Note: This person looks like none of the people I talked to, but hey, it might be who I talk to in the future!
The person buying solar panels is typically a male in his 40s-50s who is in the process of, or has already built or purchased a new home where his family will live for at least the next ten years. This man works a well-paying job, earning $70k+ per year. He and/or his wife are considerate of the environment and enjoy the thought of producing their own clean electricity and not relying on fossil fuels. However, according to the man, wanting to be eco-friendly comes in a close second to the financial cost and rate of return on investment. He may not be incredibly savvy when it comes to this, but knowing at what point in time he will start “making” or saving money increases his peace of mind and desire to go solar. By way of vehicle, at least one Tesla, Prius, or other electric/hybrid vehicle is parked in the family’s driveway. Overall, the family who is purchasing the solar system, at least the parents, are settled people. The parents have been married long enough that not much surprises either of them and they’ve had the experience of raising a child from birth to college. Raising children and living together is no longer a mystery and has become second nature, so now they are able to think about solar.
The only similarity I have with the customer right now is my desire to be in his shoes 20-30 years from now. I’m not 40, I definitely don’t make more $70k, I’m not married, and I don’t have a Tesla or other eco car. However, I do share a consideration for the environment and love the idea of producing electricity for myself. In my spare time I make excel sheets of hypothetical situations and calculate the cost and ROI. After thinking about it, I myself may not be incredibly similar to the customer, however, I am the son of someone who is! My dad fits nearly every criteria. Unfortunately, my dad already has a solar system so he won’t really be one of my customers, unless I convince him to expand his array and add some batteries. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I share similar values as my prototypical customer as I have been raised by him. Of course, this fact may prove to skew my perception of the customer. However, after the interviews I’ve taken and the videos and articles I’ve consumed, I’d say the customer I described is pretty accurate.
This is my parent's backyard
And this is a really cool car (Tesla.com)
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