Return on investment (ROI) is all about ensuring that every pound spent brings value to your business, whether that’s increased revenue, additional traffic to your website, or footfall in store. But not everything that drives success is easy to quantify.
Some investments, like customer reviews, are undeniably valuable yet difficult to measure, or compare in traditional, quantifiable terms. After implementing verified reviews, Feefo clients LV= increased its start quote rate for home insurance products by 28%, while Mazda improved their website bounce rate by 8% and improved platform conversions by 7%. Both clearly demonstrate value and return on their investments, but in different ways - and there are many more examples. In this post, we're looking at how measuring ROI can be tricky, as well as looking at how you might want to measure it for your business.
Reviews by numbers
Why reviews matter
Customers will leave reviews about your businesses whether you’re actively collecting them or not. The problem with not having a specific review collection method or location that you’re collecting reviews is that it makes it hard to respond to them all. And if you can’t reply to them – whether they’re positive or negative – then you can’t build a relationship with those customers, or mitigate the effects of negative reviews by responding to show that you care.
Most businesses collect reviews today, and that’s because they are widely recognised as one of the most powerful tools for influencing purchase decisions. More than 93% of consumers read reviews before they decide to buy an item or a service.
It doesn’t matter which industry you’re in; reviews have the power to shape your business’s success. Here are five great reasons that you should value reviews.
Boosting trust and credibility
The most obvious reason that businesses collect reviews is that they build trust. They provide compelling evidence that other people have had a good experience with your product or service.
Social proof matters. People trust recommendations from like-minded customers more than they do brand messaging, so displaying authentic reviews provides validation for the purchase decision – leading to more sales.
Transparency builds confidence. Displaying both positive and constructive feedback signals honesty, making your brand more credible. Replying to reviews and addressing concerns openly strengthens consumer trust, since it shows that you care about your customers.
Verified reviews add legitimacy. Feefo research showed that 70% of UK consumers who read reviews say they would trust them more if they knew they were from verified customers of that business.
That’s why verified reviews are so important; platforms that only collect reviews from genuine customers don’t manipulate customer feedback, and they ensure that every review is from someone who bought a product or service from you.
Improving search visibility
Just as search engine optimisation (SEO) is an ongoing, long-term strategy, so too is review collection. The longer you do it for, and the more you invest in it, the better it gets – and your review collection can help to boost your SEO efforts too.
Search engines want fresh, relevant content to provide the best answers, and customer reviews provide exactly that. Businesses that regularly collect and display reviews signal to search engines that they are active, credible, and engaging with customers.
Not only that, but if your review platform has widgets that allow you to display stars and review content on your paid ads, they’ll perform better for you too. When Andertons, the musical instrument retailer, implemented Feefo reviews on their ad campaigns – ads with ratings achieved a 170% higher click-through rate and 151% higher conversion rate.
Driving conversions and sales
Displaying relevant reviews at the right points in the customer journey has been shown to boost conversion rates and reduce basket abandonment. Brands see as much as 128% uplift in conversions when website visitors interact with review content.
Even B2B brands see higher conversion rates when they display reviews from verified clients. But reviews contribute much more than simply increasing sales. When Salon Services, who serve the hair and beauty trade, implemented reviews, product pages with 20 or more reviews saw a 334% increase in conversions.
As you collect more positive reviews, you’ll see better sales figures and profit, since customers spend 31% more with businesses that have excellent reviews.
Improving customer lifetime value
Customer lifetime value (CLV) is a measure of the total worth of a customer to a business over the entire duration of their relationship. Reviews contribute to increasing CLV by helping businesses nurture customer loyalty and encourage repeat purchases. When customers see that a brand actively engages with reviews, takes feedback seriously, and continuously improves its products or services, they are more likely to return.
Reviews also help businesses identify and address issues early, reducing the likelihood of losing customers to competitors. Additionally, displaying authentic feedback reassures new buyers, building long-term trust. By understanding insights from reviews, businesses can refine their offerings, improve their customer experience, and ultimately drive greater value from every customer over time.
Enhancing customer engagement and brand perception
Reviews are a direct line of communication between you and your customers – and 30% say they leave reviews to tell the business about what they did or didn’t like.
A strong example of a business that gets great engagement is DCUK, The Original Wooden Duck Company. Many of their customers use their review to tell the company why they ordered their duck – if it was a gift, a purchase for their collection, or to mark an occasion. Some customers make suggestions about new products in their reviews, which the company take on board too. These stories undoubtedly influence other customers and creates a sense of community between them and the business.
Influencing pricing and competitive advantage
A Harvard Business School study suggests that a strong review profile can differentiate a business from competitors, which may allow it to justify premium pricing. When customers perceive a business as more reliable or higher quality based on reviews from other customers, there’s a good chance that they may be willing to pay more for products or services. A further study of restaurants by Berkeley supported that, suggesting that an increase of just half a star in ratings corresponded to a 19% greater likelihood of selling out during peak dining times.
Supporting compliance and industry standards
For businesses that need to comply with certain industry standards, or that are aiming for additional certifications, verified reviews can support those efforts. Examples from Feefo clients who use customer feedback in their compliance and certifications include:
- drvn, the global passenger ground transportation service and logistics company, use reviews to gauge customer sentiment and measure ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) compliance.
- A number of Feefo clients including Totality Services and DCUK are part of the Treefo initiative, which donates funds to tree planting initiatives for each review collected. Some businesses have found this to be useful as they work towards becoming B Corp certified.
- Since 2023, businesses in the financial services industry have been required to demonstrate compliance with Consumer Duty. Verified reviews can help demonstrate compliance with the third and fourth outcomes, Consumer Understanding, and Consumer Support. Examples of businesses that do so include Atom Bank and AXA. We are also partnered with The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA).
The ROI of being able to demonstrate compliance with such standards and maintaining certifications can be impossible to calculate. At the time of writing, no businesses had been fined for non-compliance with Consumer Duty; however, the FCA's general approach to calculating fines is up to 20% of a firm’s relevant revenue, depending on the seriousness of the issue.
The challenge of measuring ROI
You might have imagined that by now there would be a failsafe formula that measures the ROI of customer reviews. Some review platforms make claims such as “401% ROI in three years”, but these types of results are often variable, and certainly can’t be guaranteed. And as we've shown, above and below, it really depends on the reason that you've decided to collect reviews.
While there’s the clear advantage that collecting and displaying reviews offers in terms of trust and encouraging sales, businesses like DCUK are demonstrating how customer feedback can drive broader business success, from brand affinity and advocacy, and being able to use insights in product development.
How Feefo clients measure the ROI of reviews
Our clients report different gains from collecting reviews depending on what they aimed to achieve from implementing reviews. Here are a few examples:
However, these aren’t the only results they measured and saw. Other clients such as SME, Inc. USA saw the impact of reviews in terms of division of B2B and B2C sales. Prior to joining Feefo, sales were 98% B2B and 2% Retail. After implementing Feefo, sales changed to around 95% B2B and 5% Retail; translating to an additional $5K-8K of revenue per month coming in from retail sales.
Wondering what ROI customer reviews could have for your business?
Clearly, using a platform to collect and manage your reviews is essential. Price is a clear consideration – but chances are, the cheapest option is unlikely to be the right one for you. You might already be thinking about the most well-known review provider, or the one that your competition is using. But to get the most ROI from your reviews, you need the right functionality from your review provider.
We’d love to show you the impact that verified customer reviews could have on your business. Get in touch today for an initial discussion.
