It's no longer a question of whether you need to collect reviews or not - it’s a question of what feedback platform is right for you. Collecting genuine feedback can boost your new business acquisition and your long-term success.
Reviews are no longer simply about collecting stars. It’s about listening to your clients and providing an accessible platform to share their experiences and engage with your brand. With so many options out there for review platforms, we’ve looked at the top two most popular review providers – Feefo and Trustpilot – and compared their features and benefits. So, what is the difference between Feefo and Trustpilot?
Read our line-by-line feature audit of Trustpilot vs Feefo.
Feefo vs Trustpilot: A verified-only or open reviews platform - Which is right for your business?
One of the main differences between Feefo and Trustpilot is that Feefo is a verified-only platform whereas Trustpilot is an open reviews platform.
Over a third of people asked (36%) stated that they don’t trust reviews on open platforms (Feefo Consumer & SME Research, May 2022)
What does this mean? Here at Feefo we only collect reviews from people who have purchased from or used your brand in some way. We do this by sending a feedback request after a purchase. This is a verified-only process, and it ensures that our platform is free of fakes or reviews from people who haven’t used your brand at all.
With an open platform any person can leave a review no matter whether they’ve interacted with or purchased from your brand in any way. This may seem appealing to brands who want to collect as many reviews as possible but be cautious – an open reviews approach can leave brands open to the risk of false reviews and, in some cases, reputation damage.
Why does it matter?
Which?'s report in 2023 exposed the issue of fake and misleading reviews and the harm they can cause not only brands but consumers too. It recommends that review providers such as Feefo take a safety-by-design approach while employing sufficient moderation processes to reduce the risk of publishing fake reviews.
The Which? research proved that fake and misleading reviews make consumers more likely to waste money on inferior products that do not meet their needs. The government research used for the Which? fake reviews report found that roughly one in seven reviews on e-commerce platforms are fake. That’s why it’s vital that review providers follow the recommendations set out in the report, to continue to protect the people that purchase from them and their brand’s reputation.
If you’re worried about fake reviews, we’ve created a guide on how to spot, remove and prevent fake reviews for your business.
Can you trust Trustpilot reviews?
It’s true that Trustpilot can, at times, collect authentic reviews. The question is, are Trustpilot reviews authentic 100% of the time?
As mentioned above, the difficulty with an open review platform is that anyone can leave a review at any point, whether they’ve interreacted with your brand or not. In Trustpilot’s own words ‘We’re open to all. Reviews are published without moderation’ - although they do employ automated fraud detection software that identifies and removes fakes. To some brands, an open platform may seem like a benefit. But it’s a dangerous game to play.
How can false reviews cause harm?
Imagine you purchase a washing machine based on several reviews you’ve read. You specifically want something heavy-duty that can cope with the endless supply of your kid's muddy football kits.
Like 96% per cent of others you do your pre-purchase research by reading reviews from people like you - or so you think. It turns out the reviews you read about how the machine can handle heavy-duty washing was fake. You’ve bought something based on false information and the product doesn’t meet your needs. Annoying, right?
That’s not to say all of Trustpilot's open platform reviews won’t be legitimate. However, the design of a review platform can minimise or enhance the risk of false reviews. Trustpilot do have automated software that detects unusual patterns and removes fake reviews, a team to detect fraudulent behaviour and warnings on company profiles for businesses that misuse the platforms. But is that enough to reduce the risk of consumers making decisions based on false information in the first place?
Feefo’s verified-only platform, means that we’re only ever allowing authentic customers to write reviews in the first place. And just to be certain that we’re not publishing false information, we also have post-content moderation, so that everything a consumer reads is 100% authentic. Protecting both the consumer and the brands.
Our Q&A feature, offered as an add-on, can support brands to give people the right information at the right time when it comes to the pre-purchase research.
Find out more about Trustpilot vs Feefo
Can you trust Feefo reviews?
The simple answer is yes, Feefo’s reviews are always 100% legitimate.
How do we know? Our verified process means that we only invite people who’ve purchased from or used your brand to leave a review. With a rise in the number of brands collecting reviews and consumers reading them, it’s now more important than ever to prove that feedback is authentic.
- 70% of UK consumers who read reviews say they would trust reviews more if they knew they were from verified customers.
- Only 8% of people are confident they could spot a false review
- 40% of businesses have been negatively affected by fake reviews.
Download our report on The Cost of Fake Feedback to learn how to tackle fraudulent feedback with a verified approach.
What is a fake review?
The Which? fake reviews report provides definitions of the types of reviews which can mislead or harm consumers. Feefo’s review platform is risk-free by design. However, if you have concerns about the way you currently collect reviews read the below list to ensure you’re not exposing your brand to the risk of fake reviews.
Definitions of fake reviews from Which?
There are two distinct categories when it comes to fake reviews, both of which can mislead or cause harm to consumers:
Fake Reviews - This is where there has been no genuine first-hand experience of the product or service by the reviewer. These reviewers are often accounts generated primarily to leave fake reviews or where a pre-existing account has been taken over to leave fake reviews - Possibly with the intention to discredit your brand.
Misleading Reviews - This is where there has been a genuine experience of a good or service, but the review is misleading in one of two ways:
- Incentivised Reviews - This is where there has been a first-hand experience of the product or service by the person leaving the review, but the reviewer has received an incentive in a way that biases their review.
- Manipulated Reviews - This is where genuine reviews are misused to mislead consumers by the artificial removal of accurate reviews, the addition of inappropriate reviews, disincentivising consumers from posting negative reviews or only soliciting reviews from people who have had a positive experience.
Read our take on the Which? fake reviews report for insights into how you can secure your brand from fake reviews.
What are the benefits of collecting verified reviews with Feefo?
You could spend hours comparing Feefo to the other review providers as many competitors have done. But the main benefits of using Feefo as your review provider are:
- Refining your feedback strategy
- An easy-to-use reviews platform with customisable branding
- Gaining data-backed insights which enable you to make impactful changes within your business
- A verified-only platform which protects you from fake reviews
- A dedicated Customer Success team to support your business development and help you utilise a feedback strategy
Find out more about how advocacy presents a real opportunity for businesses to build a stronger relationship with their advocates.
DOWNLOAD REPORT: A platform to drive brand advocacy (feefo.com)
