One internet site is helping to green the world

Citation

Pitta, D.A. (2008), "One internet site is helping to green the world", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2008.07725fag.001

One internet site is helping to green the world

Article Type: Internet currency From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 25, Issue 6

As world energy prices soar and effect areas as different as resort rentals to food prices, consumers are more sensitive to conservation than before. In affluent countries, hybrid vehicles that promise significant savings in fuel are becoming hot items. Typically, marketing responds to consumer preferences by offering choices. Instead of restricting their hybrid automobiles to smaller models with few features, wise marketers plan to offer a selection including fuel efficient SUV’s. Manufacturers are well aware of the gap between what consumers want and what they say they want. In the case of cars, people seem to want higher fuel efficiency if they do not have to sacrifice too many features. One marketing axiom that continues to apply today is “Make it easy for the consumer to buy.”

The interest in conservation rises and falls with the health of the local economy. When energy prices reach a “painful” level, consumers start to look for solutions. In the Western economies, the pain extends to other energy intensive consumption like heating and lighting homes. Thus, methods of reducing consumption or producing energy are now topics of conversation. There are competing energy generation solutions available to consumers. Most are complicated and expensive. One web site aims at reducing the cost, and the complexity of a cost saving solution.

Sungevity.comwww.sungevity.com/

Sungevity.com is part of the consumer electric power generation movement. Specifically, it focuses on making it easier for consumers to use their rooftops to generate electricity when the sun shines. Solar electric panels, called photovoltaic panels, have been on the market for decades. They are installed in commercial “green” buildings and usually require the skills of an architect and complex engineering calculations to yield the precise size, orientation, and capacity. Retrofitting existing structures may be more complicated and costly because the original design may not be ideal for an installation. Typically, architectural inputs and engineering expertise are beyond the budget of most consumers. Sungevity has developed a product that provides such information.

Intelligently, the company chose Earth Day as the date for launching its new web application that eases the burden of designing a solar power addition. The product promises a more cost efficient way to outfit houses for solar power. It provides a software program that can assess a home’s size, location, and orientation and delivers a customized appraisal, online. Currently, the company is offering the service in the San Francisco Bay area of California only. The choice of the initial market target is intelligent: California has lots of sun and is the center of the ecology movement. In addition, California utilities charge some of the highest rates in the nation, making the benefits of solar easier to understand. The company plans to expand to the rest of California and beyond.

To use the service, homeowners must first enter their address and e-mail at Sungevity.com. Next the company displays a satellite photo of their neighborhood, and asks, “Can you see your house? Please help us pinpoint your roof on the image, to confirm we’ve got the right house.” The virtual estimate then begins. For most customers, Sungevity does not need to visit a home to provide a free quote. Its technology performs a “remote roof analysis” and accurately determines the home’s solar potential from the company’s office. Notably, the process is not completely automated. The company emphasizes that one of its consultants personally designs every system using satellite and aerial images to fit the home’s specific solar needs. This contrasts dramatically with other companies. They schedule several visits to collect data and perform the calculations. The difference is the cornerstone of the company’s promotion. Citing its quick, automated system that avoids costly site visits, it promises to provide solar systems at close to 10 percent less than its competitors.

The process works as follows. First, Sungevity’s algorithm calculates the roof’s space, pitch, and azimuth. Then it chooses one of the company’s five pre-packaged solar arrays, and images to show what they will look like once they are installed. A projection of how much money customers will save is also included, along with the estimated cost of installation. Overall, the process is seamless, offers very specific and clear information, and carries the burden of “selling.”

Sungevity is the creation of Danny Kennedy, an Australian active in ecological issues. His goal was to develop technology to allow assessment of an entire city remotely and calculate the solar potential of each roof space. The company believes its method of delivering the product will help it to expand rapidly. It acts much like an architect or consulting engineer. It advises and is separate from the installers. The company might have chosen to use its own contractors and retain more of the value chain’s profits. Instead, it plans to work with unions and contractors to develop green-collar workers, locally. It uses a uniquely activist approach that develops the infrastructure and aids in implementing the spread of solar power. Instead of a basic sales pitch, the company helps consumers learn about solar energy. It offers that free iQuote customized for the home, and facilitates ordering a solar system. The company appreciates the value of convenience. It states that the convenience of an online purchasing process makes going solar easier and faster.

The web site

Sungevity’s web site is remarkable. It follows the “lots of white space” design philosophy. The most notable feature seems to be the video starring an attractive female spokesperson that is engaging and entertaining but most important focuses on the value and ease of the Sungevity solution. The video is vital since the company’s product is unique. The web site designers synchronized the spokesperson’s actions with activity on the screen. For example, the bottom of the screen contains four links labeled, “Solar for your home,” “Solar savings,” “Environmental benefits,” and “Why Sungevity.” As the actress mentions each element she points in the proper direction toward the bottom of the screen. In response, the item she mentions highlights.

The audio-visual touch is very helpful for leading consumers through the web site. Although it is clear and professionally designed, the added help insures that communication is accurate. In addition, her words, “Enter your mailing and email address … ” will start the process. In return, she promises to supply the exact design that will suit the customer’s needs.

The human touch is quite evident. If a visitor hesitates during the video and delays choosing a link, the spokesperson displays body language that says, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.” After a few moments, her body language becomes a bit impatient and she then starts to describe the next link. Overall, that human element is not common on web sites now. It is powerful enough to become quite common in the future.

In summary, the web site attempts to achieve a worthy goal, saving energy in an energy-starved world. It educates consumers about choices, provides clear information about specifications, and promises to connect them with installers. Moreover, it promises to pass on the economies in order to lower the price. By making the process simple and easy, it can aid consumers in entering a complex and otherwise challenging area. It also represents the value of a marketing, rather than a social-action, approach to ecological issues. A social-action web site might cite the benefits of solar, the value to the world, and possibly the value to the customer. It is unlikely that it would integrate the steps necessary to implement a system successfully. Arguably, by providing implementation steps, Sungevity is contributing more to the welfare of the world than the solar non-profit organizations. It serves as one example of the value of marketing and the profit motive in solving global problems.

In our next issue, we will investigate other informative sites and invite readers to submit their favorite internet sites for our consideration.

Reader requests

Please forward all requests to review innovative internet sites to: Dr Dennis Pitta, University of Baltimore, 1420 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-5779, USA. Alternatively, please send e-mail to: dpitta@ubalt.edu for prompt attention.

Edited by Dennis A. PittaUniversity of Baltimore