Why Peer Reviews Are Key to Your Customer Advocacy Strategy

As businesses strive to provide the best products and services to their customers, they must also ensure that their customers' voices are heard. Customer advocacy is a process that involves leveraging satisfied customers to promote a business or product. One critical aspect of customer advocacy is peer reviews, which provide potential customers with an unbiased opinion about a product or service. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of sourcing peer reviews in customer advocacy.

Why Peer Reviews Matter in Customer Advocacy:

Peer reviews are critical to customer advocacy because they provide potential customers with a glimpse into the experiences of current customers. These reviews are often seen as more trustworthy than marketing material produced by the business because they come from real customers who have used the product or service. Peer reviews can also provide insights into the features and benefits of a product or service that may not be immediately apparent from marketing materials.

Peer reviews also play a critical role in the customer journey. According to a survey by BrightLocal, 91% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase decision. Additionally, 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends and family. These statistics demonstrate the importance of peer reviews in the customer journey and highlight the need for businesses to actively seek out and showcase positive reviews.

G2 and Gartner Peer Insights are two popular third-party review sites that many businesses use to source peer reviews. These sites provide customers with unbiased insights into the features and benefits of products and services, helping them make informed purchase decisions. According to a study by G2, 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase a product or service after reading a trusted review. Additionally, Gartner reports that 83% of buyers rely on peer reviews during the evaluation stage of the buying process. These statistics demonstrate the significant impact that peer reviews, particularly those found on third-party review sites, can have on purchase decision-making. By actively seeking out and showcasing positive reviews on these sites, businesses can leverage customer advocacy to drive sales and increase customer loyalty.

How to Source Peer Reviews for Customer Advocacy:

Sourcing peer reviews for customer advocacy can be a challenging process. However, there are several steps that businesses can take to obtain valuable reviews from satisfied customers.

1. Ask for Reviews: One of the simplest ways to source peer reviews is to ask for them. Run targeted campaigns with customers who have indicated a high level of satisfaction through Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys. After customers respond to the NPS survey, businesses can send follow-up emails or messages asking for feedback and reviews. These campaigns can be automated and personalized, making it easy for businesses to connect with satisfied customers and ask for their support.
2. Leverage your Account team: No one knows your customers better than their in-house account team. Account Managers and customer success teams can play a crucial role in sourcing peer reviews. These teams have direct contact with customers and can use their relationships to encourage regular reviews. Sales teams can incorporate review requests into their follow-up communications with customers, emphasizing the importance of feedback and how it can help the business improve its offerings. Similarly, customer success teams can ask for reviews during check-ins and business review touchpoints with customers, highlighting the value of customer feedback in shaping the business's strategies and roadmap. By working collaboratively with these teams, you can steadily increase your position on the grid and over all performance on peer review sites. Businesses that foster a culture of continuous feedback and customer advocacy, develop stronger relationships with customers and improved products and services.
3. Monitor Social Media: Customers often share their experiences on social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Monitoring these platforms can help businesses identify satisfied customers and showcase their positive reviews on website and social campaigns. Businesses can also engage with customers on social media by thanking them for their reviews and encouraging them to share their experiences on peer review sites.

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In today's digital landscape, peer reviews are a critical component of customer advocacy strategies. Peer reviews can have a significant impact on brand perception, with customers increasingly relying on third-party review sites such as G2 and Gartner to inform their purchase decisions. In addition, peer reviews can provide businesses with valuable insights into their competitive landscape, as well as overall market satisfaction by geography and role. By analyzing and incorporating these insights into their strategies, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and continuously improve their offerings to meet customer needs. Ultimately, by prioritizing peer reviews as a key aspect of their customer advocacy strategies, businesses can cultivate a strong brand reputation, drive revenue growth, and foster lasting customer loyalty.

Research links:

• BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2020: https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
• G2's Buyers' Journey Report 2020: https://learn.g2.com/buyers-journey-report-2020
• Gartner Peer Insights: https://www.gartner.com/reviews/home
• TrustRadius 2021 B2B Buying Disconnect Report: https://www.trustradius.com/vendor-blog/2021-b2b-buying-disconnect-report
• Capterra's Software Buying Trends Report 2021: https://www.capterra.com/reports/software-buying-trends-2021/