Solar Businesses Poised for Strong GrowthQuestPoint

A recent U.S. Solar Industry Monitor finds that professionals within the solar industry value chain predict strong growth for their U.S. businesses in 2010 and 2011.
• Respondents indicate that more favorable legislation and heightened marketing will be keys to the expansion of their businesses.

Nearly 100 professionals representing key areas of the solar business value chain participated in the poll. Highlights of the findings include:
•   The majority of participants forecasted growth for their U.S. businesses in 2010 (92.6 percent) and 2011 (95.1 percent). Many expected to register a growth rate of more than 25 percent in 2010 (37.3 percent) and 2011 (55.0 percent).
•   The majority (64.9 percent) indicated the recession has not had a crushing impact on the U.S. solar industry, which has dealt with economic challenges in a positive manner.
•   Respondents identified the main obstacles to growth as the lack of financing (81.8 percent), little support from utilities (62.9 percent), lack of customer knowledge (61.3 percent), and insufficient level of incentives (59.1 percent).
•   Awareness and differentiation are important in the nascent solar industry. To create demand in the coming year, 82.9 percent report that sales and marketing communications will be stepped up.
“The U.S. solar industry is positioning itself for a sales upswing in 2010 that could pave the way for aggressive expansion in the years beyond,” said Sebastian Goeres, a renewable energy specialist with Droege & Comp. “Competition is fierce, and players compete mainly via cost. We see the need for leading companies to improve their operational costs and to put more emphasis on their strategic plans.”
In anticipation of strong demand and harsh competition in 2010 and 2011, 60.2 percent of respondents said they will boost their U.S. supply. Approximately half of those polled will increase their assembly/production, while 38.6 percent will go about expanding market share via transactions, such as joint ventures, mergers or acquisitions.
Increased communication was also cited as a strategic priority, and references were made to a wide array of traditional, digital and social media techniques and platforms.
“Solar businesses regard their sales and marketing efforts as critical to revving up the U.S. growth engine,” stated Brian Hall, managing supervisor – advanced manufacturing and energy practice, Gibbs & Soell. “However, respondents said they favor more indirect methods to gain visibility, including search engine optimization that unlocks value from existing content, as well as media coverage earned from outreach to professional journalists and industry bloggers. A next step is to strategically integrate digital media tools such as corporate blogs and social networking into the mix, which can help companies establish clear voices and engage in more interactive conversations with their audiences.”