A happy customer who tells the neighbours, but not you
The install went well. The customer shows the monitoring app to everyone who visits. The neighbour asks who did it, gets your name, and then searches online, where your reviews are fewer than a national installer's. The neighbour gets three quotes and goes elsewhere.
Your happiest customers are your best sales channel, and nobody asked them for anything.
Why solar installers do not ask
- Install day is busy, and asking feels pushy.
- Paperwork and after-care questions are still open, so it feels too early.
- Nobody owns reviews and referrals.
- There is no way to know whether a neighbour came via a customer.
- Referral schemes, where they exist, are paper and forgotten.
What that costs
Fewer reviews than your work deserves. Referrals that go to competitors. Lead costs higher than they need be. And the local word of mouth that solar particularly relies on, left to chance.
A routine timed to the customer's experience
- A few weeks after install, once the documents are issued, the customer gets a short message asking how things are going.
- Customers who reply positively are sent a review link, such as your Google Business Profile or the review platform you use.
- Customers with a concern are routed to the office to resolve, not asked for a review.
- Happy customers get a simple referral link or code to share, which tags any enquiry that uses it.
- Referred enquiries are tracked through to install, and any thank-you you offer is triggered by your rules.
- Customers can opt out at any stage.
Any referral reward and how it is described is your decision, within your consumer code's rules. Reviews must be genuine and from customers themselves.
Timing that suits solar
| Moment | Message |
|---|---|
| Handover | Thanks, and what happens next |
| Documents issued | Where to find them |
| A few weeks later | How are things going? |
| Positive reply | Review link, then referral link |
| Concern raised | Office follow-up, no review request |
Word of mouth you can see
Reviews grow steadily from customers who have seen their system work. Concerns are caught and fixed. Neighbours arrive with a referral code, so you know where they came from. And the lowest-cost leads you have get the attention they deserve.
Making referrals easy to track
Referrals in solar often happen over a garden fence. The neighbour does not fill in a form saying who sent them; they ring and say they saw the panels next door. A referral link or code, sent to happy customers to share, gives that conversation a way to be recorded, and a simple question on your enquiry form, asking whether someone recommended you, catches the rest.
Once referrals are tracked through to install, you can see how many of your jobs come from past customers. For many installers that is the most valuable source they have, and one that is rarely measured.
Where you offer a thank-you, tracking also means it reaches the right customer without anyone having to remember.
Are your happy customers silent?
- You rarely ask for reviews.
- Neighbours of customers get quotes from others.
- You do not know which leads were referrals.
- Your referral scheme is paper or informal.