Customer Reviews Matter to the Bottom line
Date: March 3, 2023
Time Reading: 3 min.
By: The BlueOcean Team
Customer reviews have long been understood as a critical part of the consumer purchase decision, with over 90% of consumers turning to online reviews before making a purchase. But they are increasingly important for the B2B buying process as well, with 64% of B2B buyers indicating they want to see at least 6 reviews before making a decision.
According to the BlueOcean analysis of 18 B2B and SaaS organizations, companies that showed positive revenue change over time were more likely to have higher volumes of reviews and higher review sentiment from product review sites like G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius.
Organizations are well-served to value reviews as not just a source of customer insights, but also a critical tool in attracting new customers and driving revenue growth.
What can marketing leaders do to improve customer reviews?
A great customer review never starts with the review itself. They result from deep investment in understanding and delivering on customer needs via the products and services, as well as the customer experience that your organization delivers. There is no quick fix to great reviews, but there are some key things marketers can do to encourage happy customers to advocate for the brand.
Prioritize your Voice-of-customer Program
First, it’s imperative that your organization have a Voice of Customer program, to understand customer feedback across the entire customer journey, and identify where you need to improve the customer experience. Whether your VoC team sits within marketing or elsewhere, they will be a critical partner in understanding the customer, identifying areas of improvement, and engaging advocates.
Activate Customer Advocacy
Secondly, you should look to develop programs that activate advocacy from your customers. As you look to increase reviews, zero in on high-value customers or accounts, and solicit their feedback and support via email campaigns, in-product surfaces, point of purchase experiences, and customer success engagements.
