Solar comprises just a fraction of US electricity generation and is selling to only a small group of early adopters. To overcome the public’s solar misperceptions and create a robust marketplace, the solar industry must begin to market solar energy like Coca-Cola sells soda or McDonald’s sells hamburgers. Essentially, the industry must create a greater demand for solar energy. It must create a new ‘buzz’ about the technology. From a marketing perspective, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels should be as much in demand for new homes as granite counter-tops.
The federal government and the states are spending significantly on solar incentives to create demand and overcome the high upfront costs. In addition to these financial inducements, states are beginning to focus on how to teach people about the financial and other advantages of solar. No amount of tax credits is going to get Americans to buy into solar if they do not think it is reliable.
Therefore, state and utility solar programs must start to think and act like retailers. By creating new marketing initiatives, solar programs can help potential customers to understand that solar is both a smart financial investment and a reliable source of energy, and that there are many new state and utility financing programs that make buying solar as easy as financing a car.
The good news is that there are many examples of where solar marketing strategies are working – in states such Arizona, California, Connecticut, and Oregon and in the Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities partnership.
Clean Energy Group and SmartPower, two national non-profit organizations working to advance clean energy, recently developed the report, Smart Solar Marketing Strategies. It provides detailed recommendations on how solar programs can act more like retail marketers in creating product value and consumer interest in solar and it describes specific examples of effective marketing initiatives from across the country.
