Reviews for solar and home energy installers

Solar panels, batteries and heat pumps are big purchases, and the people buying them have usually sat through a few sales pitches already. What convinces them is not another pitch, it is a neighbour saying the install was tidy, the crew was respectful and the system works.

Two good moments

• Install day, once the system is switched on and working. The customer has watched the crew all day and has a clear view on how they behaved.
• After the first bill, a few months later. This is when the customer sees the result, and a follow up message catches a more detailed review.

What reviews should not do

A customer is free to say their bill dropped. Your own advertising is different. If you quote reviews about savings, or make savings claims yourself, they need to be accurate and representative. Promising or implying savings a typical customer will not get is a misleading conduct risk under Australian Consumer Law. The safest approach is to let reviews speak about the install and the service, and to back up any figures you publish.

Where a card fits

Hand a card over at the end of install day, with the system paperwork. It sits in the folder customers keep for warranties, which means it is still there months later when the first bill arrives. See review cards for tradies.

Replies

Solar attracts complaints about delays, paperwork and connection timing that are sometimes outside the installer’s control. Explain calmly, without blaming the customer or the network, and say how to reach you. See how to reply to a bad Google review.

Photos of the install

A clean array on a real roof in your area is persuasive in a way a brochure is not. With the customer’s permission, photograph finished installs for your Business Profile, without showing the house number or anything that identifies the address. See Business Profile photos.

Service calls count too

Customers who call you back for a fault, a monitoring issue or a battery question and get a quick fix are often happier than the ones whose install went smoothly. That is a second moment to ask, and the reviews it produces show future buyers that you stick around after the sale.

What to avoid

• No rebate or gift for a review. Google bans incentives.
• No reviews from sales agents, referral partners or family.
• Ask every customer, not just the ones with the biggest systems.

General information, not legal advice.