1. Unbiased reviews help to gain the trust of potential customers
While your sales team can certainly quickly and easily list the top five reasons why your product is better than the competition, they also have something to gain from promoting the product—namely, their salary. Our research 1 shows that buyers are aware of this automatic bias and actively seek out unbiased sources in their software analysis to compensate.
Publishing honest reviews from customers who have nothing to gain by praising your product may be the last little push a potential customer needs to make the purchase. Reviews can also shed light on aspects of your business that your sales team may have little experience with, such as customer service.
While a quick glance at a product website or Amazon page may be enough for many consumers to make an impulse purchase, business software buyers look for additional information from recognized, reliable sources before making a decision that will impact the future of their business.
As our research 1 shows, many buyers find finding the right company just as important as finding the right software. A good reputation and the consistent delivery of high-quality products and services are important to them. One of our interviewees said:
"Finally, the question was: Who are the vendors that offer these [software products]? How long have they been in business? What is their reputation? How much does the product cost? Can we get references from them and talk to people who have already used the software?"
This means that objective, unbiased reviews are fundamentally important for attracting B2B software buyers.
During the research phase, buyers don't want a sales pitch. They want to learn how different products or companies can solve their specific business problems.
When asking customers for reviews, make it clear that you want objective and honest feedback and that negative reviews will not have a negative impact on customers. At the same time, glowing reviews will not benefit customers either.
Here's what you should do:
Encourage your customers to post reviews on trusted third-party review platforms. Try to get a wide variety of reviews that represent your customer base well.
2. Third-party sites are considered more credible than your own website
Just as your customers don't have (or shouldn't have) any hidden motives for describing your product in a particularly positive way, trusted third-party sites shouldn't have any hidden reason for highlighting your product over others.
According to our research 1, customers find reviews on most third-party sites more credible than reviews on a software vendor's website. They view third-party sites as more independent and assume that they gain no advantage from favoring positive reviews over reviews with negative feedback or low ratings.
Customers are ideally looking for a mix of good and bad reviews and a balance of positive and negative aspects within each review. One shopper said:
"I find it more trustworthy when a review mentions both positive and negative aspects... Someone who only offers praise can seem suspicious, and someone who only badmouths a product may have personal reasons."
Although not all third-party platforms are equally trustworthy – just think of the fake reviews on Amazon – platforms whose goal is to offer credible, honest and verifiable reviews can become a valuable partner for you in gaining more customer contacts, leads and customers.
Here's what you should do:
Find trusted third-party platforms that will verify the legitimacy of user reviews and work with you to ensure your product is represented accurately. Look for sites that value balanced feedback and honesty over sales and advertising. Then, give your users the opportunity to leave reviews on these sites and encourage them to do so.
Respect the independence of third-party sites and don't try to pressure them to remove negative reviews. Such behavior can damage your reputation and will backfire sooner or later.
One way to reassure your customers that your reviews are trustworthy—whether you provide them on your website or through a third-party provider—is to publish accurate information about the reviewers.
This doesn't mean you should ask reviewers for their names, addresses, and social security numbers. poland telegram data Instead, you should ask for specific information about their experience with the product, their role in their company, company size and industry, and other relevant information about product usage.
The more details, the better. One buyer said:
"I really enjoy these reviews and I know many others on my team who feel the same way. I like to read specific examples from other companies who have been in our situation or a similar one to learn what their business needs and challenges were, why they chose a particular solution and how the migration and deployment went."
For example, to verify a review for a Gartner Digital Markets website , basic identifying information—such as the reviewer's name, job title, and email address—are among the minimum requirements for publication.
Here's what you should do:
Basic personal information should be a required field in your review forms. Use tools like LinkedIn verification or opt for third-party platforms that use such tools to provide additional credibility to reviewers. Encourage your users to provide a few details about themselves and their specific experiences.