SolarCity has been doubling its revenue every year. The company has 36% share in the U.S. residential solar market. As it continues to grow rapidly, experts wonder how long it can sustain its triple-digit growth. The San Mateo-based company spends little on traditional advertising. About 50% of its business comes through referrals. It shows the high level of customer satisfaction.
SolarCity to focus more on referrals
SolarCity knows how impactful referrals are. So, it has taken some strategic steps to strengthen the referral mechanism. The San Mateo-based company launched the Ambassador program earlier this year. An Ambassador makes $250 for every new customer they refer to SolarCity. It’s a grassroots level where the company will have to encourage existing customers to bring in new ones
Last week, the company hired President Barack Obama’s former campaign strategist Jon Carson as the senior director for the Ambassador program. Carson’s hiring clearly signaled that SolarCity would focus on referral mechanism rather than spending on traditional advertising to put solar panels on every roof in the U.S. Customers who act as Ambassadors get huge incentives. So, the program has the potential to go viral.
SolarCity has over 30,000 Ambassadors
In fact, SolarCity currently has more than 30,000 Ambassadors, and over 200 people are signing up every day to become one. The Ambassador program could be the key in maintaining exponential growth rate. Who could be better than Jon Carson to lead this grassroots campaign? Carson has successfully used his tactics in grassroots political campaigns. Now he will have to influence SolarCity customers to encourages their friends, relatives and neighbors to shift to renewable energy.
Though Carson has been at SolarCity for just a few days, he is already throwing out some exciting new ideas. He said in an interview with The Washington Post that school fundraisers could use the Ambassador program or there could be a friendly neighborhood competition to see who adopts solar faster. Or a soccer team could encourage people to sign up for SolarCity. They can spend the referral money on new uniforms.
