By Laureen Peck, Solar Power World Contributor
We at Solar Energy World are sometimes asked why we do not offer a solar power calculator on our website, www.solarenergyworld.com, or give quotes online or over the phone. Some people might think it’s because we want to “trick” people who call us into receiving a high-pressure sales pitch. The opposite is true.
In fact, we are very picky about with whom we meet. Solar Energy World’s solar analysts only want to meet with solar-eligible people who are genuinely interested in getting accurate information so they can make an informed decision.
Here are our top four reasons why we believe an on-site visit is better for the customer – and why we did away with our online calculator:
1. Online calculators are usually inaccurate. Incentives are constantly changing, affecting price almost daily. Calculator quotes often come in a lot lower or somewhat higher than the true price. There are also different types of solar PV products. Some are high efficiency and some are not. A calculator cannot determine what type of solar panel will be best for a building’s energy needs.
2. We are locally owned and operated, so we can give personalized service. Our customer service begins with providing an accurate analysis based on a customer’s goals, budget and a first-hand examination of a property. Looking at a home or business on Google maps can be useful, but an online view does not provide as much information as an on-site visit. In our experience, many of the solar companies who give quotes online or over the phone have headquarters out of state and operate in our state through subcontractors. Solar Energy World does not sell DIY or one-size-fits-all solar systems, and we don’t disappear once the installation is complete.
3. One cannot receive a detailed financial analysis of a building’s energy costs and project a return on investment in a ten-minute phone call or by email. The return on investment for solar is phenomenal but it varies for each person and requires detailed financial analysis by an expert who understands the SREC market, tax incentives, grants, long-term financial planning and more. It takes time to calculate these criteria correctly, so our solar analysts only give proposals to people who are interested enough to meet with us, fully qualified and will make the best candidates for solar.
4. Solar Energy World’s customer service and the quality of work is so good that when customers meet with us, our solar analyst will pull out a list of all of our customers (we have over 1,000) and let the customer pick any one of them to call for an unbiased, unrehearsed reference. An online calculator can’t do that.
Laureen Peck is Vice President of Marketing at Solar Energy World, a Maryland-based provider and installer of solar electric systems
Pamela Cargill says
The business models of 99% of online lead generators essentially poach customers away from local installers, take a cut, and then sell the lead to an (or multiple!) installer(s). They do not add value in the process and in many cases, like this installer outlines, create confusion or set up unclear/unrealistic expectations for the customer.
Most online lead gens are not generating new business. They are using passive methods like search engine marketing and search engine optimization to capture people who are already shopping around for information; people who are already further along in the journey to deciding on whether or not to go solar.
Opening up new markets and demographics takes serious strategy, investment, and risk. That’s why I appreciate what guys like Faze1, for instance, are doing looking at public data for which consumers COULD qualify for solar (e.g. FICO, home owner, roof orientation, etc) and actively going after them. We need more thinking like that if we are going to lower customer acquisition costs.