QuickPlan: A web portal for solar professionals

01/31/2018 | Print view

Information is the key to establish contact with solar customers. - © EWS — © EWS

Information is the key to establish contact with solar customers.

European photovoltaics markets appear to have overcome the crisis of recent years and demand is rising again. But how to find and connect with new customers?

The rising demand is certainly also due to the fact that the low system prices mean that generation of solar electricity is now much more cost-effective than purchasing electricity from the public grid.

But also the advertising campaigns of the major utilities and the active hustle and bustle among various newcomers trading in potential customer data noticeable stimulate demand. This market situation creates attractive opportunities for economic success to specialist technicians.

Necessary tools

However, a great deal of effort is required for every installing company to maintain their specialist knowledge and keep the necessary tools for customer advice and process handling up to date. In addition to the general economic environment, technical developments, the latest product specifications and current prices must be taken into account in order to avoid miscalculations.

Furthermore, self-consumption, load management and electricity storage add to the complexity of customer care, so that it requires a high level of information exchange to ensure the best possible system design. Nowadays, it makes sense to do this online, where the first contact between potential customers and suppliers already increasingly happens.

Details of pre-qualified customers

EWS provide their specialist partners with the self-developed planning and communication tool QuickPlan free of charge. End customer contacts are pre-qualified in a state-of-the-art and effective manner without incurring maintenance or licensing fees. On the basis of the collected data, the project will be specified either online or in a personal meeting and eventually implemented.

The interested end customer can choose between simply getting in touch via this channel to have the most important questions answered quickly and easily or directly proceeding to the preliminary planning. QuickPlan can be intuitively operated by any amateur.

Make all connections transparent

QuickPlan facilitates the exchange of information, makes all connections transparent and helps avoid misunderstandings. Of course, exchanging image files of the building in question or its location is also possible via this platform.

With the help of QuickPlan, every end customer can independently create an individualised draft of the intended project. Once the object and consumption data have been entered, the system immediately generates a yield forecast and a detailed profitability calculation. QuickPlan provides a reliable basis for decisions in the shortest possible time, avoids disappointments and helps the installing company to focus on the most promising inquiries. (Kai Lippert)

Kai Lippert is CEO of the solar specialist wholesaler EWS in Handewitt in Germany near the Danish border.

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