B2B buyers want to see customer feedback about your brand before they invest in your products and services. Reviews help them make informed decisions before they commit. B2B purchases can involve large financial commitments. Thus, it stands to reason buyers conduct independent research. They want to know if your solutions provide results for companies like theirs. Moreover, they want to learn about your customer experience. Is your business responsive and easy to work with? How do you handle customer complaints and problems?
Embracing and responding to constructive criticism and positive feedback is an important part of building and protecting brand reputation. Buyers can see that your business is committed to customer satisfaction and quality. Interacting with them helps drive trust and credibility in your brand and your solutions.
Unfortunately, some B2B businesses don’t treat customer reviews like opportunities. Instead, they struggle with review management and neglect valuable feedback. When businesses fumble, it’s obvious to current and prospective customers as well as anyone else who’s paying attention. Missteps including posting snarky responses and ignoring valid questions.
Next, let’s explore the four customer feedback mistakes that can kill your brand’s reputation:
1. Disregarding negative customer feedback
One of the worst things businesses can do is ignore negative written reviews. It’s a red flag if most of your reviews are negative. Worse, it’s a four-alarm fire if you don’t address them because it looks like you’re not open to constructive criticism. Responding to complaints shows you care about your customers and are committed to improving. In contrast, ignoring criticism can hurt your reputation. In addition, it can weaken your existing customer relationships and scare buyers.
When responding to unhappy customers, be sure to mind your tone. This is not the time to be sarcastic or lash out. Apologize for any problems and show that you want to correct them. When buyers see you care about what went wrong and want to make it right, it signals that your business is committed to customer satisfaction. Similarly, addressing issues proactively can turn negative situations into opportunities for positive engagement.
To take it a step further, follow up with the actions you took to resolve the complaints. As a result, unhappy customers may update their negative reviews with positive outcomes. Consequently, you’ll improve your brand’s reputation and show prospective customers that you stand behind your products and services. In turn, dissatisfied customers may become ambassadors for your brand.
2. Rallying your network to boost positive reviews
Ignoring negative feedback is bad for business, but trying to gin up your reputation with help from your network is even worse. Here’s a typical scenario … Your business has no written reviews. Then, a disgruntled customer posts scathing comments about your company. You don’t respond to the criticism. But just like magic, within a week, five glowing reviews appear out of nowhere.
This happened recently with a business owner I know. Someone blasted the company in a Google review. Less than two weeks later, the business logged numerous five-star reviews that weren’t sincere. What’s my proof? I know the people who wrote the reviews. One was the owner’s son, who has a different last name. Another was a former business associate who had a self-serving reason for being nice. The others were similarly connected to the owner. Strategies like this have a way of backfiring, making the company look untrustworthy and desperate. Instead of fixing the problem, it only compounds the damage to the brand’s reputation. Furthermore, it drives away prospective customers who can see through the façade.
The smart, professional approach would have been to respond to the original complaint directly. By recognizing the customer’s concerns, owning the problem and sharing corrective steps, the owner would have shown a commitment to customer satisfaction. Above all, this response could have turned a negative situation into a positive one. Instead, the owner appears to be trying to sweep the original feedback under the rug.
3. Ignoring positive customer feedback
Let’s say your customer reviews are positive and genuine. You don’t need to do anything, right? Wrong! Your customers spent time and effort to share their experiences, and it’s crucial to acknowledge them. By thanking them and responding to their written comments, you’ll show you value their input. Thus, following through encourages future positive reviews and helps build customer loyalty.
In the same vein, when you recognize customers for their positive feedback, share tips or resources that can help them get the most from your products and services. User guides, video tutorials, webinars and community forums empower customers to achieve their business goals. In addition, you might ask them to join your customer advocacy programs. These customers are primed to share their positive stories and experiences with buyers.
4. Offering incentives for reviews
Offering incentives for customer reviews creates the perception of bias, undermining the authenticity of the feedback. When customers receive rewards for weighing in on your products and services, it can lead buyers to question the credibility of customers’ positive comments. Dangling product discounts, freebies and other perks motivates customers to highlight good experiences and overlook or downplay complaints.
Instead, welcome honest and unbiased feedback. Engage with your customers by asking for their honest opinions and showing that you listen to and act on their suggestions. This will allow you to build strong, authentic relationships with your current and prospective customers. In conclusion, you worked hard to build customer trust in your business. Don’t erase those efforts with sketchy tactics.
When to solicit customer feedback
Every B2B business has unique customer touch points that are ideal times to ask for reviews. In general, solicit feedback:
- Two weeks to three months after customers purchase your products or services.
- When customers compliment your business on social media.
- Upon completion of successful customer projects.
- After solving customers’ problems.
- When resolving customer support requests.
- Upon receiving referrals.
Timing is key to capturing your customers’ genuine impressions and experiences, which are most vivid and accurate shortly after significant interactions. A strategic approach will set you up to enhance your product development, service improvements and overall customer relationship management.
How to ask customers for reviews
Be proactive about asking for written reviews but don’t be pushy. I recommend emailing requests using a template like the one below. Above all, keep your emails short and personalize them for each customer’s situation. In addition, make it as easy as possible to share feedback by including a link to the review form. You can use a third-party platform, such as TrustRadius, HundredX, G2 or Trustpilot, or link to a form on your website.
If you don’t use third-party review sites and your B2B website doesn’t have a review form, you can ask customers to write Google reviews for your business. Make it seamless for your customers by sending them a direct link to your Google review page. Here’s how to get the link:
- Log into your Google Business Profile.
- Look for your business on Google Search and click “Ask for reviews.”
3. Get your Google reviews link. You can share the link via email manually or click the Email button for it to autogenerate an email with the link.
Email template to request reviews
Here’s an email template you can modify and make your own when asking customers to write reviews for your B2B business:
Subject: We Value Your Feedback
Hi, [Customer’s First Name],
We hope you’re enjoying your experience with [Company Name]. Your feedback is important to us, and we’d love to hear your thoughts about our [products/services].
Would you take a moment to review us on [link to preferred platform]? Your insights will help us improve our solutions and let prospective clients know what to expect from partnering with us.
Thank you for your time and support.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Company Name]
[Your Contact Info]
Keep in mind that you might need to follow up to get responses. It’s reasonable to email customers one or two more times over a month or so. Here are two follow-up templates you can customize to your situation:
Follow-up email 1: If no response to review request
Subject: Quick Reminder: We’d Love Your Feedback
Hi, [Customer’s First Name],
I hope this message finds you well. We appreciate your trust in us and value your support.
If you enjoyed our [products/services], please take a moment to leave a review on [link to preferred platform]. Positive reviews from customers like you help others feel confident about partnering with us.
Thanks so much,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Company Name]
[Your Contact Info]
Follow-up email 2: Last attempt if no response to review request
Subject: Your Opinion Counts!
Hi, [Customer’s First Name],
I wanted to follow up once more to ask for your feedback on your recent experience with [Company Name]. Your insights are incredibly valuable to us, and we appreciate your time.
Please let us know how we’re doing and how we can continue to support your business needs. You can give your input here [link to preferred platform].
Thank you for your continued partnership.
All the best,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]
[Your Company Name]
[Your Contact Info]
How to use customer reviews to strengthen your business
Certainly, customer reviews are a treasure trove of intel. They’re brimming with honest feedback about what you do well and where you fall short. Therefore, share them with your marketing, sales, customer success, product development and customer support teams to gain insights that can help your B2B business:
- Improve your products and services
- Develop new offerings
- Enhance your customer experience
- Identify training needs for your team
- Inform your content strategy by addressing common customer concerns and questions
- Refine your messaging
- Optimize your customer onboarding process
- Boost your competitive edge
- Transform satisfied customers into loyal fans
How to use positive customer feedback in your marketing
For obvious reasons, you wouldn’t promote negative customer feedback in your marketing efforts. “Boy, are we bad! We’re SO bad, our customers hate us!”
But you can get a lot of mileage from positive feedback. Engaging with and promoting compelling reviews will enhance your customer relationships and help buyers make informed decisions about your products and services.
Let’s explore key opportunities for showcasing your B2B brand’s successes:
- Share positive reviews on your website and social media channels. Acknowledging and tagging customers will expose their networks to your success stories.
- Pull customer quotes to use as testimonials on your site, in marketing campaigns and in pitch decks. Using strong, authentic quotes as social proof helps build buyer trust in your business.
- Highlight satisfied customers in case studies. Showing how your solutions lead to measurable results reinforces your credibility and demonstrates the tangible benefits of partnering with your brand.
- Display product- and service-specific reviews on your website’s corresponding pages. Providing relevant and convincing insights for prospective customers will help them make informed buying decisions.
- Showcase reviews in your email marketing. Featuring positive reviews in e-newsletters and email campaigns will reinforce your message and encourage engagement from your audience.
- Feature reviews on your landing pages. Focusing on positive customer feedback can boost conversion rates by providing immediate, credible endorsements for your products and services.
Turn customer feedback into fuel for growth
Customer reviews are more than praise or complaints; they’re a gold mine of insights for your B2B business. By soliciting, analyzing and responding to feedback, you can enhance your products and services, elevate customer relationships and build a reputation for excellence. To sum up, embrace the power of customer feedback to fuel innovation, cultivate loyalty and drive sustainable growth for your brand.
