What Can a B2B Review Tell You?

In our on-demand world, the way we inform our purchases has transformed. We expect immediate answers to our questions and have become more reliant on other consumers’ experiences to drive our own. A recent report from Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center states that 95% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase and purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than the purchase likelihood of a product with no reviews. And turning to online reviews is not limited to personal purchases – many companies are turning to B2B review sites like G2 to help inform their purchasing decisions when looking into new software platforms to help run their business.

Include Review Sites in Your Research Process

As an HR professional, you may be looking to implement a new HR and payroll platform that can help streamline processes and meet current requirements while preparing for the future needs of evolving workforces. Cost is often a major consideration, as are the features a solution can offer, ease of implementation and use, integration with other vendors, and level of service offered. The benefit of a review site, in addition to providing access to user testimonials, is that they offer a breakdown of key features and associated scores or ratings and high-level overviews of product functionalities based on users’ actual experiences.

Purchasers can use these review sites to compare a specific platform to its competitors, which is a key part of the selection process. A recent survey found that 60% of B2B companies research two to three e-commerce sites before making a purchasing decision. Review sites can do some of the comparison shopping for you in one place. Though you’ll likely still do in-depth research for each platform you’re considering, a review site can give you the customer perspective on how each platform ranks for certain features and services, allowing you to see where one provider may outrank another based on actual usage.

The Power of the Client Testimonial

Reviews can go a long way in influencing our decision-making. Research shows that 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation and 68% form an opinion after reading between one and six online reviews. Some people may be wary of trusting online reviews, as many sites like Amazon or Google can be littered with paid reviews for positive ratings. However, review sites like G2 only allow verified, actual users to post reviews. This means you’re hearing from the people who are in the platform every day, writing about their real experiences. They too have gone through an intensive process to select the platform you’re reading a review about and can provide unique insights you can only get from a user.

Reviewers share everything from the implementation of the system to the level of support they receive to what works best for them and what doesn’t. While these reviews can give you a broad understanding of the products and services, you can go even deeper for specific insights. Some sites allow you to filter by business size (enterprise, mid-size, or small business), industry, your role at the company, and even your location, helping you filter those reviews that are most relevant to your unique organization. If you’ve narrowed down your choices and need help making the final selection, client testimonials can give you the added perspective you need to make a sound decision.

Feedback Comes Full Circle

Review sites offer invaluable insights to the company being reviewed as well, ultimately bringing value back to the user. At Paylocity, we consider our clients our co-creators, meaning their feedback and input directly inform product updates and new features. We take all reviews about our products and services to heart and work to ensure we’re providing solutions that help our customers thrive. It’s why we’re proud to be consistently named a leader on G2's grid reports. It tells us what we’re doing is resonating with our clients and that they’re satisfied with their experience. But that doesn’t mean our work ends there. We listen to reviews that identify areas of opportunity so we can continuously improve everything we do – all resulting in a platform that prospective clients will later read about on a review site.

See what our clients have to say about us on G2 or check out our other client testimonials. Like what you’re hearing? Check out our product suite and reach out to us to learn more.

Date Published: November 13, 2019