MKG210: Solar Panel Adoption - Consumer Insight Report & Strategies

This report analyzes the problem of low adoption rates of solar panels and home batteries among Australian households and proposes marketing strategies to address this issue. It identifies middle-aged Australian residents with families as the target market and employs the self-determination theory as a framework. The report suggests three marketing strategies: using creative videos on platforms like YouTube, leveraging social media platforms, and using influential figures to promote solar panel adoption. Each strategy aims to provide information and encourage intrinsic motivation for households to embrace solar power. The report concludes by recommending social media marketing as the most cost-effective and widely accessible strategy. Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students.

Take The Power Back
Take The Power Back
By (name)
Student Number
Faculty
Professor (tutor)
Name of school (university)
Australia
Date

Take The Power Back
1. Introduction
1.1 Overview of the topic
Sufficient power supply for household uses has increased significantly in the contemporary
world over the recent years. That fact has promoted these households to go searching for the
most convenient source of power that can quench their power thirst that has existed for quite
some time. In connection to that, it has been realized that solar power is one of the most
convenient power sources of power as it is cheap and reliable as opposed to other sources.
This source of power is mostly considered convenient because it only needs single purchase
and it is easy to maintain. In Australia, the solar power consumption has proved to be doing
quite well with the massive increase in firms producing solar panels over years.
1.2 The target market
This study targets that Australian residents of the middle age who have the capability of or
are owning families. These people require a substantial amount of power that can be able to
run electronic gadgets within their homes conveniently.
1.3 Statement of problem
Campaigns for taking power back by the use of solar panels and battery have been there for
quite a while. However, they have failed terribly because of being general in the target
market they are focused to cover. As a result, therefore, if they are directed to the most
relevant market, they will prevail.
2. Literature review and framework
2.1 Overview of literature on the topic
Different scholars and authors have taken interest to study this topic possibly due to its
immense importance. According to an imperative research that was conducted by (Berthon,
2016) “a record-breaking month of rooftop installations and a flood of large-scale solar farms

Take The Power Back
could almost double Australia’s solar power capacity in a single year.” For years, the solar
panel manufacturing industry was not doing quite well because of the fact that most of the
residents were not motivated towards purchasing solar panels. However, the industry is
currently doing exemplary well because of the number of the people that have opted to get
into the use of solar power (Slater, 2017). While the industry had been putting all efforts to
produce the best quality products that would be convenient to use and have value for money,
the Australians we still not interested in the consumption of these panels (Cavusgil, 2015).
However, it seems that currently, some limelight has shone unto them because most of the
households are beginning to embrace solar power use. Having households opting for solar
and battery power, it is anticipated, therefore, that the industry will begin to boom and do
quite well in the coming years. It is no longer a matter of being convinced; most of the
households have gotten the essence of consuming solar power thus embracing the practice
with the due efforts. A research that was done concerning the solar consumption capability of
Australian households showed that the number of solar panels installed by different
households in the country improved by 69% in the year 2018 (Fornell, 2015). The research
also holds that it is anticipated that the number is going to increase substantially over years.
The increase has erupted from the sense that solar power is an uncompromised power source
that ought to be embraced by every household for their general convenience and satisfaction.
Another researcher who showed interested in the field found that solar power to be the most
convenient and cheapest way to get power in the world. This research argues that opting for
other power sources like coal, hydropower, among others is a mere wastage of resources and
that households opting for these power sources will eventually turn to solar power usage after
realizing that it is the most convenient source of power. He warns that it is not advisable to
use these other power sources since the resources wasted in them could be channeled into
other activities that generate income (Varadarajan, 2016). Another author looked into the

Take The Power Back
topic and found that Australians mostly install solar panels during the January and this is
probably because of the increase in the price of other power sources at that time as well as the
warm weather in the region. The author advised all households to opt for solar power at all
times, whether or not there is an increase in the cost of other power sources.
2.2 Theory
While carrying out an investigation, it is usually very imperative to choose the most
appropriate theories. Choosing a theory depends on the problem that is being investigated, the
target segment, among other crucial factors. Having considered all those factors, the
investigation framework that was arrived at is the self-determination theory that falls under
the broad category of motivation theories. One of the major aspects of the theory is that it
“represents a broad framework for the study of human motivation and personality.” The
theory is based on the fact that intrinsic motivations are able to bring about innovations
without other external motivations. According to (Dickson, 2016), “the interplay between the
extrinsic forces acting on persons and the intrinsic motives and needs inherent in human
nature is the territory of Self-Determination Theory.” He adds that the theory shows “meta-
theory for framing motivational studies, a formal theory that defines intrinsic and varied
extrinsic sources of motivation, and a description of the respective roles of intrinsic and types
of extrinsic motivation in cognitive and social development and in individual differences”
(Kotler, 2016). The main reason as to why this theory was chosen is because of its
appropriateness. In most of the times, it is better to have people make the decision for
themselves on what to opt for and what to leave. However, because the theory holds that at
times the extrinsic motivations influence intrinsic motivations, it becomes, therefore,
imperative to show the target market the importance of taking power back and Leave them to
make decisions on their own (Malhotra, 2016). The study aims at motivating people to take
power back by the use of solar panels. To prompt their behavior change, all that is needed in

Take The Power Back
this case is to lay of facts and importance of the practice and let them make intrinsic
decisions. Having done that, households will start embracing the use of solar and battery
power and thus the study will have achieved its goal.
3. Marketing strategies
In marketing, there are usually certain specific goals that have to be met in the long run. To
meet these goals, a marketing manager is indebted to put into practice several marketing
strategies (Rust, 2016). In the zeal to take power back, several marketing strategies may be
employed to make it meet some of these goals whereby having households purchase and use
solar and batteries for domestic power supply is the main goal.
3.1 Marketing strategy 1
One of the most imperative marketing strategies that will be employed in this study is the use
of creative videos. A substantial report compiled by (Lee, 2017) has proven that YouTube is
the second largest search engine in the world after the Google. Most of the people turn to
YouTube to get information conveniently since it has a visual impact unlike Google that only
uses textual effects. The research has proved that the YouTube gets millions of views on
daily basis and therefore several brands have maneuvered and excelled by the use of the
platform (Jain, 2017). As a result, therefore, it becomes imperative to use this strategy as a
means of appealing to people to turn into the use of solar and battery power to quench their
power needs. This strategy will involve publication of creative videos explaining the
importance of using solar power in the search engine so that people intending to make power
choice may look at them and be self-convinced that solar power is the best option for their
power need. The videos will involve logic justifications for solar power use as we as the
practical use of the solar panels and their convenience as opposed to other power sources.
The advantage of this strategy is that it is a cheap marketing strategy and more effective due
to its audiovisual capability (Menon, 2015). Its disadvantage is that it requires the target

Take The Power Back
audience to put an extra effort to get to YouTube which doesn’t always happen. The strategy
has a link with the self-determinant theory in that it lets people make decisions based on their
intrinsic motivations.
3.2 Marketing strategy 2
Another important marketing strategy is the use of social media platforms to reach out to the
target market. The strategy is seen many business organizations maneuver and succeed to
become some of the biggest corporations in the world. The take power back campaign will be
done via social media platforms to let the target market aware of the campaign and leave
them to think on their own to develop interest and make decisions without external
interference. The strategy’s is advantages because it is cheap and reaches a wider market
since a lot of people use social media (Knight, 2015). The main disadvantage of this strategy
is that there are a few people who do not trust social media as a credible source of
information and thus the strategy wouldn’t work well for them. The strategy has a substantial
connection to the self-determinant theory in that it gives the target market the necessary
information to enable them make the necessary decisions based on their intrinsic motivations.
3.3 Marketing strategy 3
The use of leverage influences would also be one of the most important marketing strategies.
It has been used by several organizations worldwide and it has worked exemplary well.
Organizations are getting individuals with a reputed name and established followership to
become ambassadors of their companies or products (Ginsberg, 2014). This campaign, also,
can use this strategy to let the individual influence their followers into embracing the take
power back campaign. While using this strategy, care will be taken to ensure that the
influencer represents the target audience (Jang, 2015). The main advantage of this strategy is
that it helps in reaching the most appropriate market as the leverage influencer is chosen in
terms of what market segment they represent. It also has the tendency to improve credibility.

Take The Power Back
Its major disadvantage is that it is a costly marketing strategy. This strategy has a broad
connection to self-determinant theory. Since the theory holds that at times extrinsic
motivations are important in arousing the intrinsic decisions, it then becomes relevant.
4. Conclusion and recommendations
To be able to convince households to take power back by using solar and battery power, the
most appropriate marketing strategies have to be employed. Marketing strategies are very
vital in reaching marketing goals and therefore, when used appropriately, they bear good
fruits. However, this study has discussed several marketing strategies as being appropriate,
the use of social media is the most appropriate in this case. It is the recommended marketing
strategy since it is less costly and reaches a large number of people. The strategy is also
convenient in the sense that it does not require the target market to have any technical know-
how. It is also easy and makes marketing quicker and convenient.

Take The Power Back
5. References
Berthon, P., 2016. Marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers:
Implications for international marketing strategy. Business Horizons, 6(78), pp. 34-52.
Cavusgil, S., 2015. Marketing strategy-performance relationship: an investigation of the
empirical link in export market ventures. The Journal of Marketing, 5(5), pp. 90-104.
Dickson, P., 2016. Market segmentation, product differentiation, and marketing strategy. The
Journal of Marketing, 5(7), pp. 54-67.
Fornell, C., 2015. Defensive marketing strategy by customer complaint management: a
theoretical analysis. Journal of Marketing research, 4(5), pp. 43-62.
Ginsberg, J., 2014. Choosing the right green-marketing strategy. MIT Sloan Management
Review, 65(89), pp. 77-89.
Jain, S., 2017. Standardization of international marketing strategy: some research hypotheses.
The Journal of Marketing, 5(6), pp. 50-64.
Jang, S., 2015. Benefit segmentation of Japanese pleasure travelers to the USA and Canada:
selecting target markets based on the profitability and risk of individual market
segments. Tourism Management, 5(9), pp. 45-55.
Knight, G., 2015. Entrepreneurship and marketing strategy: The SME under globalization.
Journal of international marketing, 45(6), pp. 33-53.
Kotler, P., 2016. Standing room only: Strategies for marketing the performing arts. Harvard
Business School Press, 5(76), pp. 63-75.
Lee, G., 2017. The economic value portfolio matrix: A target market selection tool for
destination marketing organizations. Tourism Management, 34(5), pp. 43-54.

Take The Power Back
Malhotra, S., 2016. Distance factors and target market selection: the moderating effect of
market potential. International Marketing Review, 8(8), pp. 69-73.
Menon, A., 2015. Enviropreneurial marketing strategy: the emergence of corporate
environmentalism as a market strategy. The Journal of Marketing, 45(76), pp. 43-56.
Rust, R., 2016. Return on marketing: Using customer equity to focus marketing strategy.
Journal of marketing, 56(7), pp. 49-57.
Slater, S., 2017. On the importance of matching strategic behavior and target market selection
to business strategy in high-tech markets. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 7(8), pp. 67-83.
Varadarajan, P., 2016. Cause-related marketing: A coalignment of marketing strategy and
corporate philanthropy. The Journal of Marketing, 76(7), pp. 50-61.