power, solar companies can stand to make a handsome return with the right positioning and marketing strategy. Effective marketing efforts can turn potential customers into actual buyers, boosting solar sales.
Understanding The Solar Target Audience
There is no single, generic solar customer, and that becomes truer the more demand grows. Instead, six general buyer personas populate the consumer market for solar products. These are the climate change activist, the brick-and-mortar energy consumer, the prudent saver, the production specialist, the energy independent and the tech connoisseur.
The Climate Change Activist
These customers have one overarching priority: do what they can to save the environment. Many climate change activists are quite frustrated by the slow pace of change in policy-making circles, and they’ve decided to take matters into their own hands. Installing solar panels can help reduce a home’s carbon footprint drastically, making both the property — and the people living there — more energy efficient.
Messaging around saving money doesn’t work as well with them — they want to do everything in their power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make the Earth a safer, more sustainable place for future generations. Highlighting how your solar products contribute to environmental conservation can resonate deeply with this ideal customer.
The Brick-and-Mortar Energy Consumer
We hear all the time that the future of business is digital, but many brick-and-mortar companies are shunning the naysayers by turning to solar to stay competitive.
Big retailers are getting in on solar, too. For example, as of 2022, IKEA had 54 solar arrays installed across 90% of its locations and Walmart has invested in on- and off-site solar projects and aims to source 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2035. Even small businesses stand to gain by turning to solar, as they can redirect their energy savings to other business priorities, like hiring more staff, investing in a marketing strategy or purchasing more inventory.
Money matters to these customers. So does competitiveness. They want to know that your solar panel installation services are going to be worth the financial investment while also ensuring they stay resilient in a hyper-competitive business environment. Tailoring your marketing efforts to emphasize the economic benefits of solar installations can attract these potential customers.
The Prudent Saver
The technology behind solar panels has become so advanced in recent years that they’re now the clear favorite for the prudent saver. While solar panels generally accrue large upfront costs (EnergySage has calculated that the average installation cost is just under $21,000 after federal tax credits), the savings you earn on your monthly energy bills means they will eventually pay for themselves. According to the solar company Greenlancer, customers can expect to save $1,500 on energy every year.
Customers in this category know they have lots of bills to pay and possibly children to save for. They are always on the hunt for a good deal that will put more money in their pockets, and solar panels are a great way for them to cut down on routine utility costs. Highlighting solar sales promotions and financing options in your solar marketing efforts can appeal to this segment.
The Production Specialist
At the end of the day, solar is about energy, and energy is the driving force behind all production in all industries. Companies in the business of producing tangible goods — including manufacturing plants and commercial farms — stand to make major gains by using solar panels to improve energy efficiency and increase production output.
Similarly to brick-and-mortar energy users, this buyer persona is motivated by energy savings and competitiveness. But they place greater importance on productivity and output, and they want to know they are investing in a solar solution that’s going to help them achieve both. Your solar marketing strategy should address how your solar energy systems can enhance their operational efficiency.
The Energy Independent
Solar panels are a great solution for those who want to make the leap to complete (or near-complete) energy independence. Being attached to the grid has its advantages, but there are also downsides. Outages can be severe, and these customers don’t like the idea of being dependent on external utility companies for something as essential as energy.
Energy independents might appreciate environmentalism and a good savings strategy, but their top priority is self-reliance. They want to be able to depend strictly on their own means to satisfy their energy consumption needs, and they see solar panels as an effective way to do so. Emphasizing how your solar energy systems and solar installations can provide energy security can attract these potential customers.
The Tech Connoisseur
The environment, energy independence and even energy savings are all secondary to this section of the solar customer base. They are fascinated by what science and technology have to offer, and more than anything else, they want to be at the rapidly advancing cutting edge of technology development.
They were likely among the pioneers of putting solar panels on their roofs, and they probably did it long before it was financially cost-effective to do so. They are also the ones staying most up-to-date on the evolution of solar technology and are far more likely to invest in more advanced, less popular options as the technology continues to develop. Showcasing the latest innovations in your solar products can engage this segment in your marketing campaigns.
5 Solar Marketing Strategies
Understanding the main solar buyer personas is step one. Step two is shaping a marketing strategy that best engages each one.
These are some of the best ways to connect with solar customers and funnel them to your sales team:
1. Build a Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing should be a central element of your solar marketing strategy. Creating compelling content and distributing that to your network (via social media marketing, email marketing and other digital channels) demonstrates to potential customers that you’re able to provide value long before they’re ready to make a purchase. That helps create trust and increase brand awareness, which puts your brand at the top of their mind when they’re ready to buy.
Given the diversity of the solar target audience, it’s important you create content that supplies the precise information each persona is looking for. That means you should create blog content that addresses the environmental concerns of the climate change activists, while also creating white papers heavy with industry analysis to satisfy your business customers. Incorporating inbound marketing techniques can further enhance your content marketing effectiveness.
2. Invest in Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important subset of your content marketing strategy. SEO refers to efforts you undertake to enhance your page elements that tell search engines like Google that your content is valuable and deserves to rank at or near the top of search results pages.
These elements include:
- Page speed.
- Title tags and meta description.
- Readability.
- Scannability.
- Mobile compatibility.
Taking the time to optimize these helps ensure that the content you’re creating is reaching the people that are most likely to want to consume it. That means more qualified solar leads and fewer marketing dollars spent. Utilizing local SEO strategies can help you target potential customers in your area more effectively.
3. Create Email Marketing Campaigns
Email gets a bad rap these days, but it’s still one of the most effective marketing channels out there. A good email marketing strategy puts you at the top of your potential customers’ inboxes every single week (or day, however often you choose to connect with them), helping to boost your brand awareness for more engagement and better leads. Personalized email marketing can significantly improve your solar lead generation efforts.
The best way to build your email list is to gate your high-value content and request that readers exchange their personal information (including their email addresses) to gain access. Subscriber forms might also request they share some information about their solar and energy goals, which can help you place them into one of the above market segments.
Further boosting your email marketing operation, automation tools can do all the above tasks for you — and more. From personalization to segmentation to performance analytics, these tools up your email game without making you devote extra time to the task.
4. Establish Trust Through Social Proof
Solar energy is still a relatively new consumer technology, and some customers still look at the solar industry with somewhat of a leery eye. The truth is, the rooftop solar industry has a fraud problem — one-star ratings on Solar Reviews have increased more than 1,000% from 2018 to 2024.
When you’re in an industry where trust is still lacking, the best thing you can do is, well, build trust. One of the easiest ways to do that is to display social proof prominently on your website. If you’re B2B, include images of some of the most reputable brands on your homepage, or, if you’re B2C, include positive testimonials from existing customers showcasing the value you created.
Don’t be afraid to dive deeper into the details. As part of your broader content marketing strategy, you should take the time to create case studies that detail the experience of select customer success stories. Highlight information like upfront costs, energy used and monthly savings to help potential customers better envision the benefits you offer.
5. Distribute a Newsletter
Newsletters keep potential customers up to date on the latest happenings in your company and the wider industry.
But don’t just write a generic newsletter that isn’t personalized to anyone’s tastes; consider creating segmented newsletters that address the specific interests of each buyer persona. Prudent savers, for example, might prefer a newsletter chock full of better ways to optimize their solar usage, while the production specialists will be more interested in helpful new tips from a trusted expert on how to optimize solar usage to further increase production output.
For the best results, build an active email marketing campaign around your newsletters that includes links to blog posts and other content for maximum engagement and exposure. Newsletters should be appropriate to your specific product offerings and value adds, so it should be clear how your solar solutions fit into the information you’re providing. Leveraging paid advertising to promote your newsletters can also expand your reach.
The solar industry has become oversaturated, and it’s no longer enough to bring great solar solutions to market. Investing in a dynamic solar marketing strategy is the best way to stay ahead in a rapidly growing industry. By tailoring your digital marketing strategy to your ideal customer and utilizing effective solar marketing efforts, you can achieve great results. From generating quality leads to increasing solar sales, your goals are achievable with the right digital marketing strategy.
Editor’s Note: Updated November 2024
