E-Commerce Plan

E-Commerce
December 5, 2016
E-Commerce Plan for Solar Express Inc.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Solar Express Inc. is a small, local online corporation that sells and installs solar panels to business and residential customers. Solar Express currently has a staff of 10 employees that includes management, web design and marketing and support staff. Its marketing objectives are to lead the South Carolina market in solar product sales in the next two years, to increase its market area by 50%, to introduce three new solar products by 2017, and to enter the national market by 2020. Solar Express also aims to increase its business customers by 40% during the first year. Solar Express’s marketing strategies are to target middle to upper-class clients through online ads and marketing emails.

Table of Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u 1.INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc468999992 h 41.1Mission/Vision Statement and Value Proposition PAGEREF _Toc468999993 h 42.SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS PAGEREF _Toc468999994 h 52.1Internal Environment PAGEREF _Toc468999995 h 52.2External Environment PAGEREF _Toc468999999 h 72.3SWOT Analysis PAGEREF _Toc469000000 h 9Solar + Battery SWOT Analysis PAGEREF _Toc469000001 h 103.MARKETING STRATEGY PAGEREF _Toc469000002 h 113.1Marketing Objectives PAGEREF _Toc469000003 h 113.2Competitive Edge PAGEREF _Toc469000004 h 113.3 Marketing Communication Strategy PAGEREF _Toc469000005 h 123.4 Industry Analysis PAGEREF _Toc469000006 h 133.5Marketing Targeting and Segmentation PAGEREF _Toc469000007 h 143.

6Positioning The Product or Service PAGEREF _Toc469000008 h 153.7Product Strategies PAGEREF _Toc469000009 h 153.8Pricing Strategies PAGEREF _Toc469000010 h 153.9Promotional Strategies PAGEREF _Toc469000011 h 163.10Implementation Strategy PAGEREF _Toc469000012 h 163.11Measurement and Control Strategies PAGEREF _Toc469000013 h 163.12Trend Analysis PAGEREF _Toc469000014 h 174TACTICAL PLANS PAGEREF _Toc469000015 h 174.1Web Architecture and Technology Plans PAGEREF _Toc469000016 h 174.2Online Payment Options PAGEREF _Toc469000017 h 194.3Online Security Considerations PAGEREF _Toc469000018 h 195MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES PAGEREF _Toc469000019 h 205.1Management Plan PAGEREF _Toc469000020 h 205.2Financial Plan PAGEREF _Toc469000021 h 21

MARKETING PLAN FOR SOLAR EXPRESS INC
INTRODUCTIONSolar panels are devices for converting the radiant energy emitted by the sun into electricity. Across the world, there is a high demand for this source of energy because it is indefinitely renewable and has minimum impact on the environment. Use of solar energy reduces reliance on fossil fuels, which are rapidly becoming depleted. It is estimated that the sun produces enough energy to supply about 10,000 times the world’s energy needs daily. Solar panels are an innovative way of utilizing this energy. Solar panels are not only used for residential lighting but are also used for critical applications such as powering individual gadgets, car batteries, and electronic devices. Installing a single solar panel on a rooftop can reduce a household’s carbon footprint substantially.
Mission/Vision Statement and Value PropositionMission Statement
Solar Express specializes in providing residential customers with green products such as solar panels, battery backups, and full solar kits. We also offer installations and provide educational resources on green solutions. We help the homeowner make informed decisions about what solar option best fits that particular property.
Vision Statement
Our goal is to provide the best quality solar products at the lowest costs. We also want to keep our community informed about solar options before they make the decision to invest in their futures.
Value Proposition
An improving economy overall in the housing market along with Federal Tax incentives has been especially helpful in driving the home Solar Panel market. In recent years the cost of producing solar energy has fallen dramatically. The fall in the price of solar energy means that demand for coal and gas (a substitute to solar energy) is likely to fall, either in the short term or long term. Currently, solar energy is still a little more expensive. Solar power is slightly less than $1, whereas gas / coal is in the band $0.30 to $0.90. However, the sharp downward trend appears for solar power to become cheaper as technology improves.
SITUATIONAL ANALYSISInternal EnvironmentSolar Express’s mission is to provide eco-friendly, reliable, and affordable energy solutions to its customers.Solar Express’s organizational structure consists of the partners/owners Nicholas Dillon, Jessica Matthews and Lizzeth Hensley, four installation techs, one web designer/marketer and two outside sales reps.
Solar Express promotes a culture of innovation and sustainability. Its green energy solutions is just the beginning. Its technicians are always researching new ways to promote green initiatives.Originally, Solar Express was merely a solar panel installer. Over the past few years, Solar Express has broadened its horizons and have gotten creative with its offerings. It offers services such as panel installation, solar water heating, and solar battery charging. By 2017, it hopes to extend its line and offer the new solar technology.
Solar Express’s current product offerings are solar electricity, solar hot water solutions, and solar rechargeable batteries.
Solar Express’s current market is are the mid to upper-class homeowners throughout the Midlands. There is also a business segment that does installations for businesses throughout the state.
Solar Express’s installation prices are fairly competitive. It undercut its competition on the service fees related to installation. The pricing on the solar solutions themselves is somewhat fixed; it can offer cost savings on its end. Its clients return and recommend their friends because of the high-quality job that it performs at a more economical rate.
Sales of solar panels have been slow, but steadily increasing over the last year due to a lot of resistance from SC legislators. As the consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits of solar energy Solar Express’s sales are increasing. Sales are also increasing due to dropping prices of Solar PV. In the last decade, the Blended average PV price dropped more than $5/watt. Installations have started to pick up exponentially. Within the Midlands area, Solar Express primarily targets the middle to upscale clients that live in the Northeast side of Columbia, Forest Acres, Lexington, and Irmo areas. Based on research conducted, these homeowners would be the best economic targets for its residential product. Its business market targets all businesses within the state that are looking to go green and cut costs.
As a service, installation, and education company, Solar Express does not have distributors. All products are sold out of the home office. By the year 2018, Solar Express will open two satellite offices in the upstate to handle the needs of the upstate commercial clientele better.At that point, it will expand our residential target market to include Greenville and Rock Hill. The fact that orders can be placed online ads to the need to have satellite locations that are closer to the areas of highest demand. This cuts back on delivery and also installation times.
External EnvironmentCompetitive Environment
Due to the lower entry price point for investment, there has been rapid growth in the Solar Panel industry. South Carolina has also seen dramatic growth:
There are currently more than 51 solar companies at work throughout the value chain in South Carolina, employing 1,800 people.
In 2015, South Carolina installed 3 MW of solar electric capacity, ranking it 35th nationally.
The 15 MW of solar energy currently installed in South Carolina ranks the state 35th in the country in installed solar capacity. There is enough solar energy installed in the state to power 1,600 homes.
In 2015, $10 million was invested on solar installations in South Carolina. It represents183% increase over the previous year and is expected to grow again this year.
Installed solar photovoltaic system prices in the U.S. have dropped steadily- by 6% from last year and 48% from 2010.

Economic Environment
An improving economy overall in the housing market along with Federal Tax incentives has been especially helpful in driving the home solar panel market. In recent years the cost of producing solar energy has fallen dramatically. The fall in the price of solar energy means that demand for coal and gas (a substitute for solar energy) is likely to fall, either in the short term or long term. Currently, solar energy is still a little more expensive. Solar power is slightly less than $1, whereas gas / coal is in the band $0.30 to $0.90. However, the sharp downward trend appears for solar power to become cheaper as technology improves.
Technological Environment
Solar Express is keeping up with technological advances by integrating with smart home technologies. Now your solar powered electricity and battery can be controlled with the technology of a smartphone.
Political and Legal Environment: Solar Express would need to comply with government standards on power regulations, product quality, and marketing procedures.
Socio-cultural Environment: Solar Express is tapping into the culture of eco-friendly and eco-loving consumers. Our green products are not only cost effective but earth friendly.

SWOT AnalysisStrengths
Environmental Benefits- It’s cleaner than coal which pollutes the environment.
Renewable Energy Source-Other fuel sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas are limited resources.
Cost Reduction-Solar power is less expensive than other energy sources.
Reliability-There is an unlimited amount of solar power, and it will always be there.
Weakness
High Investment Cost
Long Term Commitment
Maintenance Needs
Design and Implementation
Opportunities
Mass Market Appeal
Growing Industry
Advance Technology
Tax Incentives
Increasing Fossil Fuel Costs
Threats
Government Regulation
Cheap Overseas Products Entering the Market
Alternative Energy Sources
Increased Competition
Solar + Battery SWOT AnalysisHelpful
to achieving the objective Harmful
to achieving the objective
Internal origin
(attributes of the system) Strengths
Environmental Benefits
Renewable Energy Source
Cost Reduction
Reliability Weaknesses
High Investment Cost
Long Term Commitment
Maintenance Needs
Design and Implementation
External origin(attributes of the environment) Opportunities
Mass Market Appeal
Growing Industry
Advanced Technology
Tax Incentives
Increasing Fossil Fuel Costs Threats
Government Regulation
Cheap Overseas Products Entering the Market
Alternative Energy Sources
Increased Competition

MARKETING STRATEGYMarketing ObjectivesThe following are the marketing objectives set by Solar Express:
To lead the SC market in solar product sales in the next two years.
To increase our market area by 50%.
To introduce three new solar products by 2017 and enter the national market by 2020.
To increase our business customers by 40%.
Competitive EdgeSolar Express will offer two types of solar power systems: do-it-yourself (DIY) solar panels and units to be installed by certified technicians. Both versions will be environmentally friendly and cost conscious. This will be a strong source of the competitive edge because the company can reconfigure the products to meet the particular needs of its customers, thereby expanding the number of customers at no extra cost. The second source of competitive advantages will be the benchmark level of service quality for the do-it-yourself customers. The company will sell highly advanced solar panels so that the DIY customers can find the products to be capable of meeting their needs.
To attain strong competitive advantages, Solar Express will implement the high-value market positioning strategy. This strategy entails delivering marketing communication messages that focus on the quality of products and services as well as the benefits that customers will gain. Owing to the stiff competition in the solar panels industry (mainly from the traditional brick-and-mortar retailers), a high-value marketing strategy will enable solar express to sustain healthy profit margins. This will be critical for the company’s survival during the first twelve months of its business. High-profit margins will, in turn, allow the company to pump more resources into the marketing function to stimulate a higher demand for its products. The company believes that by emphasizing product quality and value, it will expand the size of its market within a very short time.
3.3 Marketing Communication StrategySolar Express will conduct a comprehensive, integrated marketing communication campaign to raise awareness about the economic and environmental benefits of using solar panels. The main environmental benefits include the use of renewable energy sources with no toxic emissions or discharges. This benefit will allow customers to make hefty contributions to environmental conservation. Customers will also benefit from the economic savings of not paying electricity bills. Apart from the initial installation costs, solar panels do not require any frequent maintenance costs. Solar Express will take advantage of the opportunities provided by online marketing platforms to engage with its target customers. In particular, the company will advertise on its website and through social media marketing networks such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. The traditional marketing platform such radio, TV, and print media will also be used extensively. Through each of these marketing venues, the company will cultivate and nurture long-term relationships in an attempt to foster more sales.

3.4 Industry AnalysisThe solar energy industry presents immense opportunities for investment due to the growing scarcity of fossil fuel resources. Across the world, governments and policy makers are looking for innovative ways of exploiting the immense opportunities offered by this sector as a potential driver for the world’s future energy needs. Despite its huge potentials, the solar energy sector has not grown at the same pace as other sectors such as the hydropower sector. The slow growth is partly due to the mismatches between the structure of the suppliers of solar power systems and the needs of customers. Solar Express seeks to exploit this gap and offer innovative solutions that will position it to grow and become a global brand.
The company has taken note of the fact that the modern world offers immense potentials that can be harnessed to facilitate the growth of the solar industry. As a matter of fact, more people are better educated on the benefits of alternative energy sources. Moreover, advances in different areas of technology promise to offer long-lasting and innovative solutions to the perennial problem of energy shortages. To this end, the main goal of Solar Express is to ensure that consumers can gain economic benefits from these potentials. In the United States (particularly in South Carolina), the solar panels industry comprises of several manufacturers, distributors and retailers of devices for capturing the sun’s radiant energy and converting it to electricity. The electricity is in turn used for different purposes such as home lighting and heating. Some industry players have focused on serving the needs of the industrial market while others focus on the lucrative residential market. Some solar panel systems are sophisticated using computers to automatically adjust to the sun’s positions while others are basic.

Marketing Targeting and SegmentationTarget Markets: Solar Express has a variety of residential and business areas that have been targeted for its marketing efforts.
Demographics: Homeowners
Ages 30-65
Household income: $60,000 and above
Education of head of household: College degree or above
Primarily servicing middle-class to upper-class homes and neighborhoods
Psychographics
Eco-Conscious, interested in saving the planet
Cost Conscious, interested in long term savings after one large investment
Media Habits
Individuals in the target market are likely to watch DIY and Science based programming. They are likely to view cost not onlyas saver programsbut also home innovation programs.
Organizational Markets: In the past, Solar Express has targeted to categories of Midlands based electrical consumers: (1) Business sector-Green, Innovative, and cost-conscious businesses, and (2) Homeowners- upper to middle-class cost conscious and green customers. In the future, Solar Express will target the same markets in the Upstate and North Carolina areas.
Although business in the Midlands area has been profitable for Solar Express as we open satellite locations throughout the Upstate and North Carolina, we can expand our customer base and stick with our winning model.
Positioning The Product or ServiceSolar Express seeks to position its product as the gold standard in the home improvement market. We stand by our products and services and hope to take 1/8th of the electric company client base eventually.
Product StrategiesWe will always continue to use the latest advancements in Solar and Battery Technology. The systems are continuously advancing and become more and more efficient. We hope to one-day offer services that will allow the consumer to “Rent” the solar panels which will provide them with the ability to have the newest technology installed every 2 -3 years to increase the application’s efficiency.
Pricing StrategiesSolar Express will use a combination of several strategies to determine optimal prices for its products. In the solar panels industry, most retailers rely on the original prices given by suppliers or manufacturers to set retail prices. Solar panel retailers do not incur any significant research and development costs about product development. Therefore, Solar Express’ product positioning and economic value will be crucial factors in the pricing of its products. At this time, the company has positioned itself to be to be competitive in the market while maintaining a close eye on the offerings of its competitors. As our client base grows and revenue streams improve, we would like to position ourselves at 10% – 15% below the average market. To gain a strong footprint in the industry, Solar Express will focus on the twin strategies of product quality and price reduction. Among other benefits, the combined strategy will enable the company to grow its business quickly notwithstanding the rapidly changing competitive landscape. Future offerings would be to deploy leasing options and rent-to-own opportunities to bring in consumers and businesses that do not have the upfront financing but are eager for the technology.
Promotional StrategiesOur current promotional strategy relies on direct marketing thru social media, and discounts on client referrals. We also offer a $50 gift card for participating in after-sale survey’s and customer satisfaction questionnaires’. Future endeavors would include charity work through non-profit organizations and charity groups local to the markets that we serve for community outreach.
Implementation StrategyOur core implementation strategy is headed up with full discretion by Liz.
As a team, we will have quarterly review strategy meetings to track our current execution and opportunities for improvement.
Measurement and Control StrategiesCurrently, all data analysis is headed up by Nicholas with a quarterly review. We will utilize lean concepts to drive cost down and improve on shortcomings. We intend to hire a full-time analysis once our consumer base reaches a sustainable market. We will use the concept of return on investment (ROI) to measure the success of its business. A growing ROI will give an indication that the company’s products are competing well in the market and that its branding strategies are resonating well with the interests of target consumers.

Trend AnalysisEvery six months, we will review our target market strategy to identify any gaps that we have an opportunity to position ourselves in based on consumer trends.
TACTICAL PLANSWeb Architecture and Technology PlansSolar Express’ e-commerce system will be based on the client-server architecture. This type of architecture allows a client (a specific application using graphical user interface) to send requests to the web server for particular services. The purpose of the server is to provide the services specified by the client. The main advantage of using client-server architecture is that it provides abstract and standardized user interfaces to facilitate real-time communication between the different user and information modules. Integration of these modules results in an optimized business application. The benefit of this is reduced information traffic, which is an important factor considering that hundreds of customers will be using Solar Express’s website at the same time.
Solar Express will use different types of technologies to support its e-commerce business platform. A web server will be the most important technology for a successful e-commerce system. By definition, a web server is a computer system for hosting the e-commerce website. All data files (image, HTML, and databases) that make up the website are hosted on the server. Solar Express’s web servers will run on the Windows operating system. With time, the company will experiment with the Linux system. The company’s website will be specially designed to be compatible with different web browsers such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Internet Explorer. Due to the huge costs of building and marinating a server, Solar Express will outsource server hosting services to a third party company.
Another important technology for supporting Solar Express’s eCommerce business entails web authoring tools, which are used to develop and customize the user-end of an e-commerce website. There is a wide range of software that can be used. For example, HTML files can be created using the Dreamweaver software. Other major web authoring tools that the company will use include the Visual Studio net. In addition, various graphic design packages will be used to develop the skin of the user interface. When designing the website for supporting the e-commerce system, programming tools will be used extensively. Common programming tools to be used include embedded JavaScript.
Database management technologies will be used to facilitate efficient storage, retrieval, and analysis of information. The company takes cognizant of the fact that successful e-commerce platforms use distributed database systems featuring multiple channels of information. Therefore, an efficient database management system must be put in place to guarantee the safety needs of the company. Solar Express will use the NoSQL database system to manage its data needs. A key benefit of NoSQL is that it provides increased flexibility in the design of data schemas, meaning that it can be optimized to support diverse data from different sources. NoSQL also offers the benefit of concurrence, which is a crucial consideration when designing an e-commerce system involving multiple computer systems. To guarantee high levels of concurrence in the processing, analysis and usage of data, the company will use the optimistic concurrency control strategy. This strategy allows each data user to access data freely instead of waiting for one user to finish his work.

Online Payment OptionsSolar Express will use a variety of online payment systems to facilitate faster and real time transactions. Currently, that more than three-quarters of all online retail transactions in the world are done using credit cards. Therefore, credit cards will be the primary means of online payment because they are used widely. Appropriate software and supporting technologies will be put in place to support the diverse requirements of various credit cards. Moreover, increased security measures such as Credit Card Verification Numbers will be used to prevent fraud and theft of data. Besides credit cards, the company will adopt the electronic fund’s transfer system. This payment system involves the transfer of funds from the customer’s bank account directly to the company’s bank account. The system is very convenient, faster and saves customers’ time. Lastly, the company will use an online payment system to allow customers to make payments via the internet. Solar Express will use PayPal because it is the most popular online payment system in the world.
Online Security ConsiderationsSolar Express’s e-commerce website will be optimized to ensure high levels of security. Primarily, the company will deploy a secure connections system for all online transaction. This system allows for maximum protection of data and authentication of the web. As such, customers’ important information (such as financial transactions) will not be compromised. To validate credit cards, the company will use payment gateways, which is an enhanced form of security system that uses real-time address verification to prevent fraudulent transactions. The company will also enforce a policy of strong passwords. Complex and longer passwords will make it extremely difficult for hackers to breach the e-commerce website from the front end.
Other security systems that the company will put in place include an alert system for analyzing and responding to suspicious activities. An alert system will be set up to monitor multiple order or transactions made by the same customer using different numbers or credit cards that are from different areas from those registered in the company’s database. Lastly, the company will provide advanced security training to its employees. Regular training will be offered on important topics such as cyber laws and policies. Strict protocols and written policies will be put in place to encourage employees to observe the mandated security guidelines.
MISCELLANEOUS ISSUESManagement PlanSolar Express will be led by Nicholas Dillon, Jessica Matthews, and Lizzeth Hensley who are also the co-founders. Dillon has a university degree in Environmental Studies from the University of South Carolina. Upon graduation, Dillon worked with an environmental conservation company that marketed solar power system as an alternative source of clean energy.Hensley has worked with various companies that developed solutions for energy conservation. With more than twenty years of experience as an environmental conservationist, Hensley has gained wonderful insights into the world of alternative energy sources, particularly solar energy. This experience gave her the motivation to start Solar Express. She also has skills in online marketing, customer relationship management, and accounting. All these skills will be critical in her position as the Chief Executive Officer of Solar Express. Mathews, a native South Carolinian, finished a Master’s Degree in Finance from the Wharton School of Business.  She has spent the last several years as an investment banker, focused specifically on raising capital for companies in the renewable and clean energy sector.  After doing some initial consulting work with Solar Express, Mathews was honored to join Solar Express as Chief Financial Office and Principal. 
During the first six months of business, Solar Express will operate a lean organizational structure consisting of the CEO and ten employees. All tasks will be divided among these employees. The CEO will be responsible for coordinating all business related issues as well as helping with projects and initiating research programs. There will be a sales and marketing department, whose head will report directly to the CEO. The sales and marketing manager will be responsible for developing visibility for the company and also for cultivating contacts with prospective customers. Solar Express has projected that after six months, it will need to expand the size of its administrative and marketing staff. Key duties will be customer services such as answering phone calls, responding to customer queries, accounting input and clerical functions. The additional staff will be hired on temporal terms for three months after which they will be considered for permanent positions depending on company performance.
Financial PlanSolar Express will use both equity and debt to finance its business. The owner will contribute $ 6 million dollars and seek a loan of $10 million. This amount will be used to set up the business and support operational and administrative activities during the first three months. The company’s financial projection is based on the assumption that the short-term interest rate (five years) will remain constant at 12% and that tax rate will be constant all through at 30%. Based on these assumptions and the expectation that the market will continue growing, the company’s projected cash flow and profit during the first twelve months are as shown below:

Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 1: Projected cash flow and profit