The record-breaking growth of the solar industry pushed solar companies to utilize all available marketing tools to maximize their lead generation potential. One such tool is solar reviews from existing customers, an instrument as effective as word of mouth and social proof.
In today’s AI-driven online landscape, customers are increasingly looking for a genuine source of knowledge about the product in question. No matter what review platform you use, exclusive solar reviews from legitimate customers can become a decisive advantage in your lead generation campaigns.
Source: GIPHY
Keep reading to learn more about how customer reviews can help you get solar leads.
Best Strategies To Collect Customer Reviews
Growing your solar company may seem challenging, but one essential aspect that can help you generate quality solar leads is reviews. Solar panels are expensive, so home and business owners read many reviews before choosing a specific solar company.
Let’s discuss the best practices you can utilize to generate solar leads from customer reviews.
Simplify the Reviewing Process
If you struggle to collect customer reviews and feedback, the problem might lie in the complexity of the process. If leaving a review requires jumping through hoops – a long registration process, sharing personal data, authentication, etc. – you will lose a significant portion of reviewers.
On the other hand, a simplified reviewing process accessible from your website, blog, email, and social media will likely win you more reviews and generate more solar leads as a result. Therefore, try to simplify, modernize, and automate the reviewing process for your customers.
For example, you can use an embedded Google Review link on your website or ask for a review on any survey that is already in use. You can also include a review link to all your emails or social media accounts.
Connect With Loyal Customers
It goes without saying that satisfied customers are much more likely to leave reviews. This is why it is vital to ask your loyal customers for referrals and reviews and ensure they are always happy with your products. Remember, the lifetime value of a brand advocate is times more than a regular buyer’s, so you should make it count.
Besides, loyal customers are the champions of writing honest and transparent reviews – you only have to gently nudge them to act. Make sure to approach loyal customers individually to avoid receiving generic reviews: a flood of reviews may violate Google’s Review Policy.
Collect Reviews at the Right Time
When it comes to customer reviews, timing is of great importance. Even a brand advocate may not be eager to leave a review if you ask them at the wrong time (for example, email coming at night can easily incense customers whose notifications are not turned off).
Choosing the right timing is an art and science at the same time. The gut feeling matters, but you can also rely on the customer activity. For example, one such sign might be tagging your brand on their social media profile.
Use the Proper Feedback Collection Channels
When you are ready to ask for customers’ reviews and testimonials, it is time to choose a suitable medium. You can call, email, or text message potential reviewers. Likewise, you can organize online and offline events like webinars and workshops. Meeting your loyal customers offline will gain you extra trust and convince attendees to leave reviews.
Engage With Positive and Negative Reviews
Positive reviews seem a self-sufficient way to attract solar review leads, but it’s also true that some people will leave less-than-perfect or downright negative reviews. Reworking negative reviews into positive experiences is a rare and very advantageous quality that can reengage allegedly lost customers and boost your credibility.
When working with negative reviews, start by expressing your regret and then ask for possible ways to improve the situation. More than ⅓ of dissatisfied customers remove their complaints after being contacted by the company, which means that even currently dissatisfied customers are a potential source of gains for the company.
Here is how you can benefit from negative reviews and testimonials:
Positive Effect | Explanation |
Improve credibility | Your company automatically becomes more credible if customers can find at least some negative or ambiguous reviews online. This simply means you don’t delete negative feedback: a very rare customer will believe in hundreds of 5-star reviews without a single negative experience. |
Build positive customer relationships | Reworking negative reviews shows your openness, signifying your willingness to improve and making a solid foundation for customer loyalty. |
Identify business weak points and shortcomings | Negative customer feedback can promptly point to the areas where your business fails. Too many negative reviews about the same issue are a red flag that you should take action to fix the problem. |
Naturally, you have to minimize the amount of negative feedback to get more solar leads. Treat every complaint as a chance to improve and demonstrate your flexibility and customer focus.
Source: Contact Services
Why Does Social Proof Matter?
Social proof is undoubtedly one of the most effective solar lead generators: people always look up to the group – their family, friends, colleagues, opinion leaders, etc. – to understand better how to act and get the necessary reassurance.
Even choosing a restaurant to dine at may rely solely on the feedback. Power Reviews shows that 9 out of 10 customers consult product reviews across multiple platforms before purchasing. A staggering 93% of customers indicated that a review is crucial in determining whether they will buy a product.
Source: Master Blogging
Why not apply the same principle to solar review leads? Use social proof to promote the idea that your company is the best solar energy solution. Feedback from real people will convince your audience that your brand is trustworthy, gaining new solar leads for you.
Here is how you can convince your customers your brand is a perfect fit:
- Present the total number of company solar installations
- Showcase various ratings
- Use online reviews published on different platforms
These social proof points will help reassure homeowners that going solar with you is the right choice: it’s safe, reliable, and financially justified.
Best Online Review Platforms To Use
Now that you understand how necessary social proof is to generate solar review leads, it is time to discuss the best customer review services that collect feedback.
You can obtain customer reviews using several options:
- Email campaigns
- Webpage pop-ups
- Feedback widgets
- Social media accounts
Here are the best platforms to collect feedback for solar review leads:
Customer Review Platform | Features |
PowerReviews | Use the PowerReviews software review tool to store customer reviews and ratings. This tool enables users to connect with retailers and customers. As a result, you can boost sales and increase revenues. |
Yotpo | Yotpo generates reviews, photos, and other data-driven insights to boost sales. You can use advanced search functions to obtain relevant images for your content and tag your products with these photos. |
Bazaarvoice | Bazaarvoice helps engage solar reviews, boost revenue and promote loyalty. It improves conversion using ratings and reviews. This platform can integrate with many channel partners and pull reviews from the website to the product page. |
HubSpot Customer Feedback | This software allows you to capture qualitative and quantitative feedback from your solar review leads so you can understand their needs better. HubSpot offers you a single dashboard that all team members can access to track and analyze the feedback received. |
Trustpilot | Trustpilot is an online review tool popular with many businesses worldwide. You can set it up to invite solar leads to leave reviews right after the purchase. The reviews will update your Google Seller Rating. |
Feefo | Feefo operates similarly to Trustpilot. You can use it to send emails and encourage customers to leave reviews. Later, you can analyze the reviews with the FeeFo dashboard and customize their display by the rating percentage display, text, or star rating. |
Customer reviews and testimonials reassure solar leads of your brand value and transparency, utilizing social proof to create a positive impression and attract more high-quality solar leads. By staying responsive to your target audience, collecting customer reviews, and analyzing the data, you can unlock the potential of solar review leads and grow your bottom line.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best practices for responding to negative reviews about solar products?
Acknowledge customers’ negative experiences and sympathize with them. It’s always a good idea to apologize and offer options to fix the problem.
Can solar exclusive reviews impact the decision-making process of potential solar energy customers?
Yes, online reviews have a tremendous effect on customer buying behavior. Over 90% of customers report that online reviews impact their decision to buy a product.
How can solar companies collect and encourage customer reviews for solar leads effectively?
The best strategies for encouraging customers to share their feedback on review sites include offering incentives, explaining the importance of reviews, and choosing the best time to contact customers.