Acquiring customers used to be much easier when they had fewer choices of solar installers. As the field has become more crowded, with new competition seemingly popping up on every street corner overnight, differentiating one solar installer from another has become more challenging.

So what are the three traits most consumers are looking for when shopping for someone to put solar on their homes? It turns out consumers prefer smaller, local companies with deep roots in the community.

SolarReviews.com, a website that provides a full range of tools to help consumers decide which solar installer fits their needs best, allows consumers to review the more than 2,800 solar installers and currently has 2,800 participating companies that participate.

The site’s CEO Andrew Sendy decided to examine the reviews consumers provided for the top-rated companies to see if they shared any characteristics – and Sendy said the following three were shared by all the best-reviewed companies: