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Success
Neighborhood Sun: Revitalizing Growth Through Strategic Multichannel Marketing
How we leverage our knowledge as founders to raise for other founders
Jay Christianto
Marketing Consultant
Executive Summary
When Neighborhood Sun, a rapidly growing community solar company backed by Kingscrowd, faced a stagnating campaign and flatlining traction, they turned to us at Bfunded for a solution.
Through our strategic multichannel marketing approach across email marketing, Meta ads, SMS campaigns, and LinkedIn outreach, we reinvigorated their growth trajectory, with the same audience that flatlined their campaign, within two months.
This case study examines how our high-touch content strategy and multiple touchpoint approach transformed their campaign performance, resulting in:
A 272% increase in average daily investment amount.
A 20.6% increase in average investment per investor.
Overall 2.82% average page conversion rate and email engagement rates well above industry standards.
Client Background
About Neighborhood Sun: Neighborhood Sun stands out in the emerging US community solar space as an equity crowdfunding success story.
Backed by Kingscrowd, the #1 analytics site for equity crowdfunding, Neighborhood Sun has been recognized as "the fastest-growing company by profit thanks to equity crowdfunding." Their mission is to democratize clean energy access by connecting communities with local solar projects.
Leadership: The company is led by CEO Gary Skulnik, a prominent figure in the renewable energy sector who has been featured multiple times by Kingscrowd in talks and articles, establishing himself as a thought leader in both community solar and alternative funding models.
Industry: Renewable Energy, Community Solar
Core Services:
Solar subscription services for residents and businesses
Community solar project development and management
Clean energy advocacy and education
The Challenge
Despite its impressive background and recognition, Neighborhood Sun was experiencing significant challenges with its marketing campaign:
Campaign Stagnation: Their existing marketing efforts had flatlined, resulting in diminishing returns and stalled growth.
Lead Generation Plateau: Although new customer acquisition was on an uptick, their crowdfunding campaign was not following the same trend, threatening their expansion goals and investor confidence.
Fragmented Marketing Approach: Previous efforts lacked cohesion across channels and failed to create consistent customer journeys.
Conversion Difficulties: While they were generating some interest, they struggled to convert customers into investors.
Our Strategic Approach
After a thorough analysis of Neighborhood Sun's existing marketing strategy and performance metrics, we developed a comprehensive multichannel approach designed to reactivate its growth:
Phase 1: Assessment & Strategy Development
Performed a deep-dive analysis of their existing campaign performance
Identified key audience segments and engagement patterns
Mapped out an integrated multichannel strategy with coordinated messaging
Established clear KPIs aligned with Neighborhood Sun's growth objectives
Phase 2: Multichannel Implementation
We implemented a comprehensive marketing ecosystem featuring:
Meta Advertising: Developed targeted campaigns across Facebook and Instagram with custom audiences based on a number of factors such as environmental interests, educational background, and geographical proximity to solar projects.
Email Marketing: Created a nurture sequence with educational content progressively introducing not only community solar but also equity crowdfunding.
SMS Marketing: Implemented timely, action-oriented messages for high-priority announcements, limited-time offers, and key events.
LinkedIn Strategy: Positioned CEO Gary Skulnik and key team members as industry thought leaders through strategic engagement, high-touch campaigns, and direct communication channels for high-prospect investors.
Results & Impact
Our multichannel strategy reversed Neighborhood Sun's stagnation and delivered impressive results:
Traction Revitalization
Neighborhood Sun’s average daily investment amount before they onboarded us was $440 per day, with an average investment per investor of $880.
After Bfunded was onboarded, we helped them reinvigorate their campaign to an average investment amount of $1,639 per day, with $1,061 average investment amount per investor.
Channel Performance
Page conversion rate: 2.82%
Meta Ads: Average purchase value of $921.43 from a 1.69% average conversion rate
Email Marketing:
Open rate of emails stood at an average of 31.79%
Click rate floated at an average of 10.75%
Business Growth
Raised $1.8M from previous Wefunder rounds with 1,800+ investors
Generated $4.8M in revenue in 2023 (257% increase year-over-year)
Achieved 43% YoY revenue growth in Q3
Reduced operating loss by 94% in Q3, demonstrating path to profitability
Increased community solar farms under management by 100% in 2023 YoY
Managing 136 community solar farms across 7 states with 14 solar developers
Secured backing from KingsCrowd Capital, a highly selective data analytics leader in equity crowdfunding
Ranked #1 on KingsCrowd's list of startups with most rapid growth
Recognized as a "Rising Star" by StartUs Insights, ranking in top 5 globally for community solar out of 136 companies
Maintained B Corp certification for 7 years
Developed "Sun Engine" platform - described as the best platform in the market that competitors can't match
Secured a major partnership with one of the largest community solar sales organizations (225 agents across 12 offices)
Offering the only SaaS solution for 6 different developers across 10 states
Successfully providing affordable solar energy, with savings of up to 20% for subscribers
Specifically serving low-income households in Maryland solar farm project
Conclusion
Our partnership with Neighborhood Sun demonstrates the power of a cohesive, multi-channel approach to revitalizing stagnant campaigns. By strategically aligning messaging across digital platforms and leveraging the company's impressive achievements and credibility markers, we transformed their investor acquisition trajectory.
The dramatic increase in daily investment amounts—from $440 to $1,639—validates our approach of creating meaningful touchpoints throughout the customer journey. This case illustrates how even established companies with strong fundamentals can experience transformative growth when their story is told through the right channels, to the right audiences, with the right timing.
Neighborhood Sun's success story reinforces our commitment to helping mission-driven organizations achieve their full market potential without compromising their values.
About Bfunded
Bfunded specializes in creating multichannel marketing strategies that deliver measurable results for innovative companies, especially in the sustainability sector. Our data-driven approach combines creative excellence with strategic precision to help mission-driven organizations achieve their growth objectives.
To learn how we can revitalize your marketing campaigns, contact us at hello@bfunded.io.
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