We all know collecting customer reviews is important. But let's take it one step further: if you could use data to understand how your customers are actually engaging with reviews, you could see big revenue impact by just leveraging your customer feedback in effective ways. We surveyed over 1,000 consumers to understand how they feel about reading, writing and searching for reviews. This webinar includes: -The best way to get consumers to leave you feedback -Where buyers search for reviews, and which channels they trust the most -How consumers use and engage with reviews differently in different industries, including yours -Learn our top data-driven insights about how to better utilize your reviews to boost sales.

1. The Case for Reviews:
How Consumers Use Reviews Today

2. Mike King
Founder & Managing Director
iPullRank
Presenters
Bob Gooch
Product Marketing Analyst
Trustpilot

3. Agenda
Intro to Trustpilot & iPullRank
Why Consumers & Reviews Matter
We Did A Survey
Show Me the Research!
Takeaways
Your Homework Assignment
Q & A

4. Introduction to
Trustpilot & iPullRank

5. Trustpilot by the Numbers

6. 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

7. Retail Services Finance

8. About iPullRank
iPullRank 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:

9. iPullRank can help you with:
STRATEGIC PLANNING SOLUTIONS ARCHITECTURE MEDIA MANAGEMENT CONTENT STRATEGY
EARNED MEDIA
(SEO & SOCIAL)
MARKETING AUTOMATION MEASUREMENT OPTIMIZATION

10. Why Consumers & Reviews Matter

11. The Age of the Consumer
Companies must become customer obsessed and the only sustainable
competitive advantage is knowledge and engagement with customers.
“
-Forrester Research

12. Need
recognition
Product
specification
Evaluation
of options
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?”

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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?

16. • 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?

17. • 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

18. Show me the research!

19. I. Shopping Habits and the
Importance of Reviews

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. II. Types of Reviews &
Reviews Across Different Industries

28. 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

29. 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 Important
Retail
Travel
Healthcare
Finance

30. III. Trust & Transparency

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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.

34. 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

35. Takeaways

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

37. • 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!

38. #1: Give the people what they want – REVIEWS!
Landing Page
+15% conversion
Home Page
+4% conversion
Email Marketing
+1% conversion

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

40. • 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!

41. #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!

42. #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)

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

44. 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!

45. 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!

46. #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!

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

48. #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

49. #4: Take how you appear in Google very seriously!
How many potential
customers are you
losing to a bad
reputation??

50. #4: Take how you appear in Google very seriously!
Relevant for local search results too!

51. Takeaway #5:
Consider trends in your industry

52. #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?

53. #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%

54. Homework
1. Give the people what they want – reviews!
2. Respond to reviews
3. Don’t stop asking for reviews
4. Take how you appear in Google seriously
5. Consider trends in your industry
6. Measure your success & WIN!
…and call Trustpilot & iPullRank if you need help!