If you sell B2B software, then you know that the quality of your online reviews can make or break your sales.
After all, a Google study found that 60 percent of B2B technology buyers search for peer reviews during the decision-making process.
That’s why Angela Higgins, Manager, Customer Engagement at Code42, made getting high-quality customer reviews a top priority.
“Code42’s thousands of happy and highly vocal customers are one of our strongest market differentiators,” said Angela. “The trouble was that those customers didn’t know how to review Code42 and publicly share their thoughts about our data protection and security solutions.”
Since word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20 to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions, Angela knew she needed to get more people talking about Code42.
Angela wanted Code42’s customers to review its endpoint data protection and security product, CrashPlan. The product had just five reviews between Spiceworks and G2 Crowd.
“We knew that our aggressive growth plans depended on tapping into this invaluable resource and passion for our product more effectively,” said Angela.
How Code42 Stepped Up Its B2B Customer Review Game
Code42 launched a customer advocacy program to harness the collective voice of its customers and get more reviews. One of the top goals of the program was to point happy customers to places online where they could share honest feedback about Code42 and its products.
Code42 created an advocate marketing program, where customer advocates can quickly and easily provide reviews. In the program’s online hub, advocates see “challenges” that ask them to do things like provide referrals, complete surveys, share Code42’s content on social media and—of course—write product reviews.
“We wanted raw, honest and unguided comments,” said Angela. “We didn’t give our advocates language or tell them what to talk about.”
As advocates complete challenges, they earn points that can be redeemed for rewards such as gift cards, free Code42 training and Code42 swag.
Points also contribute to an advocate’s ranking on the Code42 leaderboard. “Our IT customers love the gamification aspects in our hub,” said Angela. “We’ve received a lot of positive feedback about our advocacy program.”
Within a few months of launching its advocate hub, Code42 has received:
- More than 60 glowing reviews on Spiceworks
- 42 reviews on G2 Crowd, the highest number of reviews for an endpoint data protection vendor
Plus, Code42 has blasted past one of its top competitors on both of these review sites.
3 Keys to Getting Glowing Product Reviews
When you mobilize your advocates, you can get a rush of rave reviews. Here are three things to keep in mind when asking your advocates to post reviews:
- Gamify the experience. When you give advocates fun things to do, they’ll spend more time engaging with your program and your brand.
- Ask! Don’t be shy about asking your advocates to write reviews on your behalf. Most are happy to do it—they just need to be given the opportunity.
- Stand back. Don’t tell your advocates what to say. Instead, let them use their own words to describe their experience. You can provide ideas of what could be included in a helpful review, such as comments on the onboarding experience, ease-of-use of the product, or responsiveness of the support team, to make it easier for them.
“The reviews generated by the program are incredibly powerful,” said Angela. “It harnesses the passion and elevates the voices of our customer evangelists while helping us build market leadership.”