Objective: To create a marketing strategy for Solar Lanterns in Urban India (Tier 2 and Tier 3

cities)

Product Description
The complete product offering includes a lighting system composed of an LED lamp, solar panels,
battery and charge controller. The lamp operates on electricity from batteries, charged through the
use of solar photovoltaic panel.

Targeting and segmentation

Residential
Households
Smart Homes
(Leverage the Smart
city Initiative)

Commercial
Factories and offices
Public Infrastructure
Hotels
Malls

Substitute

As per report Lighting Asia: Solar Off-Grid Lighting, World Bank Group, the average payback period
for a solar lantern is 2 years.

Challenges

1) To convince prospective customers of the long term cost benefit

Since we are talking about the urban market with reasonable literacy levels, we can start by using
conventional advertising sources like print media, billboards etc. Secondly, Recommendations by the
sellers who distribute our product can take us a long way in securing sales.
A) Communicating the cost benefit analysis and the prospective breakeven time period
B) How the product helps them to satisfy their underlying desire to contribute towards nature and
environment protection
2) To ensure/facilitate availability of credit to prospective customers

Collaboration with consumer financing institution.

A high focus on after-sales service

Distribution Model
We sell our products to the distributors, who in turn sell them to dealers. The distributors are usually of
3 types consumer durables, electrical goods and exclusive dealers of products based on solar energy in
addition to E-Commerce.
Advantages
Tried and tested Model
Potential for High Market Penetration
Challenges
Inadequate and underdeveloped number of distributors with a nationwide reach
Ensuring after-sales service through various distributors and dealers
Concept selling is a challenge

Promotion

Given the low levels of awareness and some misconceptions about the products usage in areas
which receive low to medium levels of direct sunlight, it becomes imperative to invest in
education of customer, promotion and marketing.
Use of SOCIAL MARKETING: Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviors not to benefit
the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society. Given the products
profile, Social marketing can prove to be the most apt for it.

Key Marketing Messages

Emergency lighting during
power outages
Portable light for camping and
outings
Improved health and safety in
comparison to kerosene lamps
Long term savings
Aspirational positioning( symbol
of pride and status)

Marketing Medium
Pamphlets
Point of sale banners
Recommendations by sellers
Overall aggressive push strategy

Collaborations
Partnerships with NGOs
Collaboration with consumer
financing institutions so as to
facilitate payments in EMIs