ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

AIB student ID number: A001319055

Student name: Vaughn Seon Felix

Course name: MBA Generic

Subject name: Strategic Marketing

Subject facilitator: Shonnet Moore

Teaching Centre: NU-Nations University

No. of pages: 21

Word count: 2729

DECLARATION

I, the above named student, confirm that by submitting, or causing the attached assignment to be
submitted, to AIB, I have not plagiarised any other persons work in this assignment and except
where appropriately acknowledged, this assignment is my own work, has been expressed in my
own words, and has not previously been submitted for assessment.

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 ASSESSMENT SHEET
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number and correct citations of references, use of appropriate jargon)

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principles, including the final recommendations and their justification

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the data) about it that was accessed

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GRAND TOTAL /20
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following reasons:

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TITLE: MARKETING PLAN- SOLAR ENERGY SOLUTION INCORPORATED

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Solar Energy Solution Incorporated (SESI) is a start up company Register in Guyana, which will
be offering solar electricity system for homeowners and commercial businesses.

Product
SESI will be providing solar panel for residential home and commercial companies. Photovoltaic
Solar Panels, which is used to generate electricity, will be procured from Brazil, which makes
high quality Solar Panels for export to the United States. In addition, Brazil is closer to Guyana
than China.

Photovoltaic Solar Panels converts the energy from the sun into electricity; this energy is then
stores energy into batteries, for later use, when there is a power outage. Homeowners can utilise
our system full time without the need for electricity from the Guyana Power & Light Inc. (GPL).
Moreso, with GPL implementing Net metering, (advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI), 2014),
homeowners and businesses can look forward to seeing small or zero percentage of money spent
on electric bills for years to come.

A net metering system is a metering system that credit solar energy system owners electricity
they add to the grid (Association, 2014). According to (Guyana Times, 2014), the Guyana
Energy Agency is already testing this metering system along with GPL.

Management
SESI approach is to give the highest standard of solar systems to our customers, by giving them a
cleaner, greener and more affordable solution than their monthly utility bill.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 1
Product ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Management .................................................................................................................................... 3
MARKET SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 6
KEY TO SUCCESS ...................................................................................................................... 6
START UP SUMMARY............................................................................................................... 7
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................... 6
Market Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 6
Target Markets.............................................................................................................................. 7
MARKET DEMOGRAPHIC Geographic ................................................................................. 8
Demographic ................................................................................................................................. 10
Psychographic ............................................................................................................................... 10
Behavioral ..................................................................................................................................... 10
MARKET NEEDS ........................................................................................................................ 8
MARKET TRENDS ..................................................................................................................... 9
MARKET GROWTH ................................................................................................................. 10
SWOT Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 11
Strengths ....................................................................................................................................... 11
Weakness ...................................................................................................................................... 11
OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS ........................................................................................ 12
Opportunities................................................................................................................................. 12
Threats........................................................................................................................................... 12
Marketing Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 13
Market Segmentation .................................................................................................................... 13
Residential and Commercial ..................................................................................................... 13
Pricing Strategy............................................................................................................................. 13
Location Strategy .......................................................................................................................... 14
Marketing Mix ............................................................................................................................ 14
Products......................................................................................................................................... 14
Price. ............................................................................................................................................. 14
Place. ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Promotion...................................................................................................................................... 15
POSITIONING ........................................................................................................................... 15
FINANCIALS .............................................................................................................................. 15

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Sales Forecast................................................................................................................................ 15
Break-even Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 16
CONTINGENCY PLANS .......................................................................................................... 17
Difficulties and Risks .................................................................................................................... 17
Worst Case Risk.......................................................................................................................... 17
References .................................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix ...................................................................................................................................... 19

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SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
SESI commence operation a little over six months. During this period, it has done it market
research and has good information on the solar electricity market.

SESI wants to differentiate itself from it competitor, Gafoors Industries Limited, who had been
in the solar electricity market for the last 5 years, but who products are of substandard quality.
SESI believes, that with proper marketing strategy it can grow and capture a large percentage of
customers who are interested in saving money and using a clean, greener source of energy.

To serve our customers, we putted together one of the most experienced photovoltaic solar
panels team in the Caribbean, since then, our company has served several business within the ten
administrative regions of Guyana and customers have been impressed with our products.

Currently our customers base comprise mostly of commercial companies, who want to increase
their profit and would like a constant supply of electricity, which the utility power company is
unable to provide, due to extremely high fuel cost and unreliable supply of electricity.

Seeing there is a growing demand for cleaner energy, and there are opportunities for
improvement and greater market share, SESI has decided to penetrate the residential market,
offering them full customization base on their usage.

According to a survey undertaken by financial analysis, (Chrisram.net, 2014) of the electricity

bills of GPL consumers, it was revealed that consumers of the utility company pay an average of
$55 per kWh. In addition, the following table is the proposed rate of electricity by the
Government per a kWh for electricity. (See appendix 1)

MARKET SUMMARY
SESI is excited about the prospect of entering the solar electricity market for three reasons:

With the country experiencing sunlight 365 days a year and the rising cost for electricity
resulting in high utility bills per month, approximately GUY$55 per kWh or 26.8 US
cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) (Kaieteur News, 2014), the market for solar energy
lighting solution is huge in Guyana.
Government has recently granted duty free concession on importation of Solar products,
which will reduce expenses, making the product more affordable cost to consumers and

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 GPL will be implementing Net Metering in the near future. (Advanced Metering
Infrastructure (AMI), 2014) Additionally,

START UP SUMMARY
SESI will require the following items for startup:

Office Space
Website Development
Furniture for waiting room
LCD projector
Laptop
Office furniture
One Forklift
Two Canter
Fax Machine
Telephone
QuickBooks for accounting
Broadband Internet

(See appendix 2 for start-up expenses)

Target Markets
SESI has identified two-market segment to market their solar electricity system to. The first
segment is homeowners who have less money to spend and care about savings on their utility
bills. Moreso with the high electricity cost in Guyana, SESI is certain that homeowners will
gravitate to our solar electricity system. The second segment is commercial businesses that care
about their corporate social responsibility, which wants a reliable supply of electricity to operate
their business and has more disposal capital to acquiring a solar system.

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 MARKET ANALYSIS

Both target market is expected to grow at a rapid pace with corresponding net profit for the same
period, due to the fact, that based on market analysis we foresees most customers will opt to
lease the system for 15-20 years.
Our investment is expected to grow by 37.97% over the course of the next 5 years for
homeowners, while the commercial market overall return is expected to increase by 9%, an
overall return of GUY$ 715,569,339. This will allow us to have a large market share of
consumers.

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Potential
Customers Growth CAGR
Residential 37.97% 100,000,000 138,000,000 190,000,000 262,807,200 362,673,936 37.97%
Commercial 9% 250,000,000 272,500,000 297,025,000 323,757,250 352,895,403 9%
Total 33% 350,000,000 410,000,000 487,025,000 586,564,450 715,569,339 33%

MARKET NEEDS
Factors such as market demographic, high utility cost and historical sales information will ensure
that the demand for solar electricity product will remain constant for the next five years - taking
into consideration that sale for solar electricity systems has been growing significantly around
the world and is on the way to becoming a mature and mainstream source of electricity (Masson
and Latour et al., 2014, p.5). This makes the potential for growth enormous in the future. Being
the first solar electricity provider to offer lease - to buy for its solar product, SESI is expecting to
have 60% - 70% of the market share in the next 5 years, by providing the populace of Guyana
with a high quality, reliable and maintenance free solar lighting system.

SESI seeks to fulfill the following benefits to customers:

High Quality product: Provide customers with the leading brands. In addition, our system
will work for a long time, with little to no maintenance during the lifetime of the system
installations.

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 Affordable Prices: We are dedicated provide user with the lowest possible price. Moreso
SESI knows that the installation of solar electricity system is a costly investment and
therefore is committed to proving solar power to compete with what is currently being
offer by the National Power company, GPL.
Excellent Customer Service: SESI is dedicated to provide a worry free customer service

Broadening the market of solar lighting into a mainstream energy source.

MARKET TRENDS
The Marketing trend for the solar lighting solution has been a growing industry. People have
been moving away from conventional power to greener cleaner energy. This trend has been
fueled by the high cost for electricity, stemming from the high cost for imported fuel. Additional,
GPL, which generate electricity for national consumption, does not produce reliable electricity
for businesses to sustain and make a profit.

As mentioned above, the government granted duty free concessions for the importation of solar
products so as to enable faster growth in development in the country. This has made solar
product more affordable. However, the immediate expenditure to purchase the product is
significantly costly for the average homeowners to invest in. It is for this reason SESI has
provided financing dor potential buyers.

Therefore, the transition from conventional electricity to a cleaner energy is quite appropriate at
this time to which many consumers have gravitated toward. This trend is good for SESI given
that it has the largest market share for solar electricity system and has the relevant experience
and expertise in installation of solar lighting systems.

MARKET DEMOGRAPHIC
Geographic
Solar Energy Solution will look at the entire demographic of Guyana. An average population of
720,000 persons and Guyana being a tropical country, which experience 365 days of sun, making
the entire population a candidate for solar energy systems.

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Demographic
The initial installation of solar panel system can be significant, starting from 900,000 for
residential users to a few millions of dollars for commercial business.
Male and Female users
Ages18-55, younger generation, are more concern about the environment and saving the
planet from global warming. While the older generations has more disposable income.
User who has a personal income of over GUY$ 60,000
Users who are homeowners
Residential Homeowners: small to medium roof space, low demand for electricity
consumption and less money to spend.
Commercial Business: medium to large roof capacity, high demand for electricity
consumption and more money to spend.

Psychographic
Persons who have a desire for greener energy
Persons desirous of saving money

Behavioral
Users who care about the environment
Users who desire to save money
Persons who are concern about energy independences and adding value to their property
Business who care about profitability and energy independence

MARKET GROWTH
The market to which SESI is entering is growing at a steady rate. Although the market is in it
embryonic stage, it is expected to grow by 30% over the next five years. This is due to the fact
that more people are discovering the economical benefits the sun provides, free of charge, and
immediate saving in electricity bills.

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The commercial community continues to grow , with more business depend on a constant supply
of electricity. Notwithstanding, this segment of the population has more money and interest in
corporate social responsibility.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths and weaknesses
SESI has a number of strengths that have enabled it to be successful in the solar energy market.
Its weaknesses are fixable and will be corrected over time.

Strengths
Strong Growth- Since our introduction of providing solar lighting system, we have
installed 30 solar panels in 2010, 95 in 2011, 195 in 2012 or 120% per year.
Sell energy to customers below the utility rate of GPL so that they can save money
Switching is easy to our products because we offer financing, installation, monitoring and
sales
Excellent customer service for at least 30 years. Our product last for 30 years which will
also build long term customers
Outstanding track records since we began business. Our company was the first to
introduce STHIL brand, etc.
Customer referral program. SESI offers 15% discount for every customer who convinces
new customers to purchase our product/s.
We provide only leading brand name products.

Weakness
Difficulty of convincing homeowners to switch to solar panel lighting solutions, because
of the high upfront cost
More awareness about solar technologies, some users, are not fully aware of the
capabilities of solar powering their energy needs.
Aesthetically Pleasing. Some person are of the view that solar panels on roof is not
attractive
High Cost for a system

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OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS
SESI has been in the electricity producing business for some time, which has allowed it to
successfully gather information on the market and believe that the market for large scale solar
energy consumption exists.

Opportunities
High cost of fuel to power generators, will continue to push electricity cost high, forcing
persons to switch to solar lighting system, making solar system more competitive
GPL moving away from traditional metering system to net metering, will be a feasible
alternative for a person to switch to solar panel lighting systems.

Threats
Competition- main competitor is GPL who has been offering electricity from the grid to
almost 95% of the populations
Gafoors Industry Ltd. who sell Do IT Yourself (DIY) solar lighting system
GPL lower electricity rate will make it not viable for customers to purchase the solar
electricity system from us.
The Government discovering oil which is currently being drilled for

KEY TO SUCCESS
SESI has several competitive advantage over it competitor, Gafoors Industries Limited:

The ability to meet the residential market with the availability of financing
The quality of our system and close proximity will allow us to rapidly penetrate the
residential market.
Use promotion to bringing awareness of using cleaner, greener fuel and the economical
benefits of using solar electricity system.
Market product as a mainstream energy source

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MARKETING STRATEGY
SESI main strategies are to attract environmentally consumers, by bring awareness of the benefit
of using solar. The second is to focus on consumers who want a reliable supply of electricity and
do not want to pay high utility bills, given that a Guyana electricity utility bill is peg to fuel price
on the world market.

SESI is able to serve both segment of the population adequately because to have almost identical
objective. That is to save on their utility bills.

Market Segmentation
SESI will focus on the following two target markets as part of it market strategy.

Residential and Commercial

SESI will provide financing, free installation and monitoring and maintenance of the
equipment
Delivery and Installation will be free to all customers

Customers will pay a monthly fee of (GUY$30/kWh or US$ 0.15 cents kWh) which is
lower than the current utility bill of (GUY$55/kWh)
Solar panel system will be transferable if the customer/s decide to sell or move from to
another area
A random survey taken revealed that most homeowners agree to a 25-year contract term.
Most of the leading solar system brand have an estimated life of 30 years
In the near future customer will still be connected to GPL grid. Any excess electricity
produced by the system will be fed into the utility grid. Consumer meter will reverse,
thus storing credits with the utility company, which will offset the amount the customer
has to pay on the next bill.

Pricing Strategy
Payment options: seeing the need to capture a greater market share SESI will be offering: ( See
Appendix 3)
A Lease- customer will pay a fix monthly fee with a guarantee reliable production of
electricity

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 Loan- to qualify customers

Cash Purchase Agreement. Customers pay cash for the solar energy system.
Advertisement will target mostly the homeowners who has a personal income of GUY$
500,000 per month

New Customers- will be given free electricity evaluation consumption. This will be use
to capture and analyse the energy consumption for the home, with the suggestion to
reduce their utility bills.

Location Strategy

SESI are located in Kingston Georgetown, however, seeing the need for a larger space to
showcase our solar system. We have decided to move to our spacious Providence
location.
Solar Panels are procured from Brazil. This reduces shipping cost if it was purchase from
China.
10 installers teams and vehicles

MARKETING MIX
Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social need. (Kotler et al, p.5). In
identifying what the consumer wants, and how our solar product can meet the need of the
consumer, SESI will use the four Ps of marketing to communicate the value of the product so has
to penetrate and build a strong customer base.

Products: SESI will continue to market its products so as to build brand awareness. In addition,
it will market to customers the strengths and positive attributes of solar products, which are
affordable in the long run, reliability, and no quality issues. Moreso, it will continue to offer its
impeccable services to customers, which has given SESI a competitive advantage.

Price: SESI is aware that one of the biggest deterrents for customers purchasing a solar system is
the price. Therefore, the company will offer pricing option for customers to choose from. In
addition, it will aggressively market these financial strategies to consumers, while promoting the

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value of installing a solar system to its target customers, against using the utility company
electricity.

Place: SESI engages in directing marketing. No outside installers will be use. This gives it a
competitive advantage over its competitor, Gafoors Industries. Our products are also shipped
from Brazil, which is of a higher quality and also is in close proximity to Guyana, as compare to
China, who has a cheaper quality product and is further way. By sourcing from Brazil, it ensures
that there is an adequate supply of quality products to meet customers demand.

Promotion: Since out product has a life span of 30 years, which will create a long-term
relationship, SESI will aggressively, market the appeal and benefits of owning a solar product.
Most of the marketing expenditures will be focusing on potential customers. Such as adverting
on radio, television and daily newspaper publications, so as bring awareness of solar energy
system in the marketplace. This will help build a stronger market for solar electricity system.

POSITIONING
SESI will position itself as the premier solar energy system provider in Guyana - focusing
exclusively on Residential and Commercial Customers.

FINANCIALS
Financial forecast for the year 2013 has been extremely promising, and it is expected that sales
will continue to grow at a steady rate. The following section offers a perspective on our growth
during the last five years.

Sales Forecast
SESI agreed to a conservative sales forecast in meeting the goal of the business. In addition base
on our analysis sales is expected to increase steadily over the next five years.

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 Sales Forecast
1,200,000

1,000,000

800,000
Sales

600,000 Gross Profit

Net Profit
400,000 Linear (Sales)

200,000

0
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Break-even Analysis
The following table and chart is the breakeven analysis of SESI monthly in order for it to reach it
break-even point.

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CONTINGENCY PLANS

Difficulties and Risks

Collapse of the Market
Unforeseen events or disasters, such as flooding can shut down business for a prolong
period of time
Theft or destruction of property, during election time

Worst Case Risk

Have to liquidate asset to cover liabilities

Business cannot support it operations any longer

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References
Chrisram.net. 2014. Guyana Power & Light ChrisRam.net. [online] Available at:
http://www.chrisram.net/?tag=guyana-power-light [Accessed: 16 Feb 2014].

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). 2014. [online] Available at:

http://www.gplinc.net/ami-meters [Accessed: 12 Feb 2014].

Association, S. 2014. Net Metering | SEIA. [online] Available at:

http://www.seia.org/policy/distributed-solar/net-metering [Accessed: 12 Feb 2014].

Chrisram.net. 2014. Guyana Power & Light ChrisRam.net. [online] Available at:
http://www.chrisram.net/?tag=guyana-power-light#sthash.ehzg3nfv.dpuf [Accessed: 17 Feb
2014].

Fmlgy.com. 2014. About Farfan & Mendes Ltd.. [online] Available at:
http://fmlgy.com/aboutus.html [Accessed: 17 Feb 2014].

Guyana Times. 2014. GEA saving $$$ through solar power system. [online] Available at:
http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/?p=34165 [Accessed: 12 Feb 2014].

Kaieteur News. 2014. Shocking electricity costs. [online] Available at:

http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2011/07/20/shocking-electricity-costs/ [Accessed: 12 Feb
2014].

Kotler, P. 2013. Marketing management. Singapore: Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd.

Masson, G. M., Latour, M., Rekinger, M., Theologitis, I. and Papoutsi, M. 2014. Global Market
Outlook, Outlook for Photovoltaics 2013 - 2017. [online] Available at:
http://www.epia.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/GMO_2013_-_Final_PDF.pdf
[Accessed: 17 Feb 2014].

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Appendix 1
GPL Propose electricity rate hike

Source: Linden Electricity Company Inc. circular

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Appendix 2

Pro Forma Profit and Loss

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Sales 230,000 376,000 445,000 575,000 795,000
Direct Cost of Sales 68,000 165,000 220,000 290,000 385,000
Other cost of Goods 0 0 0 0 0
Total Cost of Sales 68,000 165,000 220,000 290,000 385,000
Gross Margin 162,000 211,000 225,000 285,000 410,000
Expenses
Payroll 5,000 7,000 9,000 10,000 12,000
Sales and Marketing expenses and other expenses 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000
Rent 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200
Utilities 500 750 850 950 950
Insurance 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500
Payroll Taxes 1,500 2,100 2,700 3,000 3,600
Other 600 600 600 600 600
Total Operating Expenses 14,300 17,150 19,850 21,250 23,850
Profit Before Interest and Taxes 147,700 193,850 205,150 263,750 386,150
Interest Expenses 0 0 0 0 0
Net Profit 147,700 193,000 205,150 263,750 386,150

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Appendix 3

Source: solar- Estimate.org

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