Solar After-Sales in Nigeria

Every solar company in Nigeria has a hidden second business, and almost none of them run it. It is the customers they already installed.

A system commissioned in 2023 is a service check that was never done, a lead-acid battery bank that is quietly dying, an inverter that wants attention, and a household that would refer three neighbours if anyone asked. Instead, the customer’s next contact with the solar industry is a stranger on Instagram when the lights start going off at 2am.

That is not a marketing problem. It is a memory problem. Nothing in the business remembered the customer after the last instalment.

What a past customer is worth

• A service visit at six months and then yearly. Panel cleaning, connections, inverter checks. A morning’s work, paid.
• A battery replacement. Lead-acid banks in Nigerian conditions commonly last three to five years. A 400Ah 48V bank is a real ticket, and the customer would rather the company that installed the system did it.
• An upgrade. The customer who started with 3.5kVA and one AC now wants the second AC and the pumping machine. That is a new install to a customer who already trusts you.
• A referral. Every year the system keeps the lights on through the rainy season, the customer tells someone. Most installers never ask, and never know when it happens.

Multiply by every system you have installed. That is the second business.

The schedule

30 days: a check-in. “Is everything performing as expected? Any lights or noises you were not expecting?” Catches teething problems before they become complaints, and starts the relationship on the right foot.

6 months, then yearly: the service reminder, with a booking link for the visit.

Battery, by type: for lead-acid, a conversation around month thirty and a replacement offer before year four. For lithium, service reminders only; the replacement conversation is a decade away.

After the first rainy season: the referral request and the review request. The system has proved itself. This is the moment.

When you add a product: every past customer is a filterable list. New battery technology, a monitoring add-on, a maintenance plan. One message to the customers whose systems fit.

Why it never happens

Because it lives in someone’s memory. The installer means to call the 2023 customers. Then there are eleven new enquiries on Monday. The past customers are in a notebook, or a spreadsheet nobody opens, or nowhere. The reminder has to fire by itself, from the install date, or it does not fire.

How GrowUp Business does it

Every installed system sits on the customer’s record with its install date, system size and battery type. The 30-day check-in, the six-month and annual service reminders, and the battery conversation timed to the battery type all fire on their own from that date, on WhatsApp, in your words, with a booking link for the visit. The referral request goes out after the first rainy season and referrals are tracked, so the referrer is thanked and you know which customers bring customers. Past customers are a filterable list for any new product. Import your old installs with whatever you have and the schedule starts running for them too.

The customers you already have start with the ones you close: the quote follow-up page. For the whole journey, read the solar software page.

Common questions

Why do solar customers buy their replacement battery from someone else?

Because the installer forgot them. A customer installed in 2023 has not heard from you since commissioning. When the lead-acid bank starts failing in year three, he does what everyone does: searches Instagram. The installer who messaged him in month thirty, before the failure, saying 'your bank is coming up on three years, let us check it', gets the replacement and the referral.

When should I remind a customer about the battery?

It depends on the battery. Lead-acid banks in Nigerian conditions commonly last three to five years, so a check-in around month thirty and a replacement conversation before year four. Lithium runs ten to fifteen, so the reminder is about service, not replacement. Set it from the install date and the battery type, and it fires on its own.

What does a solar maintenance schedule look like?

A check-in at 30 days to confirm the system is performing. A service reminder at six months and then annually: panel cleaning, connection checks, inverter firmware where relevant. A battery conversation timed to the battery type. A referral request once the system has proved itself, usually after the first rainy season.

Is after-sales worth it for a small installer?

It is the most profitable part of the business. A service visit costs you a morning. A battery replacement on a 400Ah bank is a real ticket. A referral costs nothing. And all of it comes from customers who already trust you and whose systems you already know. The only reason installers skip it is that nothing reminds them.

How do I get referrals from past customers?

Ask at the right moment, once. After the first rainy season, when the system has kept the lights on through the worst of it, a message: 'If a neighbour asks who did your solar, this link tells us it came from you.' Track it so the referrer is thanked. Referrals that are tracked become a channel. Referrals that are luck stay luck.

What about customers I installed years ago and never recorded properly?

Import them with whatever you have: name, number, install year, battery type if known. Even a rough install year is enough to start the battery conversation. Most installers have hundreds of these customers and no list at all. The list is the asset.