The collapse Spanish photovoltaic energies sector?

The collapse Spanish photovoltaic energies sector?

The last Friday on 18th July, the Spanish government published a new proposal about the fees and conditions for the photovoltaic sector in the next years.

It’s a very bad new that could be the collapse of an activity that has been a good increment during the last 10 years, because it supposes around a 30% of incomes reduction for the sector, while the costs of installation, only have had a reduction around 12%-15%.

All people in this sector, were waiting about some fees adjustments but this proposal could be the final of an activity sector that has been living an excellent increase.

The questions now are , How the new companies created in the lasts years could be able to maintain their costs of structure with these new fees?, and Are they thinking now in create marketing strategies?

-------------- PLAIN TEXT VERSION ---------------

The collapse Spanish photovoltaic energies sector?

The last Friday on 18th July, the Spanish government published a new proposal about the fees and conditions for the photovoltaic sector in the next years.

It’s a very bad new that could be the collapse of an activity that has been a good increment during the last 10 years, because it supposes around the 30% of incomes reduction for the sector, while the costs of installation, only have had a reduction around 12%-15%.

All people in this sector, were waiting about some fees adjustments but this proposal could be the final of an activity sector that has been living an excellent increase.

The questions now are , How the new companies created in the lasts years could be able to maintain their costs of structure with these new fees?, and Are they thinking now in create marketing strategies?

Innovation Management. A competence differtentiation strategy

Innovation Management. A competence differentiation strategy.

To create a competence differentiation isn’t easy.

As the human evolution based in natural selection, it’s necessary to fuse a large sort of variables and skills as EXPERTISE , CREATIVITY, VARIETY , VISION, SECTOR KNOWLEDGE, … to reach it.

And after you have all these skills perfectly combined, it’s necessary to communicate them to be perceived by our prospects.

One way of combining all these skills to create a competence differentiation positioning is through the Innovation management.

There are two main ways to innovate :

Breaking off innovation -> creating new concepts that require a strong R+D investment.

Incremental innovation -> creating new concepts through a gradual evolution process as a result of a customer lifecycle management.

Innovation management is the way to create an incremental innovation process in your company, that means to profit the relationship with your customers to create new ideas , and to profit the expertise and structure of your organization to select them, and to create little improvements for your business.

The innovation management doesn’t require a large quantity of investment, and to do it, you only need in your company, an structured customer lifecycle model and a method to distil the ideas that emanate from them, to create new concepts and improvements.

That’s : Customer -> Ideas -> Products & Services.

The questions are :

Have I customers? YES

Have I products? YES

SO,

How can I profit of my experience to create a competence differentiation strategy?

-------------- PLAIN TEXT VERSION ---------------

Working the differentiation with the innovation management.

To create a competence differentiation isn’t easy.

As the human evolution based in natural selection, it’s necessary to fuse a large sort of variables and skills as EXPERTISE , CREATIVITY, VARIETY , VISION, SECTOR KNOWLEDGE, … to reach it.

And after you have all these skills perfectly combined, it’s necessary to communicate them to be perceived by our prospects.

One way of combining all these skills to create a competence differentiation positioning is through the Innovation management.

There are two main ways to innovate :

Breaking off innovation -> creating new concepts that require a strong R+D investment.

Incremental innovation -> creating new concepts through a gradual evolution process as a result of a customer lifecycle management.

Innovation management is the way to create an incremental innovation cycle in your company, that means to profit the relationship with your customers to create new ideas , and to profit the expertise and structure of your organization to select them, and to create little improvements for your business.

The innovation management doesn’t require a large quantity of investment, and to do it, you only need to have in your company an structured customer lifecycle model and a method into your organization to distil the ideas that emanate from them and to create the new concepts and improvements.

That’s Customer -> Ideas -> Products & Services.

The questions are :
Have I customers? YES
Have I products? YES

SO,

How can I learn from my experience to create a competence differentiation strategy?

THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE (2nd PART : from CONTRACT to NEED)

THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE (2nd PART : from CONTRACT to NEED) (See “1st part : from NEED to CONTRACT” if you didn’t)

When a customer contracts our services, he only wants ONE THING :

Promised results, in promised time and with promised cost and promised quality.

Here, the keys to success are a good experience and a good methodology and technical knowledge, and it’s the moment to create the customer dependence from yourself.

Covering the expectative of your customer, you’ll ensure his SATISFACTION, that’s the next stage after contract -> CONFIDENCE.

The success , for the customer, is a commodity; just he has confided in you, and then you must create a differentiation from competence if you want to be positioning in his mind in the future.

The next stage in a customer relationship after SATISFACTION, is to create his DEPENDENCE of yourself, and you’ll achieve it, if you know to create between you and your customer, a particular and individual experience.

This differentiation means to create an experience in your customer, where he identifies only more than an expert, a PARTNER.

ONLY if your are considered a partner of your customer, you will be able to KNOW MORE about his desires, and you’ll can identify more needs that you can solve.

In this stage your customer has DEPENDENCE in you because you are perfectly positioned in his mind.

Then, the question is, what I have to do in my company, to be considered a partner for my customers? and when you know what, you must answer the other one : How can I do it?

Yes, it’s marketing, and it’s strategy, but overall it’s organization and collaboration process of whole departments of your company.

----------- Text Plain version -----------------

THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE (2nd PART : from CONTRACT to NEED) (See “1st part : from NEED to CONTRACT” if you didn’t)

When a customer contracts our services, he only wants ONE THING :

Promised results, in promised time and with promised cost and promised quality.

Here, the keys to success are a good experience and a good methodology and technical knowledge, and it’s the moment to make the customer dependent from yourself.

Covering the expectative of your customer, you’ll ensure his SATISFACTION, that’s the next stage after contract -> CONFIDENCE.

The success , for the customer, is a commodity; just he has confided in you, and then you must create a differentiation from competence if you want to be positioning in his mind in the future.

The next stage in a customer relationship after SATISFACTION, is to create his dependence of yourself, and you’ll achieve it, if you know to create between you and your customer, a particular and individual experience.

This differentiation means to create an experience in your customer, where he identifies only more than an expert, a PARTNER.

ONLY if your are considered a partner of your customer, you will be able to KNOW MORE about his desires, and you’ll can identify more needs that you can solve.

In this stage your customer has DEPENDENCE in you because you are perfectly positioned in his mind.

Then, the question is, what I have to do in my company, to be considered a partner for my customers? and when you know what, you must answer the other one : How can I do it?

Yes, it’s marketing, and it’s strategy, but overall it’s organization and collaboration process of whole departments of your company.

THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE (1st PART : from NEED to CONTRACT)

THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE (1st PART : from NEED to CONTRACT)

What are looking for our customers when they contract our services?

How are they thinking?

Think about our customer’s mental path and the keys to advance on it , is essential in our organization :

.

.

.

An example of our customer’s mental path and the keys:

1st . I have a need, as for example, optimize my energy waste, reduce my CO2 emissions, create a CO2 credits strategy, develop a wind farm, etc…)

2nd . Where can I find an expertise provider that helps me to solve it? Here the solution provider POSITIONING is the key.

3rd . Who is the best solution provider? Here the solution provider EXPERTISE is the key.

Only you’ll be able to be the solution provider if you are appropriately POSITIONED when the customer has the need, and you have a GOOD EXPERTISE to create the confidence necessary to get the contract.

The POSITIONING could be achieved , either because the customer knows the solution provider from other contracts, or knows some people that recommended it, or because the solution provider has been working a positioning strategy that has created a reference in the sector, and the customer knows it.

The other one depends of less variables than the first, and we must work on it.

.

--------------- Plain text version ----------------

.

THE CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE (1st PART : from NEED to CONTRACT)

What are looking for our customers when they contract our services?

How are they thinking?

Think about our customer’s mental path and the keys to advance on it , is essential in our organization :

An example of our customer’s mental path and the keys:

.

1st . I have a need, as for example, optimize my energy waste, reduce my CO2 emissions, create a CO2 credits strategy, develop a wind farm, etc…)

.

2nd . Where can I find an expertise provider that helps me to solve it? Here the solution provider POSITIONING is the key.

.

3rd . Who is the best solution provider? Here the solution provider EXPERTISE is the key.

.

Only you’ll be able to be the solution provider if you are appropriately POSITIONED when the customer has the need, and you have a GOOD EXPERTISE to create the confidence necessary to get the contract.

.

The POSITIONING could be achieved , either because the customer knows the solution provider from other contracts, or knows some people that recommended it, or because the solution provider has been working a positioning strategy that has created a reference in the sector, and the customer knows it.

.

The other one depends of less variables than the first, and we must work on it.

Positioning, What does it mean?, and Why it's critical?

Positioning, What does it mean?, and Why it's critical?



When a customer needs something, he usually goes to find it, in the sources that he knows.


That means, to be in the customer's mind.


So it's critical to be there, isn't it ? to be present in the usual customer's sources of solutions........ THAT'S TO BE POSITIONED!!!



............ AND POSITIONING , IS THE STRATEGY TO REACH IT!!!



Only positioned companies, companies that are inside of their customer’s mind, will only be the companies that will have some possibility to attract the customer attention (Discovering our potential solutions agents) and to be considered as a potential customer’s needs solution agent; the first step to create an offer.

Who doesn’t hard work now the positioning in renewables sector, creating ideas to attract the attention of the potential customers, will not be able to be a big renewables sector player because other companies that are working the positioning, will get it.

So, in this moment we must to answer only to one question :

I am doing something to be positioned? or to be positioned is something strategic in my company?

If your answer is YES IT IS, congratulations and

1.identify what are you doing,
2. analyze your results
3. analyze your actual positioning


and the most important : think about how can I improve it?

If you say NOT, I DON’T , you have a lot of HARD work to do, and a BIG OPPORTUNITY to grow, but you MUST START NOW!!, WITHOUT LOSING MORE TIME.

So, we have arrived at SECOND STAGE : (see FIRST STAGE if you didn't)

I understand that the competitiveness in my sector is increasing , and that means, lots of companies are working to call the attention of my potential customers, creating NOISE and confussion in my market, and I must work to be positioned to achieve the interest of my customers, but, How can I work the positioning?



--------------- Plain text version ------------------

Positioning, What does it mean?, and Why it's critical?

When a customer needs something, he usually goes to find it, in the sources that he knows.

That means, to be in the customer's mind.

So it's critical to be there, isn't it ? to be present in the usual customer's sources of solutions........ THAT'S TO BE POSITIONED!!!

............ AND POSITIONING , IS THE STRATEGY TO REACH IT!!!

Only positioned companies, companies that are inside of their customer’s mind, will only be the companies that will have some possibility to attract the customer attention (Discovering our potential solutions agents) and to be considered as a potential customer’s needs solution agent; the first step to create an offer.

Who doesn’t hard work now the positioning in renewables sector, creating ideas to attract the attention of the potential customers, will not be able to be a big renewables sector player because other companies that are working the positioning, will get it.

So, in this moment we must to answer only to one question :

I am doing something to be positioned? or to be positioned is something strategic in my company?

If your answer is YES IT IS, congratulations and
1.identify what are you doing,
2. analyze your results
3. analyze your actual positioning
and the most important : think about how can I improve it?

If you say NOT, I DON’T , you have a lot of HARD work to do, and a BIG OPPORTUNITY to grow, but you MUST START NOW!!, WITHOUT LOSING MORE TIME.

So, we have arrived at SECOND STAGE : (see FIRST STAGE if you didn't)

I understand that the competitiveness in my sector is increasing , and that means, lots of companies are working to call the attention of my potential customers, creating NOISE and confussion in my market, and I must work to be positioned to achieve the interest of my customers, but, How can I work the positioning?

CUSTOMIZING, a tailor made service for our customers

CUSTOMIZING. . ..

. . . . TAILOR MADE SERVICES

The customers have their particular needs, and we must adapt to them, creating tailor made services if we want to get a value added positioning in their minds.

..

.

.

For the next years, there'll be a lot of new companies that come in from mature sectors, where adapting the service policies to customer's needs is a commodity..., just only a requierement to survive.

With this background is easy to now their marketing strategy orientation, isn’t it? ,
and then, by the moment, we only must answer ONE QUESTION :

Have I the capability to adapt my service policy to the need of each customer?

If I can say YES, I’m in the right way to play in this new scenario, although I need to answer lots of questions before to sing victory…..

If I can’t answer affirmatively to this question, and I answer NOT, I CAN’T, I must work to create a strategy plan to achieve the adaptation of my all service strategy to my customer’s needs.

.

.

.

So, we have arrived at FIRST STAGE :

.

I understand that my sector is changing, and I must

adapt to it, but, How can I do it?

--------------- Plain text version ------------------

CUSTOMIZING. . ..

. . . . TAILOR MADE SERVICES

The customers have their particular needs, and we must adapt to them, creating tailor made services if we want to get a value added positioning in their minds.

For the next years, there'll be a lot of new companies that come in from mature sectors, where adapting the service policies to customer's needs is a commodity..., just only a requierement to survive.

With this background is easy to now their marketing strategy orientation, isn’t it? ,
and then, by the moment, we only must answer ONE QUESTION :

Have I the capability to adapt my service policy to the need of each customer?

If I can say YES, I’m in the right way to play in this new scenario, although I need to answer lots of questions before to sing victory…..

If I can’t answer affirmatively to this question, and I answer NOT, I CAN’T, I must work to create a strategy plan to achieve the adaptation of my all service strategy to my customer’s needs.

So, we have arrived at FIRST STAGE :

I understand that my sector is changing, and I must
adapt to it, but, How can I do it?

Some information about Renewable Energies Sector in Spain

The Spain government invests to reach the Spain Renewal Energies Plan objectives in 2010 : 12% of energy consumed in Spain must be from renewal energies sources, and in 2020 , around 20%-40%)

El compromiso de España para el año 2010 es conseguir :
1. El 12% de toda la energía que se consuma en el país deberá proceder de fuentes de energías renovables.
2. El 29,4% de energía eléctrica que se produzca deberá ser con fuentes de energías renovables.
3. El 5,75% del transporte deberá realizarse con biocarburantes.

" El importe total de la inversión del Plan en el periodo 2005-2010 es de 23.598.641 miles de euros. El mayor peso corresponde a la financiación ajena (el 77,1 por 100 del coste total, lo que supone la cifra de 18.197,974 millones de euros); el 20 por 100 correspondería a los promotores, lo que significa una cifra de 4.719,728 millones de euros, y la ayuda pública supone el 2,9 por 100, lo que representa 680,939 millones de euros."

Source: Plan de Energías Renovables 2005-2010

So, with this scenario, who is doubting that the competitiveness in this sector will experiment a colossal increase ?

and then, the expertise of established companies, will be enough to compete ?

The expertise is essential to create confidence with the costumer, and also to achieve their satisfaction, but the companies, now, will ALSO have to work their positioning, and to create a niche market to be in the customer’s head and to be the reference in this sector IN NEXT FUTURE.

To be there, positioned in the references sector list , we must redefine all the marketing strategies that we’ve been doing up to now.

And overall don’t forget!!!!, the other one come in with all their marketing strategies fully adapted to a competitive environment.

.

.

--------------- Plain text version ------------------

.

The Spain government invests to reach the Spain Renewal Energies Plan objectives in 2010 : 12% of energy consumed in Spain must be from renewal energies sources, and in 2020 , around 20%-40%)

El compromiso de España para el año 2010 es conseguir :
1. El 12% de toda la energía que se consuma en el país deberá proceder de fuentes de energías renovables.
2. El 29,4% de energía eléctrica que se produzca deberá ser con fuentes de energías renovables.
3. El 5,75% del transporte deberá realizarse con biocarburantes.

" El importe total de la inversión del Plan en el periodo 2005-2010 es de 23.598.641 miles de euros. El mayor peso corresponde a la financiación ajena (el 77,1 por 100 del coste total, lo que supone la cifra de 18.197,974 millones de euros); el 20 por 100 correspondería a los promotores, lo que significa una cifra de 4.719,728 millones de euros, y la ayuda pública supone el 2,9 por 100, lo que representa 680,939 millones de euros."

Source: Plan de Energías Renovables 2005-2010

So, with this scenario, who is doubting that the competitiveness in this sector will experiment a colossal increase ?

and then, the expertise of established companies, will be enough to compete ?

The expertise is essential to create confidence with the costumer, and also to achieve their satisfaction, but the companies, now, will ALSO have to work their positioning, and to create a niche market to be in the customer’s head and to be the reference in this sector IN NEXT FUTURE.

To be there, positioned in the references sector list , we must redefine all the marketing strategies that we’ve been doing up to now.

And overall don’t forget!!!!, the other one come in with all their marketing strategies fully adapted to a competitive environment.