The success of marketing relies both on repetition and communicating your message through multiple channels, such as Direct Mail, Outdoor Advertising, SEO, PPC, Email Marketing, Social Media, and more. Read on to learn how a Solar Energy company in Virginia utilized these marketing tactics in a coordinated manner to have the most successful Solar Sales blitz they've ever had.
First, Let's Define "Solar Sales Blitz"
If you're reading this, you're probably familiar with what a Solar Sales Blitz is, but the concepts in this article can apply to other industries, sales events, and marketing strategies as well, so real quick:
Solar Sales Blitz - A coordinated, in-person effort where solar sales professionals visit a certain neighborhood or section of a city, speaking to homeowners and educating them on the benefits of residential Solar Panel installations.
Before The Blitz - Get Prepared!
There's a few things you can do before your blitz to ensure the best results possible - before, during, and even after, the actual day(s) of you blitz.
Update Your Website - Make sure you've placed info on your website about your upcoming blitz. This can include a schedule of planned blitzes and where they'll occur, a blog post about what a homeowner can expect during their in-person discussions, and maybe even professional headshots and bios of the employees they may speak to.
Post on Social Media - let people know you'll be in the area, and provide them with questions to ponder ahead of time, such as, "Are you tired of skyrocketing energy bills," "What if we could lower your energy costs by X amount," "Looking for ways to help the environment and save some money," followed by, "then make sure you're home on XYZ day and time to speak to one of our solar energy experts!"
Direct Mail Campaign - This is the big one. Also known as a Direct Mail "Drop," this consists of mailing a postcard-sized piece of physical mail to homeowners in the area your solar blitz will be happening a week or two ahead of time.
While many homeowners may consider this "junk mail," this will likely be their first exposure to your company, your brand, and even the very idea that their home could be powered by clean, renewable energy that may even save them money.
This is called "Building Awareness" of your brand, and "Generating Demand" for the products and services you provide. These homeowners aren't necessarily "in the market" for solar energy right now - if they were, they'd be Googling "residential solar panel installation near me," and hopefully calling you (if your SEO game is strong, that is - more on that later!)
You can (and should) go much deeper with your Direct Mail efforts. Below are tips that can increase the effectiveness of a Direct Mail campaign to help your blitz be successful:
- Include the dates and times that you'll be in the area.
- If you've assigned certain blocks or neighborhoods to certain solar sales professionals, consider including their name and headshot on the piece of Direct Mail. This can go a long way towards preparing the homeowner to recognize the person ringing their doorbell and begin to make a personal connection.
- Include a QR Code that sends homeowners to a dedicated Landing Page.
It's very possible a homeowner might receive their mailing and become curious.
They then scan the QR code and are taken to a website that has additional information about solar energy and what to expect when someone comes knocking.
Again, if you have certain neighborhoods assigned to certain team members, including their headshot and name on this landing page can help.
Sales Before Your Blitz?
Take your landing page one step further and include a telephone number, a contact form, and even a meeting link for that specific solar sales professional... it's possible some homeowners may not wait until the sales blitz, and opt to contact you now.
Including a QR code leading to a dedicated landing page also allows for the tracking of metrics that help to determine the ROI of your Direct Mail efforts.
The Day of Your Blitz - Get To Work!
The day (or days, or weeks even), of your blitz has finally arrived.
If you've done your prep work, then many homeowners may have an idea why this random person is ringing their doorbell.
They may connect the face on the direct mailing to the person speaking to them, helping to establish familiarity.
They may still not be interested.
Don't worry, that's ok. After your sales professional has educated the homeowner on the benefits, they will have at least learned about you, your company, and the possible solutions.
You will have built more "Awareness," and helped to generate a little more "Demand," even if they don't pull the trigger at that time.
This next part is where Direct Mail and other digital marketing solutions combine to help generate leads and build sales pipeline.
After Your Blitz - Leverage Awareness and Demand
You might think the potential sales from your blitz ends with the last day of your blitz, or maybe a few days or weeks later as deals are worked and closed... but there's potential sales still left on the table that may not be realized for weeks or even months.
There's a couple ways these additional sales could play out. We'll run through two scenarios:
- Best-Case Scenario - A homeowner ponders solar energy and decides to pursue further. They've kept a card or that piece of Direct Mail with your business name, website URL, and phone number on it. They call you, and become a customer. Don't think people keep direct mailings? I currently have two postcards on my fridge for events I wanted to attend but didn't that are 3 months past that I haven't bothered to throw away. Others keep stacks of mail to "sort through" on their desk or kitchen counter for weeks on end. Chances are, your direct mailing is still hanging around at least some of those homes long after your sales blitz has ended.
- A Unfortunate Scenario - That homeowner hasn't kept your direct mailing, nor any other piece of sales collateral. Whether they accidentally or purposely threw your material away, they're now in a position to more easily forget the name of your company. Let's say they do finally decide to pursue solar energy in the weeks or months after your blitz, but they've forgotten the name of your company. What would you do in this situation? You'd Google something like "residential solar panel installations."
In this "Unfortunate" scenario, if your business isn't optimized to appear at the top of Google search results, then you're opening the door for that potential customer to call your competitors.
Who knows what business will appear first on Google? And trust us, the VAST majority of Google users choose from only the first few results.
What you've done in this scenario is execute a Direct Mail campaign and a full sales blitz, educating that homeowner about the services you provide - and then potentially driven them to call your competitors.
Preventing the "Unfortunate" Scenario
So how do we prevent the unfortunate scenario detailed above where YOUR lead that you've already invested time, effort, and money in, is potentially investigating your competitors?
Preventative Measure #1: Invest in Search Engine Optimization
This consists of ongoing work (both on your website and elsewhere across the internet), to convince Google that you're THE authority and go-to expert when someone searches for "residential solar panel installations, " or a question like, "what are the benefits of solar energy for my home?"
HLM can help with this. In fact, we happen to be experts in Search Engine Optimization.
Oh - and the person typing that "question-type" search above can turn into a lead if you're also investing in expert Content Marketing services.
Preventative Measure #2: Invest in Paid Advertising
SEO is wonderful for capturing those that are in-market for the services your provide - but it can take a while to work. Think of SEO as just one side of the digital marketing coin that functions more like a marathon.
Paid Advertising is the other side of the digital marketing coin, and functions much more like a sprint.
Paid Ads will ensure that you're in one of the first search results on Google immediately, as opposed to waiting for SEO to work.
However, much like a sprint, once your monthly investment is spent (once your energy is spent), you're not left with much (as in, your ad disappears).
At this point, if your SEO isn't strong, you may not show up online at all for certain searches.
In this specific Solar Sales Blitz example, running Paid Ads in the same geographic area you performed your direct mail drop and your sales blitz in after-the-fact can result in better ROI than if you only ran paid ads and accomplished nothing else in that geographic area.
Great - You've convinced me! How do I get started?
If you need help crafting a holistic strategy that will make an upcoming Solar Sales Blitz your best one yet, give us a call at (888) 717-4249 to speak to someone within minutes, or book a call directly with a consultant on our contact page.
