]If you’re like most people living on Long Island in our always-on digital age, you probably check your social media channels before you buy new shoes, electronics or baby gear. According to BrightLocal, a search marketing agency, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends and family. While your Renewal by Andersen of Long Island team understands how important it is to do your research before investing in replacement windows and patio doors, we want our Long Island customers to be able to differentiate between the legitimate reviews and those posted by unscrupulous competitors trying to undermine the credibility of other dealers in the market.
Sadly, there are some reviewers that intentionally try to malign their competition. And, because many review sites encourage open comments, which is good because it’s important to explore both negative and positive product comments, they don’t verify identities to ensure the posters aren’t competitors with ulterior motives or former employees attempting to “punish” a company for letting them go.
Forming a realistic impression of a brand or the performance record for specific window styles — like double-hung and casement windows – requires proactively visiting reputable sites and reading through a good sampling of the comments over a period of time – try to look through about six months to two years of comments on each site. You don’t have to read every review, but it is important to look for patterns. For example, researchers say it takes about 12 positive experiences with a brand to overcome one bad experience. One bad comment in the middle of a string of stellar reviews shouldn’t trigger alarm. However, if there is a pattern that continues over a period of months, you may want give them more credibility.
Remember, reputable companies do make mistakes and when they do they take corrective measures to be sure similar mistakes don’t happen in the future. When you come across a series of bad reviews, look for company responses that indicate the company is trying to correct the issue – not blaming the customer for a bad experience.
There are many exceptional online review platforms dedicated to helping consumers evaluate brands and service. And, while the Renewal by Andersen of Long Island team isn’t promoting one site over another in this post, we believe there are some features that make one review site more credible than others. Here are three things to look for in a review site before you make a buying decision based on site reviews.
We believe this model is good because consumers don’t have to worry that recommendations are based on paid advertising dollars or wonder if those over-the-top reviews are just a window dealer trying to turn the tide in their direction. Since their reputation is on the line, they work hard to help consumers make informed buying decisions.
Some brands toss a list of awards and performance stats at their potential customers hoping they will be “wowed” by the numbers. But, this is one area where it’s best to follow the “trust but verify” model. Just because a sales agent can quote stats with elegance, that doesn’t make the statements true. Anytime a replacement window dealer tells you they won an award, ask enough information to check it out.
When you hear something like this from any brand, learn more about the survey – and the agency conducting the research, then make your decision about whether the brand is a good fit for your needs and home improvement goals.
We are proud of our home improvement products and our customer service record. Go ahead, do your research. And, when you’re ready to explore style options, grille patterns and energy-efficient glass types, or learn the pros and cons of planning a staged renovation project that includes replacement windows and patio doors, give us a call at (866) 609-5033 or fill in the short form on this page to schedule a private, home consultation with a professional replacement window consultant today.
Learn Everything You Need to Know BEFORE Buying Replacement Windows
