Amicus Solar Coop Gathers in Denver
Amicus Solar is a member-owned purchasing cooperative of 76 high-quality, independent, values-driven solar energy companies. Members build projects in all 50 states, Washington DC, plus Canada and Puerto Rico. Amicus members employ over 3,500 people and generate over $1B in revenues annually. Sundance Power Systems is a founding member of Amicus, helping launch the coop in 2011.
Here are Amicus’ goals for member companies:
Amicus Solar helps our member companies build financially strong, resilient, enduring solar companies that provide the highest quality and long-term service to their customers while making a positive impact on their employees, communities, investors, supply partners, and the planet.
Our mission is to support values-driven, independently-owned solar energy companies working every day to create climate justice.
Focus on Quality Customer Experience
James Fisher, Sundance Power System’s Director of Sales and Marketing, attended the Amicus marketing summit, held in Denver, May 16-17. Over 100 people attended, including staff from many Amicus companies, Amicus itself and industry representatives. Some of the companies present were UniRac solar mounting solutions, SPAN smart electrical panels, and Credit Human, a Texas-based credit union.
“The focus in the marketing track was on offering the best customer experience possible as independently-owned solar companies. With so many aggressive and often misleading solar sales companies out there, it is key for us to offer high-quality solutions with full transparency to our customers. Solar has taken off and that is wonderful. But it has attracted ‘bad actors’ that muddy the waters and cause problems. Companies like Sundance and our fellow Amicus members must work even harder to spread the word on solar in ethical, honest and knowledgeable ways.”
One of the takeaways for all members was the importance of customer referrals. From a business standpoint, referrals are key to growing our customer base. Referrals are also an excellent barometer of how well our teams are doing. A customer judges a company on the entire experience, from first contact to commissioning of their system and beyond. A solar system is a big commitment – it is essentially building your own power station on your property. Solar companies must do everything possible to help our customers fulfill their goals and be part of the crucial move away from fossil fuel to renewable energy.
The presentations at he summit were excellent. Here are some of the presenters and their companies: Bridget Sprague from ReVison Energy, Derek Turner from Rooftop Solar, Mike Perkins from Radiance Solar, Sara Murphy from A&R Solar, Meaghann Schulte from GreenSpark Solar, Nicole Cooper from StraightUp Solar, Matt Johnson from Namaste Solar and Rob Myers from South Mountain and Amicus.
Sundance sends out thanks to all who helped make this marketing summit informative and fun. We definitely came away with some new perspectives and ideas that will help us grow as a company – and better serve our customers now and in the future!
