Customers looking to make the right purchase decision rely on online review platforms to help them. Word of mouth has always been a powerful marketing asset for businesses, and today’s customers want proof that you’re a trustworthy brand.
If you’re looking for a review platform to help you collect, manage and analyse customer feedback, there’s a lot to think about. In this post, we cover the 8 important questions you should be asking when considering which online review platform is right for your business, including:
- Are customer reviews verified?
- What are your key considerations when choosing an online review platform?
- How do the review platform costs compare?
- What integrations are available?
- Which industry and target audiences does the platform support?
- How secure is the review management platform?
- Do you get the right insights from the review platform?
- What customer support does the review platform offer?
Are customer reviews verified?
Why does it matter if reviews come from verified customers? Well, 70% of UK consumers trust reviews more if they know they are from real customers. They’re also 15% more likely to buy when they’ve read a verified review rather than an anonymous review.
Aside from the fact that they’re more likely to spend with you, platforms featuring verified reviews eliminate the chance of receiving fake reviews. With a verified-only review platform, you invite feedback from authentic customers who have genuinely purchased the product or experienced the service. This means you can be sure that fake reviews aren’t skewing your data, or compromising your reputation.
A common misconception with verified-only review platforms like Feefo (where only verified customers leave reviews) are that you collect fewer customer reviews; but many of our clients discover this isn’t necessarily the case. The quality of the verified reviews you collect is likely to be higher, since you’ll only hear from real customers. You’ll be able to respond to those customers, building brand loyalty and potential advocates. Not only that, but you’ll be able to trust the insights contained in the data you collect.
If you choose an open review platform where anyone can leave a review on your business, such as Trustpilot, whether they’re genuine customers or not, you might collect more reviews quickly. You might also hear from people who didn’t make a purchase, but did interact with you. However, you’re also at risk of fake reviews and spam posts. Flagging and getting fake feedback removed can be a challenge with open platforms, and this poses a very real threat to your reputation. It also invalidates data that you want to draw insights from – and you can’t make business decisions based on false statements.
We took a deeper look at the merits of verified and open reviews in this post.
Depending on the reasons that you’re investing in customer feedback, you might choose to work with two or more review platforms. While this might incur additional costs, the return on investment might be worth it, particularly in certain industries such as the financial services sector.
What to consider when choosing an online review platform
We all live busy lives, and so leaving feedback needs to be as simple as possible. When you’re evaluating review platforms, consider:
- Do customers have to create an account to leave a review? If so, this may deter some people from bothering to do so. Verified review platforms make capturing feedback simpler.
- Do you want to reach customers at different stages of their buying journey, or only after transaction? Check what touchpoint functionality the review platform offers.
- Are there multiple ways to send invitations for customers to leave feedback (e.g. email, SMS, or WhatsApp)?
- What format are the customer questions in the feedback form? One-word answers such as “good” don’t tell you anything valuable about your customers’ experience. Are there custom questions available, such as multiple-choice options as well as free text options?
How do the review platform costs compare?
What budget do you have to invest in your online review platform? While free might be the most appealing price, think longer-term. Will the free platform provide you the value that you need? Consider whether the platform will:
- Meet your business needs in a year’s time
- Allow you to access the insights you need to drive business improvement and growth
- Help you meet industry standards
- Provide you with extra functionality to support your business and your customers
Even if you don’t have budget for a review platform – if you’re a start-up, for example – assess the cost-free options, but be certain to consider how your needs will change as your brand grows.
If your budget has more room, choose your online reviews platform based on which one has the functionality that suits your business both now, and in the long-term.
What integrations are available?
When so much of your business relies on technology, you need your systems to work together. Before you make your shortlist, make sure to know all the systems that your platform needs to work with. This will help ensure you don’t need to employ a developer, or switch platforms unnecessarily before you’re ready.
Which industry and target audiences does the platform support?
While there are some platforms that are used across a variety of industries, you may find that some are more relevant for your business than others. For example, TripAdvisor isn’t going to be particularly relevant for businesses in the financial services industry. Some review platforms support businesses across more industries, but that doesn’t mean they are one-size-fits-all. The main thing is that you narrow down to the best online reviews platform for your businesses’ industry. The Feefo review platform is trusted by 6,500+ brands across retail, automotive, insurance and finance, business services, travel and tourism, transport, consumer goods and B2B.
How secure is the review management platform?
A review platform is going to hold your customers personal data, so it’s really important that you do your due diligence. You don’t necessarily need to understand everything about security, but the platform should have a strong data protection policy. As a minimum, you should look for:
- References to GDPR compliance
- Certifications such as BSI Certificate ISO 27001
- Multi-Factor Authentication
- Identity Provider Single Sign-On
- Encryption for sending of data – HTTPS, TLS, and AES-265
- Transparency around updates to infrastructure
If in doubt, ask questions to the company before making your decision – they should be happy to give you a simplified account of how your data is secured.
Do you get the right insights from the review platform?
Reviews are great for building trust, but review and feedback data can be so much more valuable for your business than that.
Understanding customer motivations, their experience engaging with you and what they think of your products or services can all help you make informed decisions.
Getting insights from your customer data should be easy, without you needing to download CSV files to Excel and figure it out from there. To make the most of customer feedback in a timely manner, you’ll want user-friendly reporting. This will allow you to understand what’s going on, and the actions you need to take based on demographics, location, time, and so on. AI tools such as customer sentiment analysis are a great option to have, and the best ones give you immediate access to the key issues that are impacting your customers, so you can make changes immediately.
What customer support does the review platform offer?
Let’s say you want to tweak your processes, add new functionality, or want to get more insights from your data. If you get stuck, or you can’t find the information you need, you want to know that support is easily accessible.
Ensure that customer support is available in the way you prefer. Would you rather call someone during business hours? Send an email? Chat on instant message? Make sure it’s available before you make your decision. At Feefo, we’re a business built on human interaction. We ensure there is always a human available to support you and your business, whether that be by phone, email or live chat.
What’s next for businesses that want a new online review platform?
We’ve shared some of our top tips in this post, and this should give you a good starting point. But if you have questions about anything we’ve discussed here or want to find out more about how collecting verified reviews can benefit your business, get in touch.
