It’s no secret that customer reviews are an important part of the purchasing process for software buyers.
In today’s digital age, where instant gratification and convenience reign supreme, online reviews can provide buyers with a trusted voice of the customer in seconds.
But how important are they when making purchasing decisions?
To answer this question, we B2B SaaS Reviews Two surveys were conducted – one targeting B2B software buyers and the other targeting B2C customers.We also looked at the recent G2 Research Improve our analysis.
Our survey revealed interesting insights related to the use and impact of online reviews among both groups of consumers, including feelings of trust in reviews, when and how reviews are used in the buyer process, and what buyers want from reviews Lots of information.
1. Most B2B buyers use reviews and refer to them frequently
according to 2023 G2 Software Buyer Behavior Reportthe vast majority of B2B buyers (84%) use review sites.
That’s a large percentage, but in our survey we also wanted to understand how often B2B buyers read reviews before buying.
It turns out that nearly nine in 10 (89%) buyers who read reviews “often” or “always” rely on them, suggesting that most value is based on the experience of peers when buying.
Conversely, if most buyers only view reviews in rare or specific circumstances, that means a different story.
source: The State of B2B Software Reviews in 2023
Food for thought: When purchasing a business software product, do you read user reviews on review sites?
2. Many B2B SaaS customers refer to review sites at different stages
Our survey shows that most B2B buyers refer to review sites at all stages of the buying process, not just when making a purchase decision.
Buying journey stages:
- consciousness: Research potential solutions initially (64%).
- consider: Products are shortlisted for further evaluation (68%).
- Decide: Ensure they make the right choice before final purchase (54%).
source: The State of B2B Software Reviews in 2023
Food for thought: At what stage of the buying process do you use business software review sites?
While B2B businesses often struggle to engage with buyers early in the buying process, this finding suggests that user review sites provide an effective conduit for suppliers to get started before buyers try out your product or meet with your sales team. Attract buyers before. This reflects the considered nature of typical B2B software purchasing decisions.
3. Young users of B2B software rely more on reviews
Our survey data shows that there are small but noticeable gaps in the adoption of review sites between different age groups. Older buyers tend to visit review sites less frequently than younger buyers. In contrast, younger buyers seem to check reviews more often.
source: The State of B2B Software Reviews in 2023
As Millennials and Gen Z expand their influence across all levels of the workforce, this finding shows that the importance of reviews and review sites will only continue to grow.
4. The number of comment contributors continues to increase, but there is still room for growth
As more B2B buyers read reviews, they will write more reviews.
In the first ten years of online business software reviews, there are now More than 5 million User Comments – According to the latest State of Software report, the largest share (2 million) is located in G2.
Food for thought: Have you ever written a user review for a commercial software product?
source: G2 Q4 2023 Software State Report
Our survey shows that 87% of users of business software review sites say they contribute reviews. This means that most users also take the time to leave reviews themselves, which will be an encouraging trend for the sustainability and relevance of review sites.
However, of those users, 39% said they wrote fewer than a few reviews. This leaves plenty of room for growth and encourages users to contribute reviews on a regular basis.
5. B2B buyers trust indirect information sources more than direct information sources
In our survey, we asked B2B buyers to rate how much they trust different sources of information. Trust is graded from 1 to 5, where 1 represents “complete distrust” and 5 represents “complete trust”.
Buyers show lower trust in information from suppliers or their sales teams than from indirect sources such as peers or online communities.
source: The State of B2B Software Reviews in 2023
Additionally, since many B2B buyers express high levels of trust in review sites and frequently turn to them during the buying process, it’s not surprising that Accel found a positive correlation between SaaS companies’ average G2 scores and their employee growth Strange.
Source: Accel Analysis, G2 – Accel Euroscape 2023
Now that we understand how online reviews influence B2B buyers, let’s see how their behavior differs in a B2C environment.
6. B2B buyers say software reviews are more influential than consumer product and service reviews
When we asked business software buyers how influential business software reviews were in their purchasing decisions compared to consumer reviews of hotels, restaurants, Amazon products, etc., it was clear that reviews have a greater impact in the B2B decision-making process influence.
source: The State of B2B Software Reviews in 2023
Food for thought: How much impact do business software reviews have on your purchasing decisions compared to consumer reviews of restaurants, restaurants, Amazon products, etc.?
if we break through 62% Among business software buyers who believe B2B reviews are more influential than B2C reviews, we found that 21% believe B2B reviews are more important in their choices.
source: The State of B2B Software Reviews in 2023
However, it’s not all rosy. Review site users do limit their reliance on reviews to some extent due to a few key issues.
7. B2C consumers have more questions about review authenticity than B2B buyers
We found significant differences between what consumers want from B2C reviews and what business software buyers want from B2B reviews.
source: The State of B2B Software Reviews in 2023
Food for thought: Which, if any, of these are issues with review sites that limit your use?
Both B2C and B2B buyers have some issues with the current state of reviews. In our survey, B2C users were most concerned about the authenticity of reviews, with 61% expressing doubts, while 50% of B2B users felt the same way. 45% of B2C respondents and 40% of B2B respondents involved shallow review content.
B2B buyers (49%) are more skeptical about user ratings of reviews than B2C (40%) participants. Additionally, 45% of the B2B segment found it impossible to find relevant reviewers, compared to only 38% of B2C users.
These findings reflect the size and nature of the reviews in each area. B2B review sites focus on quality over quantity by verifying the authenticity of each review and asking more from reviewers (creating deeper review content).
B2C review sites get a higher percentage of organic reviews and have more reviews, so people are less worried about review relevance and rating skepticism.
Let’s review
Analysis of online reviews reveals their critical influence on consumer and business buying behavior, highlighting trust in a supplier’s commitment to peer feedback.
Clearly, online reviews are more than just opinions; They are a form of currency in the digital economy, guiding purchasing decisions and shaping buyer behavior across industries.
Despite concerns about authenticity and depth, the trend of peer-influenced buying is growing, with younger generations leading the way.
These insights highlight the increasing need for companies to proactively manage their online presence and engage with review platforms as key elements of their marketing and customer relationship strategies.
If you want to learn more about the state of online reviews among B2C and B2B buyers, read these two survey reports from B2B SaaS Reviews:
*The data in the “B2B SaaS Reviews 2023 State of B2B Software Reviews” report comes from data obtained by Centiment through an online survey. 411 U.S. software buyers answered “yes” to the following qualifying question: “Do you read user reviews on review sites when purchasing business software products?”
**The data in the “B2B SaaS Reviews 2023 State of B2C Online Reviews” report comes from data obtained by SurveyMonkey through online surveys. 276 U.S. consumers aged 21-59 used one of three online consumer review sites in the past 30 days: Angie’s List (Angi), ConsumerAffairs or Yelp.
