The software we buy, the vacations we take, the food we eat - there is a digital platform available for virtually anything you want to review.
And between just the leaders in each of those categories: G2, Trip Advisor, and Yelp, people have left over 1.3 billion reviews combined. A better product, a more enjoyable adventure, and a tastier meal are all on the other side of these reviews. But what exactly do companies do with reviews once they receive them? Especially the reviews that are not so great?
What would you think if you saw a product that only had 5-star reviews? Would you believe every single customer was exceedingly satisfied with that product and had nothing but positive things to say? Probably not. Because no matter how great a product, experience, or meal is, humans are all subjective with varying tastes, expectations, and opinions.
Your customers are just as smart: when they see a product with only 5-star reviews, they’re bound to be suspicious. They may wonder if that company is paying for reviews, are only asking their happiest customers for reviews, or are asking their customers to only write 5-star reviews. All of which you should never do.
Potential customers will trust your reviews more if there’s a mix of reviews from 1-5 stars. The ideal star rating you’re looking for is between 4.2 and 4.5. And to get there, you’ll need some not-so-great reviews!
of buyers look at online review sites when making a buying decision.
Source: G2 Buyer Behavior Report
With negative reviews, prospects can qualify themselves out if something is a dealbreaker for them. And while companies always want the chance to talk to all potential customers, allowing prospects to do this saves you both from spending time on a sale that’s not going to happen.
On the flip side, prospects can also decide if the “negative” aspect of the review applies to their use case. For example, a customer may leave a review saying a CRM tool isn’t a fit for an SMB company because they found it to be complex, have lots of rules and processes in place, and be time-consuming for a team of two people to manage. If someone from an enterprise-sized company reads that review, it’s probably not applicable to them as they need the customization, rules, processes, and likely have someone to focus just on managing the CRM.
Lastly, negative reviews can help provide a better product or experience for your users. Reviews can give insight on what’s not working for people, what might be missing, or what’s making their life harder. And, if you make those improvements, your customer might go back and update their review.
Now that we’ve embraced the positives of negative reviews, let’s talk about what you can do with them. Accepting negative reviews is only the first step -- putting that mindset into action is where you’ll begin to see the benefit.
One thing that EVERY company should do: Respond to reviews! Consumers expect companies to respond to reviews, and 88% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that replies to all its reviews, both negative and positive. G2 has a comprehensive guide on how to respond to different types of reviews that you can check out right here.
If your company is experiencing a ton of negative reviews, find out how your product teams can use them to their advantage.
If you receive repeat feedback about how an aspect of your product is difficult or confusing to use, it might be time to revisit that specific feature or functionality.
For example, if users are saying they’re frustrated that a specific file type can’t be uploaded into a dashboard, it may be time to build out a new workflow that accepts all file types. Or if you’re constantly getting comments that your tool is difficult for customers with disabilities to use, it might be time to bring in accessibility consultants to get your product up to ADA (or your local equivalent) compliance.
Oftentimes in reviews, users provide an unofficial wishlist of features or functionality they’d love for a product to do to make their lives easier. It could be a feature a competitor offers and you don’t, or functionality no one in your space has even thought of yet.
Take notes on customer wishes and decide if that’s something you can add to your product roadmap. Customers will be infinitely more excited about new features they’ve asked for than ones that may have never crossed their minds or they don't have use cases for.
You likely have a process in place for users to report bugs and it probably isn’t through reviews. That being said, you may still receive reviews that mention bugs or glitches in your product.
By staying on top of this feedback from customers, you have another avenue to learn about bugs that may have popped up with your recent update or new product launch. Listen to the feedback, find the bug, respond with a thank you for reporting it, and share an update on when the bug was/will be fixed.
of people specifically search for bad reviews to gain a better understanding of what to expect from your product or service.
Source: B2B Reviews
Next up, find out how your marketing teams can utilize negative reviews for free market research.
We know that varying groups of people speak in different ways - that can mean slang, cultural references, or levels of formality. If prospects don’t feel like they can relate to your messaging, they’ll probably assume you can’t help solve their problems.
By looking at the way your customers write reviews, you may find words and phrases that your target audience uses on a regular basis that you were unaware of, a pain point you didn’t think of, or a use case you never considered. From there, update your messaging and talk tracks with this verbiage.
Reviews aren’t always just about the product itself. Oftentimes, the buying experience is just as central to the feedback your customers have to share. If reviewers are saying they felt blindsided and thought they were getting one thing, but after buying realized they got something else, there’s a disconnect somewhere in the buying journey.
It could be that your website mentions a feature no longer being offered, or you used a phrase that means one thing in a certain industry or location, but something entirely different in another. Or you’re using a lot of marketing-speak or buzzwords when people just want to know the bottom line.
Use reviews to audit the materials and scripts your sales team uses to ensure the smoothest possible buying experience.
If you have a lot of negative reviews and/or you've fixed a major issue that has been a game changer for your product, sharing negative feedback that’s been remedied can be a strategic and effective marketing play.
The key to success with this strategy is to put in the work to improve. It's important to take the reviews seriously, make changes, and provide a better user experience. If this is a route you want to take, make sure you back up your marketing with an improved product and experience that is validated by your customers before you bring those improvements to market.
Finally, let's not forget about how your sales and customer success teams can take advantage of negative reviews.
If you prep your team on how to respond to prospects that bring up negative reviews, you can build trust from the start of your relationship with a prospect. Come up with talking points for your sales reps about common questions about a specific review or issue that includes:
This isn't news, but it’s worth repeating: getting a new customer is 5x more expensive than retaining existing ones. Having early warning signs about a customer who’s considering leaving can help you mitigate that risk. An easy warning sign? A review!
Make sure your Customer Success team is alerted whenever a review comes in from one of their customers. If there’s anything concerning in the review or any major issues you think could affect the chances of renewal, set up a time to chat with that customer. See how you can address the problem(s) they’re experiencing and hopefully save the account — and maybe even get them to amend the review.
At first glance, negative reviews can sting. But if you look at the bigger picture and implement some of the strategies discussed, negative reviews can be more helpful than they are harmful. Negative reviews give you a chance to improve your product, start a dialogue with your customers, and build trust with potential buyers. If you want to chat specifically about generating, managing, or repurposing G2 reviews, reach out to a G2 rep today.
Learn more reasons why there's no such thing as a bad review and how you can ensure you’re getting the most from all of your reviews – positive or negative.
Mara Calvello is a Content Marketing Manager at G2. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Elmhurst College (now Elmhurst University). Mara writes customer marketing content, while also focusing on social media and communications for G2. She previously wrote content to support our G2 Tea newsletter, as well as categories on artificial intelligence, natural language understanding (NLU), AI code generation, synthetic data, and more. In her spare time, she's out exploring with her rescue dog Zeke or enjoying a good book.
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