The Case for Reviews:

How Consumers Use Reviews Today

Mike KingFounder & Managing Director

iPullRank

Presenters

Bob GoochProduct Marketing Analyst

Trustpilot

AgendaIntro to Trustpilot & iPullRank

Why Consumers & Reviews Matter

We Did A Survey

Show Me the Research!

Takeaways

Your Homework Assignment

Q & A

Introduction to Trustpilot & iPullRank

Trustpilot by the Numbers

Trustpilot for Consumers

• Free for all – consumer review site• Discovery and recommendation platform• Social sharing and community experience

• Automated review collection system• Customer engagement and interaction• Insights and analytics engine

Trustpilot for Businesses

Retail Services

Finance

About iPullRankiPullRank is a results-driven digital marketing agency located in NYC. Led by Michael King, our strategy-first approach is how we deliver outstanding results to our clients ranging from global corporations to rising start-ups.We’ve gotten results for:

iPullRank can help you with:

STRATEGIC PLANNING

SOLUTIONS ARCHITECTURE

MEDIA MANAGEMEN

T

CONTENT STRATEGY

EARNED MEDIA (SEO & SOCIAL)

MARKETING AUTOMATION

MEASUREMENT

OPTIMIZATION

Why Consumers & Reviews Matter

The Age of the Consumer

Companies must become customer obsessed and the only sustainable competitive advantage is knowledge and engagement with customers.

“-Forrester Research

Need recognitio

n

Product

specification

Evaluation

of option

s

Purchase decision

Post-

purchase

Influenced by reviews

Look for reviews

Leave reviews

“I need a new

couch...”

One person, influenced by

opinions

May ignore specs if “like

something better”

How Consumers Purchase

Look for reviews

Leave reviews

Look for reviews

“What kind of couch should

I get?”

“Where can I buy this kind of

couch?”

“Should I buy this couch from this

business?”

“Would I shop again or recommend to a friend?”

Look for reviews

Leave reviews

Though Your Funnel Probably Looks Like This…

Real-life purchase funnels are complex.Consumers will reference reviews multiple times before they buy, via various

channels.Ensure review content is readily available to consumers to keep

them moving through your purchase funnel.

90% of consumers say buying decisions are influenced by online

reviews

The Impact of Reviews on the Consumer Buying Journey

72% of consumers will take action after reading

a positive review

Customers are likely to spend 31% more on a

business with “excellent” reviews

We work with thousands of businesses to create review strategies that work for them, because we KNOW consumers read reviews.

The Consumer’s Perspective…

We surveyed over 1,000 consumers about how they use reviews when shopping.

Our findings can help businesses optimize their customer feedback strategies.

In fact, 140,000 unique business profiles on Trustpilot are viewed by consumers every month.

But WHY do consumers read reviews? And WHEN? What types of purchases cause them to seek out reviews? And WHAT do consumers look for when

they read them?

• Perception of reviews when shopping across different industries

• What motivates consumers to write reviews

• What, specifically, customers are looking for when they read reviews

• The role that reviews play throughout the purchase funnel

• The level of trust that consumers place in reviews

What did we ask about?

• Data collected over a 3-day period

• Random sample of 1,132 respondents Not all respondents answered all questions Sample size indicated on each slide

• US consumers only (18+)

• Sent via Survey Monkey

Survey Methodology and Sample

Show me the research!

I. Shopping Habits and the Importance of Reviews

Do consumers read reviews when shopping online?• 89% read reviews

“Sometimes”, “Most of the time”, or “Always”

• Less than 3% read reviews “Never”

Learning: Yes, the vast majority of consumers read reviews when making online buying decisions.

n=1,112

Where do you go to find reviews?> 50% search engines

> 20% company’s website

>10% 3rd party review websites

Learning: Consumers conduct the majority of review-related research via Google.

n=1,112

What’s the most important factor you look at when reading reviews?

1: Rating 50%

2: Recency 20%

3: Quantity 20%

Learning:When reading reviews, consumers look at the ratings of the reviews, how recently the reviews were written, and the total quantity of reviews present.

n=1,038

What type of content do you seek out in reviews?% of consumers that say these topics are “somewhat” or “very” important:

1: product quality 88%2: customer service/support 82%3: responses from the company 79%4: speed of delivery 68%

Learning:When reading reviews, consumers are most interested in learning about product quality, customer service/support, delivery speed, and whether or not companies respond.

n=1,021

When do you usually read reviews?19% of consumers read reviews BEFORE visiting a company’s site

25% of consumers read reviews right when they get to a company’s site, but before they start shopping

47% of consumers read reviews while on a company’s site, while they are browsing, before adding items to their cart

Learning:Consumers are seeking out reviews throughout the purchase funnel, the majority while actively shopping but a decent chunk before even beginning to browse.

n=1,112

Do you write reviews proactively or only if asked?

14% “very likely” on their own

Learning: Consumers are more than twice as likely to write a review after a buying experience if they are asked to.

29% “very likely” if the company asks n=1,046

n=1,046

Are you more likely to write a review about a negative or positive experience?

33% are very likely to write a review after a negative experience

20% are very likely to write a review after a positive experience

Learning: Consumers are 65% more likely to write a review after a negative shopping experience than a positive one.

n=1,053

II. Types of Reviews &Reviews Across Different

Industries

Do you consider reviews for deciding what product or what seller?

Learning:Consumers are likely to read reviews when considering product decisions and seller decisions, although they spend a little more time on product-level reviews.

60% read >3 reviews about a product

54% read >3 reviews about a company n=1,052

n=1,052

When making buying decisions in what verticals do you consider reviews?

Automotive

Software

Learning:Consumers find reviews at least moderately important for all major verticals, but Automotive, Software, Retail, and Travel are the most significant.

Very Important Important Moderately ImportantRetail

Travel

Healthcare

Finance

III. Trust & Transparency

How important is it that online reviews are authentic?84% said it was “somewhat” or “very” important that online review are authentic

Learning: The majority of consumers think it is critical that online reviews appear authentic.

n=1,028

To what extent do you think that reviews on the internet are authentic?Online reviews are:

18% “very”/“extremely” authentic

52% “moderately” authentic

30% “slightly”/“not at all” authentic

Learning:While consumers believe the authenticity of reviews is very important, most don’t believe online reviews are, in fact, authentic.

n=1,039

Perception of Trust Associated with User Likelihood of Leaving Feedback• 60% of consumers who think reviews are authentic said they

were ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ likely to write an organic review

• When we run statistics on this data, we see a significant* association between perception of authenticity and willingness to write a review

• This makes sense: as consumers gain more trust in online reviews, they are more likely to write them, creating a ‘feedback loop’ between relying on trusted content and creating that trusted content

*n=1,027; significant at 99% on 16 d.f.

How much do you trust reviews from different sources?• 80% said they trust 3rd party reviews as much

or more than reviews posted directly on a company’s website

• 81% said they trust 3rd party reviews as much or more than comments posted on social media

Learning:The vast majority of consumers trust independent, 3rd party reviews, more than reviews posted on a company’s website or comments on social media.

n=1,016

Takeaways

Takeaway #1:Give the people what they want –

REVIEWS!

• Include factors that are important to consumers- rating- date- total quantity

• Pick specific reviews that hit on specific hot topics- product quality- customer service- delivery speed

• Put them EVERYWHERE (throughout the purchase funnel)- home page- throughout browsing (category, product, & search pages)- social media profiles- landing pages

• Consider adding 3rd party validity to them (make ‘em trustworthy!)

#1: Give the people what they want – REVIEWS!

#1: Give the people what they want – REVIEWS!

Landing Page+15% conversion

Home Page+4% conversion

Email Marketing+1% conversion

Takeaway #2:Respond to reviews – it’s

important!

• Customers expect this they take the time to write it, the least you can do is read and respond

• Prospects look for this they recognize things go wrong, but how does your team deal?

• In your response, address the most important topics to consumers (product quality, customer service, delivery) head-on

if negative, explain how you will fix if positive, highlight!

#2: Respond to reviews – it’s important!

#2: Respond to reviews – it’s important!

Always apologize

Address customer concerns directly

Give the customer a forum for follow-up

If the situation warrants, also reach out privately – not everything should be discussed in a public forum

PRO TIP: Ask the reviewer to update their review if resolved!

#2: Respond to reviews – it’s important!• Resolving issues for unhappy customers to win them

back• Encouraging happy customers to be return customers• Promoting customer advocacy among brand champions• Showing that your company cares & takes reviews

seriously• Giving your company a chance to build a brand voice= REVENUE

(remember to actually ACT on the insights you uncover)

Takeaway #3:Don’t stop, won’t stop, asking for

reviews!

PROBLEM: Prospects demand a LOT of reviews and RECENT reviews

SOLUTION: Proactively ASK every customer for a review

• Optimize your response rate watch your average rating climb!- email vs. embedded review form- subject line, email content, call to action- send time- invitation reminders- incentives

FYI: Google Seller Ratings qualification increased from 30 reviews to 150 reviews it’s not JUST consumers that are putting increased importance on quantity of reviews

#3: Don’t stop, won’t stop, asking for reviews!

NOT asking for reviews:50/50 split positive/negative at

best(likely many more negative

reviews)

Proactively asking for reviews:83% positive reviews

More balanced representation of a business

#3: Don’t stop, won’t stop, asking for reviews!

#3: Don’t stop, won’t stop, asking for reviews!

Version A:2 – 5% response rate

Version B:14.4% response rate

Approx 200% increase!

Takeaway #4:Take how you appear in Google

very seriously!

#4: Take how you appear in Google very seriously!• Monitor what is showing up on page 1 (above the fold!) for key branded

terms- screenshot regularly- run rankings reports to see what is climbing beyond page 1- use free social monitoring tools

• For each result on page 1, consider:- is this positive, negative, or neutral towards my brand?- how much of this content can I control or influence?- is this result likely show up in the short-term or long-term?

• Promote properties beyond your website- social media profiles- company profiles on 3rd party sites- other company-created properties (blog?)

• Still not convinced? Check out this Moz study:https://moz.com/blog/new-data-reveals-67-of-consumers-are-influenced-by-

online-reviews

#4: Take how you appear in Google very seriously!

How many potential customers are you

losing to a bad reputation??

#4: Take how you appear in Google very seriously!Relevant for local search results too!

Takeaway #5:Consider trends in your industry

#5: Consider trends in your industry

Very Important/Important

Moderately Important Consumers expect reviews! If you don’t

have them, it looks fishy. Use reviews as a competitive differentiator! Over-deliver & stand out.

Questions to Consider:

• What are key differentiation points in your industry? How can you use reviews to emphasize these points?

• Are there industry-specific review communities for your vertical?

• What types of reviews are consumers looking for when making buying decisions in your vertical?

#5: Consider trends in your industry

Vivint saw reviews & customer experience becoming an increasingly important selling point in home security.

Results:Conversion increased 12%Revenue increased 13%

Homework

1. Give the people what they want – reviews!

2. Respond to reviews3. Don’t stop asking for reviews4. Take how you appear in Google seriously5. Consider trends in your industry6. Measure your success & WIN!

…and call Trustpilot & iPullRank if you need help!

Q&A