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GreenSpark Solar embraces win-win partnerships that benefit the company, the planet and the people it serves — including employees, suppliers, vendors and customers.
So it's no surprise the New York-based company is committed to remarkable customer experience (CX). It's an essential element of GreenSpark's mission to be profitable, collaborative and a force for good.
GreenSpark is the largest residential, community and commercial solar provider in Rochester, Central and Western New York.
For CEO Kevin Schulte, customer-centric experiences revolve around cost-effective, reliable, clean energy projects backed by responsive customer support. "We have to figure out how to delight and surprise the customer like retail did a long time ago and to accelerate consumer movement," he said.
Kevin and two friends — George McConochie and Ernie Pritchard — established GreenSpark as Sustainable Energy Developments in 2002. Named CEO in 2008, Kevin led the company to 11th fastest growing business in Rochester in seven years and moved it to the top spot on the Rochester Chamber of Commerce's Fastest Growing Companies in nine. McConochie is now Chief Operating Officer, and Pritchard is director of customer care.
Kevin credits GreenSpark's success to relationships with partners like Omnidian, which support the company's growth and provide game-changing services like a Performance Guarantee. Seattle-based Omnidian operates software platforms that monitor and remotely diagnose problems relating to the performance of commercial, industrial and residential solar assets.
In the third episode of our Beyond O&M: The Future of Solar series, Kevin shares his insights about keeping the customer first and how partnering with Omnidian helped the company reach its goals.
The solar industry is crossing the chasm from early adopters to the early mass market. And one thing is clear. What got us here won't enable us to move the goalposts. Today customers expect a proactive customer experience (CX) from first contact through service and support.
Kevin abandoned plans to be a physician after taking an environmental chemistry class early in his college career. Transfixed by a pictograph of the greenhouse gas effect, he changed his major to address what he realized was a "really big problem."
"So I studied in college, went to Malta for two summers, and studied wind for the archipelago. I wrote a thesis and designed a wind farm at Mount Storm, West Virginia, now an operating wind farm owned by Dominion Resources. And then, I wrote a letter and a resume for every company in the United States that was a member of the American Wind Energy Association, and I got a job with RES Americas.
"I was the fourth us employee, and it's now massive. We built a couple of hundred megawatts of wind farms, and I helped develop a couple of hundred megawatts of wind farms. In a couple of years, the Friday after 911, my co-founders and I were on the phone, and we were like, we're dinosaurs in this business, and we may as well start our own thing."
Kevin said the company "coalesced around the innocence and the youthfulness of wanting "to make the world a better place with your buddies, and we turned it into a career and a beautiful business offering opportunities for employment for a lot of people."
The business started as a utility-scale wind consultant and evolved to solar by 2009 when federal incentives opened a new market in New York State. If you believe in the climate problem, Kevin thinks you're obligated to commit to growing your best business to address it.
“I’m tied to the thought that a human-caused problem can be a human-solve problem, and that’s what it feels like is my job. And I had kids somewhere along the way, and I believe in handing them and maybe grandkids one day, like a better world”
Ask Kevin to predict The Future of Solar, and he'll tell you about his conviction that care and compassion are foundational to business success. He argues it's essential to create a sustainable business by owning some of what you're putting into the market — starting with the right products and nurturing an ethos of care for your customers.
I invite you to listen to the full podcast to learn more about how Kevin cares enough about his company: how the systems it installs operate and how the company gives back to the community, creates a positive workplace, impacts climate change, and builds something durable.
We're bringing you all six parts of this series in partnership with Omnidian. You can check out the series and the experts who comprise it at: www.mysuncast.com/futureofsolar.
RESOURCES:
Connect with Kevin Schulte on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Follow GreenSpark Solar on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and check out its website.
Follow Omnidian on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube and check out its website.
You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on Twitter, LinkedIn or email.
ABOUT THE HOST OF SUNCAST:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is an Investor, Executive Coach, and 16-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.
You can connect with Nico Johnson on Twitter, LinkedIn or email.
If you’ve been second-guessing your work decisions or maybe trying to reconsider how you "fit" in the renewable energy industry -> grab 20 minutes on Nico's calendar and discuss whether having him as Your personal coach might be the right next step.