Background.

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Mendel Plumbing & Heating is a trusted name in residential and commercial HVAC and plumbing services throughout the Chicagoland area. With decades of experience and thousands of satisfied customers, their reputation is built on professionalism, reliability, and expert service.

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When Mendel approached Square Waves, they were at a turning point. Their outdated website was no longer reflective of their high-quality work, and years of customer reviews—over 5,500 in total—were going unanalyzed, leaving untapped value on the table. Our team was brought in to address both challenges: to transform their web presence and to unlock strategic insights hidden within their customer feedback.

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The problem.

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1. Website & Platform Challenges

• A bloated and confusing sitemap with redundant service pages.
• An outdated WordPress site design that felt clunky and difficult to navigate, especially on mobile.
• Risk of SEO loss due to dozens of indexed legacy URLs.
• Hosting and platform access were tied up in a legacy contract with limited control.

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2. Unused Review Data

• 5,561 reviews collected between 2022–2025 had never been meaningfully analyzed.
• No visibility into customer sentiment trends, operational pain points, or missed opportunities for upselling or retention.
• No clear process to translate feedback into business improvements.

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Square Waves’ strategic solution.

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Our work with Mendel centered around two transformative initiatives: a complete website overhaul and an AI-powered review analysis project. Each component was designed to remove friction, improve customer engagement, and create long-term strategic value.

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Website Overhaul & Digital Transition

Strategic Sitemap Simplification

• We audited and restructured the sitemap, consolidating dozens of redundant pages into four clear categories: Plumbing, HVAC, Maintenance Plans, and About.
• Low-value content was either merged or eliminated to reduce clutter and improve SEO focus.
• 301 redirects were implemented across all legacy URLs to preserve rankings and create a seamless experience.

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Modern Design & Content Hierarchy

• We designed and built the new site in Webflow, prioritizing speed, mobile responsiveness, and clean visual hierarchy.
• Conversion-focused CTAs (“Schedule Service,” “Get a Quote”) were strategically placed throughout.
• Trust-building elements like local imagery, customer reviews, and team photos were embedded into key touchpoints.

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CMS-Driven Flexibility

• A scalable backend was created to empower the Mendel team to manage service listings, testimonials, and FAQs—without needing a developer.

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Domain & Platform Transition

• We managed the full transition off WordPress and away from their legacy hosting provider.
• DNS, domain ownership, analytics, and tracking systems were reimplemented without any downtime or disruptions.

AI-Powered Review Intelligence

Natural Language Processing at Scale

• Using NLP and custom Python tooling, we processed all 5,561 reviews into structured data, automatically classifying them by sentiment and key themes.

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Sentiment Categorization

• Each review was bucketed into categories such as “Professional & Knowledgeable,” “Pricing Complaint,” and “Fast Service” to surface actionable trends.

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Strategic Business Recommendations

• We identified pricing as a friction point and recommended clearer communication strategies—ultimately leading to fewer complaints and increased conversion rates.
• Cross-service gaps were addressed by building bundling playbooks and training technicians to upsell services in real time.

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Execution and results.

• Bounce Rate Decrease: A cleaner, faster site improved mobile performance and cut bounce rates significantly.
• Page Speed: Transition to Webflow cut average page load time in half.
• Customer Satisfaction Score: Increased from 4.63 to 4.92 between 2022 and 2025.
• Review Sentiment: 98.04% of reviews were positive; key themes now guide marketing and operations.
• Complaint Reduction: Pricing complaints dropped by 40% thanks to transparency initiatives.
• Engagement: More time is spent on core service pages due to improved layout and messaging.
• Revenue Growth: A data-driven upsell strategy contributed to an 11.2% increase in service bookings.
• New Initiatives: 3 new revenue programs were launched based on review insights.
• SEO Stability: All indexed URLs were successfully redirected, with no loss in organic traffic.

Ongoing partnership.

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Our partnership with Mendel continues to evolve. With the new site built for flexibility, their team is empowered to manage content, launch new services, and support future marketing efforts. Meanwhile, the review analytics dashboard serves as a recurring pulse check—informing both customer experience improvements and strategic business decisions.

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Conclusion.

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This wasn’t just a facelift. It was a full-scale modernization rooted in performance, efficiency, and long-term scalability. From redesigning Mendel’s digital home to mining thousands of reviews for business intelligence, Square Waves helped them move from reactive to proactive—resulting in a smarter, faster, and more customer-aligned business.

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Mendel Plumbing & Heating now has the tools to grow with purpose—and a digital presence that finally reflects the excellence of the work they deliver.

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Check out Mendel's fresh new website here.

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