Case Study #2: Renova Solar

Tired of paying a summer electric bill that exceeded $200 per month, Ian Hernandez explored the option of adding solar panels to his Southern California home. A coworker told him about the Palm Springs-based solar company Renova Solar, along with a few other local installers.

Hernandez performed an online search—reading customer reviews and ratings. This form of research has becoming increasingly popular, as prospective consumers want to make the most informed purchase decision—especially on an investment like solar energy. In fact, this year 85 percent of consumers said they read online reviews to determine whether a local business is a good business—up 6 percent from 2012. 

“You could say I’m very picky about buying things,” Hernandez said. “I want to know what I’m getting myself into, before I actually do.”

Renova Solar holds a 4.9-star rating on the consumer reviews site SolarReviews, based on 41 customer experiences (as of November 2013).

Hernandez requested a free online quote, and was surprised by the response. “I requested quotes from these other companies and I didn’t get a call from them until two, three days down the road – one was even a week later,” Hernandez said. “Renova called me back the next day and made an appointment.  It showed more of a personal interest.”

Renova Solar CEO Vincent Battaglia said that in surveying customers, he found that providing a price quote faster than competitors helps them win more business. “It also helps us understand who is just looking in the market and who is really ready to commit to a solar system,” Battaglia said.

Renova won the job and installed a 9.16 KW system with 28 SunPower panels (327 watts each). “The reason I went with them was because of the high-rated reviews and the great quality of work that people had to say about Renova—and that they clean up afterwards,” Hernandez said.  

Pleased with the solar installation company’s timely and orderly work, Hernandez wrote an online review, giving the company a five-star rating. “I’m not typically the type of guy who writes a review, but for them I went ahead anyways—they did a great job,” Hernandez said.

Consumer recommendations account for about 60 percent of Renova’s sales. “With SolarReviews, it’s not about transactional relationships, but rather building your reputation long-term,” Battaglia said. “Referrals though prior customers and review sites make up the lions-share of our new business.”

 

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