Astutis are longstanding Feefo clients – and vocal advocates. We've told parts of their story before: a 30% increase in demand, a 10% uplift in bookings, and most recently, how they've used the Trusted Service Awards to fuel growth and team pride. Following their fourth consecutive Platinum win, Ruth Williams, Director of Brand, Content & Creative at Astutis, sat down with Feefo's Elliot Clayton to talk about the partnership in more detail: the day-to-day reality, the bottom-line impact, and what a genuine feedback culture looks like in practice.
Key takeaways
- Purchaser-verified reviews build credibility with both new and existing customers – and the commercial impact is measurable
- How you respond to reviews matters as much as how many you collect
- Customer feedback can drive real operational change, not just marketing value
- Displaying trust signals consistently across every customer touchpoint compounds their effect
- Purchaser-verified reviews are becoming an increasingly important signal in AI-generated search results
What the Platinum Trusted Service Award actually means
Astutis have now won the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award four consecutive times. Ruth is clear that it means something beyond the badge.
"When we were awarded Platinum for the fourth year, for me it was absolutely a personal as well as a professionally proud moment," she says. "I joined the business seven years ago, and we've been on a road of being able to showcase excellent customer service – and that's one of the reasons why we chose Feefo as our partner right at the get go."
"Nine times out of ten, customers come back to say they could see we have excellent customer service and excellent products," Ruth says. "What we found is they want to know two things: who you're doing business with, and how good your service is. That's where our Feefo score and our credentials really play such an important part."
The impact runs internally too – on morale, culture, and recruitment.
"It's wonderful for staff morale. It showcases Astutis as a business with a dedicated passion for delivering excellence. And when we interview new people, quite often they see the certificate on the wall and mention it in the interview."
Trust signals, everywhere customers look
Astutis specifically deploy their Feefo credentials across every surface a customer or prospect might encounter.
"Wherever our customer is at, you will find our Feefo credentials," Ruth explains. "The website, obviously. But also Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, all paid media. We've got that trust credential on invoices, on proposals, on tenders, RFQs – that's where you'll find our trust credentials."
The result is measurable.
"Think about that first page of search," Ruth says. "When you cast your eye over it, what are you looking for? You're looking for something to build trust. What we've seen is that click-through rates and conversion rates are dramatically increased by carrying the Feefo Platinum award – that stamp of trust."
"Don't go for vanity metrics. Go for quality and consistency, all of the time." — Ruth Williams, Director of Brand, Content & Creative, Astutis
Responding to every voice – including on Christmas Day
Astutis are rigorous in their pursuit of customer service excellence – and that extends to how they handle every piece of feedback they receive.
Every customer who leaves feedback gets a response within 24 hours – seven days a week, 365 days a year. For a business with a global customer base, that includes Christmas Day.
"It's not forced. It's authentic because we feel it wholeheartedly as a business — from the top down." — Ruth Williams, Director of Brand, Content & Creative, Astutis
"Someone's taking their time and sharing their experience, whether that be great or whether it be suboptimal in any way – and I want to tell them that their voice is heard and that they're really important to us," Ruth says. "So getting a fast turnaround time is critical."
The quality of those responses matters as much as the speed.
"Be authentic and make sure you're really listening to the customer," she says. "And if needed, take that conversation offline – share with them additional details so they can get in touch with you should they want to really explore some of that experience."
When feedback changes the business
Ruth recalls an early example that had a direct operational impact. As a global business running on UK office hours, Astutis were receiving consistent feedback from international customers who wanted to reach them outside those hours. It was clear enough to act on.
Astutis reviewed their telephone systems, extended live chat to seven days a week, and introduced a mechanism to capture enquiries around the clock – with a clear expectation set for when the team would follow up.
"I think that's a really great example of how you were able to help us harvest and capture that and make a significant business change," Ruth says.
Verified reviews and the future of AI search
Ruth is already thinking about where trust signals matter next.
"We do a lot of stargazing," she says. "What are the future trends? How can we best leverage our assets for dominance in the marketplace?"
For Astutis, the answer increasingly points to AI. As Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity and other agents become a more significant part of how customers find and evaluate providers, Ruth sees verified reviews as a critical input into those systems.
"What we find with AI overviews is that having really robust, Feefo reviews, verified reviews is really, really important in that algorithm."
Astutis are already acting on it. Feefo credentials are being woven into ChatGPT-facing content, and Ruth has her eye on forums like Reddit as the next frontier for trust signals.
"The commercial value of trust, made visible through Feefo."– Ruth Williams, Director of Brand, Content & Creative, Astutis
Want to see what a verified review strategy could do for your business? Get in touch with the Feefo team.
