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What type of metrics measure customer success

We all know customer satisfaction is important, but with many different variables it can be tricky to measure. Learn some of the different metrics to monitor and work on for an improved customer experience.

These are more long term questions, but customer satisfaction levels are also constantly changing, so brands need to keep an eye on them in the short term as well. If levels dip, action needs to be taken immediately to prevent further decline. If they rise, figuring out what changed and replicating it across your business can lead to even more success. 

And even if your customer satisfaction has long been in decline, it’s never too late to try and create a better experience for your customers — the kind that will help you gain more loyal customers and see more success in the long run.

Measuring customer satisfaction can feel a little intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be. And it’s okay if there are some areas where you’re falling short. But if your customers are unhappy it’s much better to understand why and resolve the issues than to keep your head in the sand and hope the problems magically disappear. 

So, where to start? There are a few important customer satisfaction metrics to help you understand how you’re doing already and find areas for improvement. Even a tiny improvement in the following focus areas can mean a better experience for your customers, and a better bottom line for your business.

## Customer satisfaction metrics to guide your business
Depending on your business, some of these will probably make more sense for you than others. You don’t necessarily need to focus on all of them, but committing to monitoring a few of them can bring you great results for your business. The more of them that you can focus on, the more your customer satisfaction will likely improve. 

### Customer retention and churn rates – do they stay or do they go? 
[Customer retention](https://www.salesforce.com/eu/learning-centre/customer-service/customer-retention/#:~:text=To%20calculate%20your%20customer%20retention,E%2DN)%2FS)%20x%20100. "What is customer retention?") looks at which of your customers stay with your business over any given period of time. You can figure out how to calculate yours [here](https://blog.totango.com/2021/03/how-to-calculate-and-improve-your-customer-retention-rate/ "How to calculate and improve your customer retention rate"). 

Because acquiring new customers is generally more expensive than retaining your current customers, customer retention rates can have a huge impact on your bottom line in both the long and short term. 

There are a few different [strategies for boosting customer retention](https://www.shopify.com/blog/customer-retention-strategies "What is customer retention? 5 strategies to keep customers"). Starting a customer loyalty program can be an excellent way to incentivize customers to keep spending with your brand and so can offering a discount towards their next purchase at the end of their transaction. Better email engagement programs and win back campaigns sent to customers who have already moved on can help as well. 

### Repeat purchase rate
To figure out your repeat purchase rate,simply divide your total number of customers by your return customers. This is an excellent way to measure customer satisfaction because if you have a large number of customers returning that indicates that your customers are happy enough with your product or service to keep coming back. The numbers speak for themselves.

Unless you’re selling something where people truly only need one or can use the same product for a long period of time, a low repeat purchase rate is typically a bad sign for your business. It means it’s time to ask why your customers aren’t coming back. 

If you’re suffering from a lower repeat purchase rate, there are plenty of [ways to help improve it](https://blog.smile.io/how-to-calculate-purchase-frequency/ "How to calculate purchase frequency and how to improve it"). And even if yours is doing pretty well, any improvements to this will still translate into large financial gains for your brand. 

### Customer lifetime value
Closely tied to repeat purchase rate, your [customer lifetime value ](https://blog.hubspot.com/service/how-to-calculate-customer-lifetime-value "How to calculate customer lifetime value")is the total amount of sales your business will typically see per customer. And it stands to reason that the better your customer experience, the more business you will likely see from each of them. 

This is a great metric to keep an eye on as you put more of a focus on customer satisfaction. If you do it properly, you’ll be able to watch it grow over time as your focus on their experience has them coming back more and making larger purchases. 

Once you get to a point where you’re seeing higher lifetime value from each customer, you can really put all your focus on acquiring new customers, because the ones you have are already happy with your brand and extremely loyal to it. 

And here’s the real beauty of working to improve your customer satisfaction levels: the happier your existing customers are, the easier (and cheaper) it will become to [attract new customers](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/browsers-to-buyers/the-complete-guide-to-reviews "The complete guide to marketing with customer reviews").

### NPS – are your customers promoting your brand? 
Your NPS – [Net Promoter Score](https://blog.capterra.com/what-is-nps-net-promoter-score-explained/ "What is NPS? Net promoter score explained") – measures how likely your customers are to recommend your business to a friend. This is done with a brief survey asking your customers how likely they are to recommend your business on a scale of 1-10. Chances are, you’ve encountered this survey question embedded right into a software product you frequently use.

Answers between 0-6 reveal your detractors, 7-8 are your passives, and 9-10 are your promoters. Subtract the percentage of detractor responses from the percentage of your promoters and you’ve got your score. 

This can be a great option for businesses because it’s a relatively simple survey that your customers are likely already familiar with — and possibly more likely to engage with. It also takes just a moment to fill out. You can also [get a lot more out of it](https://blog.hubspot.com/service/what-is-nps "The ultimate guide to your NPS score") by leaving a spot for your customers to be able to leave qualitative feedback about how your business could improve. 

Re-calculating your NPS score over time can help you see how your customer satisfaction levels are rising or falling, so for best results you should do this once or twice a year.

### Customer reviews for qualitative and quantitative feedback 
Customer reviews go straight to the source about how your customers feel about you. And because they consist of both star ratings and the actual review, they also provide you with both quantitative and qualitative feedback. 


Customer review Swappa

Reviews can also tackle two different customer service issues, right at the source. [Responding to reviews](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/how-to-respond-to-negative-reviews "How to respond to negative reviews") and resolving customer issues helps keep individual customers happier. But taking it a step further and making changes to your business based on [common trends in your reviews](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/introducing-trustpilots-new-machine-learning-tool-review-insights "Review insights: using the wealth of insights in your customer reviews to better your business") helps ensure that future customers won’t have the same issues. 

Because of this, customer reviews are both a metric for customer satisfaction and a tool to help you engage with your customers and offer them better customer service, all at the same time. 

Customer reviews are a powerful customer satisfaction tool for one other reason. They offer your customers a place to engage with your brand – and for you to build trust in your brand by engaging with them. Your customers are going to be talking about your brand online either way, but collecting and responding to your customer reviews allows you to be a part of that conversation. 

### CSAT scores for a quick and simple pulse check 
[CSAT scores](https://www.qualtrics.com/experience-management/customer/what-is-csat/ "What is a CSAT and how do you measure it?") are another method of direct customer feedback. You survey your customers and give them a 1-5 scale to rank how satisfied or unsatisfied they are with your business. You take the number of customers that gave you a four or five – satisfied or extremely satisfied – divide by your number of survey responses, and multiply by 100. That gives you your percentage of satisfied customers. 

These can be emailed to your customer base as surveys, come as a popup at the end of checkout, be sent through SMS, or any other way you communicate with your customers. 

CSAT scores are a great way to get a general pulse of how your customers are feeling, but the main limitation here is the lack of qualitative feedback. CSAT doesn’t help you figure out where you’re missing the mark for your unsatisfied customers or how you could improve their experience going forward. 

## When you grow your customer satisfaction, you grow your business
Not all of these customer satisfaction metrics are going to be right for your business so it’s important to take a look at each of them and decide what’s right for you. Once you have an idea of which ones – and we definitely suggest more than one – make sense, then you can get started. 

We know that negative feedback is never fun, but shying away from it only hurts your business in the long run. Confronting your negative feedback head on is the only way to improve your business moving forward and create a better experience for your customers. 

If customer reviews seem like a good metric to measure and [improve your customer satisfaction](https://business.trustpilot.com/customer-stories/training-education/how-kaplan-internationals-customer-satisfaction-skyrocketed-with-trustpilot "How Kaplan International's customer experience skyrocketed with Trustpilot"), we’re here to help. [Click here ](https://business.trustpilot.com/request-demo "Trustpilot request a demo")to speak with one of our specialists and start collecting reviews from your customers today. 


What type of metrics measure customer satisfaction

What types of metrics measure customer satisfaction? 

Woman with glasses looking straight ahead

Consumer insights are an interpretation of human behaviour used by businesses to gain a deeper understanding of how their audience thinks and feels. Learn how to use them to better understand your customers, meet their needs, and grow revenue.

Listening empowers you to learn from and talk to your customers in order to create ever-improving experiences.

Businesses with quality data are more likely to collect actionable customer insights, which can help them grow their bottoms line in the long run.

## So what are consumer insights, exactly?

A consumer insight is an interpretation used by businesses to gain a deeper understanding of how their audience thinks and feels. Analysing human behaviours allows companies to really understand what their consumers want and need, and most importantly, why they feel this way. 

When consumer insight research is conducted properly, it should improve the effectiveness of how a company communicates to its customers, which is likely to change consumer behaviour, and therefore increase sales.

But [collecting good consumer insights can be challenging](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/introducing-trustpilots-new-machine-learning-tool-review-insights), so here is what you need in order to collect and use consumer insights properly:

__1. Good data quality__

Data quality is vital to the collection of consumer insights. Without high-quality data, your conclusions or results might suffer.

__2. A dedicated analytics team__

The role of your data analytics team is essential in order to understand how your customers think and behave. If you don’t have the right analytics team, it’s hard to understand what the data is telling you.

__3. Consumer research__

It’s important to understand and acknowledge consumer behaviour and consumer insights should help you engage with customers emotionally. In order to do that, [it’s essential not to ignore the results of your consumer research](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/how-staysure-uses-the-power-of-ai-to-build-customer-trust), whether you agree with them or not.

__4. Database and segment marketing__

Database marketing is a form of marketing using databases of customers to generate personalised communi cations. These databases can lead to personas, different sets of audiences or segments. As consumer insights remain theoretical, database marketing is another essential element to your research when it comes to testing and learning. Indeed, test actions are necessary if you want to turn insights into facts.

## But what’s the difference between market research and consumer insights?

__Market research__ can be defined as an effort to gather information about customers or markets. It provides information about market needs, market sizes, competitors and customers. It is the “what” of customers and markets. 

Market research delivers statistics and knowledge. 

__Consumer insights__ deliver the same, but tend to come with recommended actions that will help you amplify the company’s growth. This means the team in charge of consumer insights will deliver both data and narrative, allowing you to make use of the data.

Long story short, research tells us what is happening, whereas consumer insights tell us why it’s happening, and will allow us to make changes to our business in order to improve customer satisfaction, customer retention, and increase our bottom bottom line.

If you’re still unsure how you should be using these insights to influence your business and better engage customers, we’ve got you covered.

## Using consumer insights to amplify your marketing efforts

__Consumer insights help analyse the competition__
Whether or not you are the market leader in your industry, looking at how consumers talk about products and services in your industry can reveal a lot about consumers’ needs, and what you can implement to improve your own product, service, or business. 

Being aware of consumers’ conversations when it comes to other products can be extremely valuable, regardless of whether or not they mention or are aware of your business.

### Consumer insights help improve the customer journey


The customer journey’s 5 different stages: awareness, consideration, purchase, retention, and advocacy. Mapping your customer journey will help you understand your customer’s experience and should highlight any gaps you may have.

The customer journey’s 5 different stages: awareness, consideration, purchase, retention and advocacy.

Consumer insights can also help companies map their customer journey and identify any gaps where there might be some, as well as find what works best, and what can be improved for a better user experience and customer journey, from awareness to purchase and advocacy.

Forbes covered [a great example](https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2017/12/15/leveraging-customer-data-to-create-relevant-customer-experiences-2-examples/#731b07d961d3) of how consumer insights was used. Wayfair, a multi-billion dollar online home goods retailer conducted consumer research and analysed their data, and realised they needed to improve their overall customer experience. So they built an app that lets users take pictures of items they see and like giving the information needed so Wayfair can offer recommendations.

Not only did this research allow the business to improve customer experience, but the app now also provides the company with new insights into customers’ styles and needs. As a result, Wayfair saw a 50% increase in customer retention the year the app came out.

### Consumer insights help personalise your marketing

Mass marketing is a strategy in which a company decides to ignore targeted marketing and speak to a whole market instead. The example below illustrates mass marketing perfectly.



An example of mass marketing advertising: toothpaste advert

An example of mass marketing advertising

Today, companies offering a service or product used by many still tend to use mass marketing, like this toothpaste advert. Indeed, by definition of mass marketing advertising, mass-market products do not necessarily need to personalise their communications in order to sell more. 

But in a world where competition is so tough, personalisation has become a necessity for many retail brands out there. Targeted and personalised help communicate a better, clearer message, and therefore attract and retain customers.

That’s why consumer insights can help businesses understand why people buy certain products over other ones and what’s driving those preferences. 

This can help you refine your personas, and determine the best way to speak to your different audience segments. Here are a couple of examples of personalised marketing.


Very personalised website homepage

An example of personalisation

*Very* uses personalised messaging based on sign-in information and seasonal weather data to make a more intimate connection with the site visitor.

Spotify billboard displaying social proof and personalised content

Spotify’s new billboard campaign uses internal consumer data to create unique singular stories that highlighted how personal listening to music can be.

Netflix's personalised homepage

Netflix, on the other-hand, uses algorithms based on previous viewing behaviour in order to recommend the right kind of content to viewers.

Whether it’s with algorithms, internal data, or a mixture of internal and external data, consumer insights help refine the way you communicate to your customers - these brands all use consumer insights to better understand their audience and personalise their marketing and offerings.

Insights are essential to learn about and understand your audience better, as well as find deeper, more actionable insights to improve the way you market your business. 

There are many ways you can use insights to boost your company’s bottom line - so we’ve put this list of steps together to get you started!

### Getting started with consumer insights

- Establish what you want to learn: before conducting research, make sure you know what (and how) you’ll get your data. 
- Identify your resources: How will you obtain data, who’s going to collect it, who’s going to analyse it? Make sure you have enough time and employees dedicated to getting and using your consumer insights.
- What’s your collection method?: How you’ll collect data is extremely important. Are you targeting a specific audience? Existing consumers? Will you use a survey? A focus group? These are important questions. Trustpilot's Review Insights tool is a great way to get started.
- How will you use the data? Make sure your efforts are not going to waste. It’s important to plan and think ahead. Once you have the data, start thinking about what departments, processes, strategies, and initiatives might be affected and what the plan is for that.

Lastly, get started! Obtaining consumer insights is hard work but can pay off in the long run. Find out how Trustpilot reviews can help you collect great insights, learn about Trustpilot's [Review Insights tool here](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/introducing-trustpilots-new-machine-learning-tool-review-insights), or create a free Trustpilot account today to get started.


What are consumer insights and how do I use them? An introduction

Highlighting areas of improvement 

In this article, we'll show you how to improve customer service on your eCommerce site in order to increase your retention rate, improve your reputation, and increase your revenue.

And while many businesses utilise tactics like lowering prices, increasing deals, or offering discounts, they fail to realise the one area that can make a huge difference - customer service.

Good customer service has now become vital. Consumers are looking for friendly, customer-centric brands who care about what their customers think and feel. Review data from our upcoming research report shows that one-star and 5-star reviews most commonly mention ‘customer service’

Great customer service keeps your customers happy and loyal, brings your business more insights on what currently works and what can be improved, and helps you acquire new customers.

An Adobe Digital Shoppers Index report found that return and repeat shoppers make up over 40% of an eCommerce site's revenue despite only making up 8% of total shoppers. Repeat shoppers also generate five times more revenue per visit than first time shoppers. A great way to increase the chance of return and repeat visitors is by focusing on customer service.

This article will show you how to improve customer service on your eCommerce site in order to increase your retention rate, improve your reputation, and increase your revenue.

## Developing and improving your eCommerce customer service

### 1. Make your contact information easily accessible

Every page that contains information about your company, your products, or your services should contain your contact information, or at least an easy-to-find link to your ‘Contact’ page. You should also include contact information in the main navigation tab, the footer and consider adding your phone number or email address to both your ‘Contact’ and ‘About Us’ pages too.

These changes will reduce the amount of effort and friction customers or browsers will experience if they need support or have some kind of question. By giving them a way to get their issues sorted onsite, you’re decreasing the chance of having a visitor navigate away from your site and increasing their chance of making a purchase.

To provide more direct access, consider a pop-up or a permanent banner on the side. That way, if one of your customers feels the need to contact you while checking out your website, they can do so on the same page they’re browsing.

The Glossier 'Contact Us' page is both informative and helpful

Glossier Contact Page

Include your details in your FAQ section too. If your customers can’t find the answer to their question, they’re more likely to contact you straight away. If they can’t, then they might navigate away.

__What to include on your contact page:__

- Company name
- Address (consider including a map)
- Phone number
- Email address
- Contact form
- Opening hours
- Closing dates
- VAT number

### 2. Ask for feedback

To pinpoint the exact areas where you can improve your customer service, collecting customer feedback is one of the easiest ways to do it. Direct feedback will help you understand what your customers like and don’t like, what can be improved, and how to do it.

By asking for feedback, you’re showing your customers that you care about their satisfaction, and that you are constantly working towards ensuring potential customers are having a fantastic experience. Collecting feedback is necessary in developing your eCommerce business, reduce customer churn (or attrition), and boost loyalty.

__Different ways of asking for feedback:__

- On the phone
- By email
- By SMS
- With third-party review platforms
- Survey customers

Your customer feedback can also present an opportunity beyond customer service. By giving you insight and quantitative information on your reputation, you can leverage it as social proof for your marketing channels, increasing its performance.

### 3. Provide real-time help

When your site visitor is confused and upset, it’s better for your business to offer help as soon as it can, and that usually means instantly. It’s a great way to differentiate yourself from the other eCommerce companies, improve your customer service, and increase the chance of having that potential customer leave your site having made a purchase.

On-site live chats are a great customer service tool that allows you to engage with your existing or future customers via your website. Real-time customer service helps reduce churn, and boosts customer loyalty by increasing their chance of returning.

According to Kissmetrics, “44% of online consumers say that having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer.” Answering questions directly on-site means customers are more likely to have their issues resolved quicker, which keeps them engaged and interested in your business for longer.

95% of unhappy customers are more likely to return to your website if you have resolved their issue quickly and efficiently.

Nike Store offer a live chat function right on their product page

It’s also recommended to hire a community manager in order to look after your brand’s social accounts. Someone taking care of your social media accounts full time will help you assist angry customers on Twitter and Facebook, and will help you showcase how much you care about your customers’ satisfaction. It’s also a way to provide immediate help if a browser or customer has a question or concern.

With nearly half of digital buyers saying that reading customer feedback on social media influences their buying journey, you wouldn’t want to miss out on great customer service on social channels, would you?

### 4. Use your own customer's voice

With over 84% of consumers not trusting advertisements anymore, and 80% of people trusting other consumers’ feedback as much as personal recommendations, it’s become essential for eCommerce companies to use user-generated content (UGC) as much as possible. If you’re wondering how UGC plays into customer service, it all starts with the community.

Letting your customers review your product or service gives potential customers the opportunity to look for answers to their questions without having to get in touch with your customer service team. By leveraging reviews, you’re letting your customers create useful and unique content that will help people looking for basic answers. And by displaying them either via a third-party site or directly on your site, you’re showing visitors that you do care about your customers and their experience.

Encouraging UGC is also a great way to build communities of customers and create brand advocates. Loyal customers who are part of a brand community are generally willing to help new customers.

Dusk showcase reviews and user-generated content on their homepage

Estrid display their customers' most common questions on their FAQ page

Integrating your customers' most common queries on your FAQ page will help you address common pain points to reduce the number of customer calls. It’s a great and easy way to integrate unique content to your website while helping customers in the middle of their journey. It will save both you and your customers a lot of time.

### 5. Make your on-site experience seamless

All eCommerce companies should invest in their own website’s experience. After all, a poor site navigation experience makes for a poor customer experience, and you’re likely to lose out on potential customers as a result.

Let’s start with the search bar.

It’s important for customers to find what they’re looking for quickly and most of all, easily. Consider investing in a search bar that anticipates your customers’ questions or keywords as they type. McDonald’s website has a perfect example of this.

ASOS autofill their search bar with commonly typed keywords

Moving on to navigation… It’s important to speed up your website. 30% of people would abandon a website if it took more than 6-10 seconds to load.

Crazy, right?

The less consumers spend time looking for what they need, the better. If possible, try to make every product page accessible within 3 or less clicks, and make the checkout process as easy as possible with few ways to navigate away from the page.

## Great customer experiences are a must

A great customer experience means your customers are less likely  to come across a problem during their customer buying journey, which saves you time and money when it comes to the work your customer service team will have to do in the long run.

Using your own customers’ feedback to improve your customer experience and satisfaction is the best way to improve your overall customer service in the long run, and keep customers happy and buying.

To learn how Trustpilot reviews can help improve your customer service, request a free demo below.

5 Ways to improve your customer service on your eCommerce site

keeping customers happy and buying

keeping customers happy

In this article, we'll remind you of one of the cornerstones of marketing: your existing customers actually offer the ripest opportunities for further monetization.

But what if we slightly shifted the underlying idea here? What if we focused as much - if not more - energy on retaining customers as we do on attaining them?

What if we could shift our strategies to create more loyalty among those whom we’ve already earned instead of over-investing or risking resources in trying to find so much new? We're going to remind you of one of the cornerstones of marketing: your existing customers actually offer the ripest opportunities for further monetization. 

Retention, therefore, represents the most lucrative investment for savvy eCommerce teams looking to break away from the accepted status quo as we move further into 2020.

## The benefits of customer retention

A little time spent on retention activities can have a big payoff. If you haven’t heard about the benefits of client or customer marketing, let us remind you why it’s deserving of much more than a half-hearted acknowledgement.

- It’s 6x-7x more costly to acquire than retain customers, and by boosting your retention rate by just 5%, you can drive 25%-95% more profit.
- Loyal customers spend 31% more with a brand than the average consumer.
- You have only a [27% chance of a customer returning after one purchase… but a 54% chance of them returning after a second or third purchase](https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/first-time-buyers-active-customers-infographic/). 

These incredible statistics reaffirm this essential truth: *__retention__ deserves __attention__ and __intention__... at least as much (if not more) as acquisition*.

This strategic mindshift *must* be made if you want your marketing to be efficient and effective. 

Today, we're going to show you how to make this shift, sharing several techniques you can implement *right now* to start boosting your retention rate and revenue immediately.

## How to retain more eCommerce customers 

When it comes to retention, depending on your [higher-level marketing objectives](https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/rethink-your-marketing/), it’s all about inspiring first-time buyers to purchase again, executing personalized repeat and post-purchase campaigns, taking advantage of trigger- or event-based opportunities, and encouraging loyalty.

### A prerequisite – setting the stage for personalized interactions with customers

Go about your retention efforts as you might a new friendship. The best brands know how to take that relationship up to the next level, creating a trusted, go-to friend. The point I’m after is this: you’re creating a real, ongoing relationship with each individual customer.

It’s critical that you take the time, energy, and effort to intimately learn about the interests and preferences of each of these relationships that customers willingly enter into when they choose your brand. You must to get to know one another better… “personalized courtship” is a requirement of a successful retention strategy.

Those of an acquisition-only mindset may rarely stop to think, “How can we lovingly engage those we already have?” But since you’re reading this article, we’ll assume that’s not you. You want the loyal friend!

*How?*

Start with a good newsletter and preference center.

Don’t overlook the power of your newsletter! It’s perhaps the most versatile vehicle in any eCommerce marketer’s arsenal. With a list of opted-in subscribers, a quality newsletter with variable widgets and access to the right automation technology, you can create a world of incredible value… that reaches contacts over and over.

Preference centers (and connection to your CRM or martech solution) are a must-have so that new and long-time subscribers are able to set and amend the frequency and types of content they want to get from you. 

Once you get opt-ins and you begin to get to know customers, moving each through the funnel and attaining that initial purchase, it’s time to begin working with retention techniques. 

*Note: You shouldn’t be throwing around these tactics at random. Ensure they’re a strategic part of your [customer lifecycle marketing](https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/lifecycle-marketing/) strategy and that they [align with your business objectives](https://bit.ly/2IHaowp).*

### 1. First-time buyer to second time

Congrats — your new contact has made their first purchase! Now it’s time to send post-purchase content to this new customer with personalized recommendations based on what they just purchased. 

Even after one purchase, you can begin to identify customers’ purchase patterns and behavior and drive them toward their second purchase to help them advance in their loyalty status. 

The value of post-purchase emails for first-time buyers can’t be overstated:

brands work hard and smart to convert customers

Getting a first-time buyer to repeat isn’t easy (and you may not get a second chance), so we recommend spending some time thinking about how you want to set up these automations. 

You’ll want to use what you do know at this stage to make personalized offers (related items) including a personalized incentive to drive them toward their next purchase. 

Emarsys customer and fashion retailer, Luisaviaroma.com, saw a 37.5% increase in post-purchase campaign conversions. Outnorth, an outdoor Scandinavian clothing brand, saw a 25% uplift from first-time buyer programs!

Unfortunately, many brands still struggle to convert customers from first-time to repeat buyers. 70%-80% of a typical eCommerce business’ customers are single-order customers! So, you have to ensure that you optimize the post-purchase experience to drive that second purchase. 

*How?*

Use the information and customer preferences you do have at this juncture in the relationship to do follow-up personalization.

It’s important to follow up in a non-intrusive way where customers are opted-in to receive communications from you (whether email, SMS, mobile app, etc.). Additional cross-sell opportunities are the best way to generate revenue post-purchase. 

Bad post-purchase emails offer the same product customers already bought and are too salesy — and more retailers are doing this than should be the case. Good post-purchase content includes helpful content, relevant offers, and timely information related to previous purchases. Make the purchase process a seamless experience, positioning cross- and up-sells as an added convenience to enhance the quality and improve the function of whatever was just bought. 

### 2. Honor special events and milestones

These triggered, special event emails take advantage of a milestone or notable event in your relationship with the customer. 

They can be sent during a number of occasions and show customers that you know and care about them. Of course, each of these should be personalized with as much information as possible: date of initiation with your brand, length of time together, memories or acknowledgements of past purchases, and more.

*How?*

- [Create automations](https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/video-understanding-marketing-automation/) for birthdays, anniversaries, holiday or seasonal messages, loyalty status, back-in-stock, price drop, and apology (if necessary).
- Birthdays. Who doesn’t love a wonderful discount coupon for their birthday? The aforementioned Outnorth saw a 270% uplift from birthday campaign programs! The most effective birthday discounts utilize personalized codes (as opposed to one-size-fits-all).


personalized birthday email

Birthday email

- Anniversaries (with your brand). A lot of retailers take advantage of anniversaries (one year, two year, etc.) of customer-hood. You can help loyal customers celebrate with custom emails!

- Holiday-related or seasonal emails. Celebrate in style — and provide seasonal availability or hours information.

Seasonal email (sale) from anthropologie

Any good relationship works best when each party feels known and cared about. This is the core of retention marketing and the automations that make customers feel cared for! 

Sometimes, it’s the little things in marketing that can have the biggest impact.

### 3. See if there’s an opportunity to engage on other channels

Even though email should serve as the core, you should always provide implicit opportunities for customers to opt-in or follow you on other channels like SMS, social media, and on your website, to receive browser notifications, for instance. 

*How?*

“Cross-promote” channels.

The goal of diversifying your various touchpoints with each customer within your database is to effectively broaden the scope through which you can market to – or form deeper relationships with – each one. You have a better chance of a customer seeing and converting when they interact with you via email, follow you on social, and enable push notifications through your app than one who’s only receiving weekly emails.

One example of how to do this is to offer a discount within emails to opt-in to SMS updates. Provide in-store signage with incentives for downloading your mobile app. And, of course, enable all of these options on your website with a nice incentive in exchange.

Once you get to know your customers better, you can more overtly and openly request, announce, or show them why connecting with you via multiple channels is a benefit.

### 4. Use other tactics in tandem – and move more customers to become loyal buyers 

There are many other techniques and tactics you can implement at various stages within the buying cycle in a retention-oriented context in order to increase AOV, order frequency, and engagement.

*How?*

Here are three additional ideas for boosting retention. 

__1. Set up browse abandon and abandoned cart emails that will work.__ 

[Abandoned cart emails](https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/10-recommendations-for-abandoned-cart-emails-gizem-terzi/) effectively give contacts a second chance to buy. They:

- Allow for revenue recovery by bringing the customer back to complete the purchase
- Can be fully automated so there’s no need to think about them once they’re active
- Can include dynamic incentives based on the value of the cart

Why is that so important? 

Well, recovering just a tiny percentage of your customer base could markedly increase revenue. 

__2. Create and execute GDPR re-permission campaigns.__

If your organization relies on consent as the lawful reason for processing personal data, you must make sure that data you hold is GDPR-complaint in order to continue using it.

You must also have an audit trail of how, when, and where consent was obtained, so that you can provide evidence if required. If you can’t identify how, when, and where consent was obtained, the best option in order to be compliant is to *ask (to communicate with contacts) again*.

You can do this most effectively with [re-permissioning campaigns](https://www.emarsys.com/en/resources/blog/definitive-chapter-guide-re-permissioning-campaigns-gdpr-examples/) — where you’ll again seek the permission from contacts to email, text, or otherwise message them.

__3. Re-engage and retarget database contacts who show signs of leaving (or have already left) to get them buying again.__

When a customer begins to defect, it’s important to do what you can (without seeming creepy) to win them back. 

Why? You have history with these contacts — so it’s worth trying to make it work with them, as opposed to starting anew (in reality, you’ll obviously have concurrent acquisition campaigns running), but this is about salvaging what you’ve worked so hard to maintain.

Re-engagement or win-back campaigns show the customer, via their favorite channel (usually email) that “we miss you” and often ask “where have you been?”

Leverage personalized content here.

These emails can include personalized codes, product recommendations, and local information, too.


We Miss You Email

### To sum up...

As tempting as it is to focus exclusively on new customers, it’s your existing ones that offer the most value. 

You’ve got to give (personalized experiences) to get (more business). And we get it! At the end of the day, we all need more customers engaging at higher rates to drive profitable growth for our businesses, and to do retention in the first place.

The best strategies will ultimately find a healthy balance. 

Retention marketing is about getting to know existing buyers, what they want, like, and prefer, and then giving it to them. This is the recipe that will drive higher conversion and retention rates.

If you'd like to learn more about how online reviews can help you keep your customers happy and buying, [check out our Complete Guide to Reviews here](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/browsers-to-buyers/the-complete-guide-to-reviews)!


*Lindsay Tjepkema* is Marketing Director, Americas at Emarsys and host of the [Marketer + Machine podcast](https://www.emarsys.com/en/podcast/). She and her team deliver resources that empower marketers to seek out solutions and strategies that will allow them to focus on what they love – strategy, content, and creative – not technology. Although her true love is tech marketing, Lindsay's experience is built on time spent leading in-house teams, in agency settings, and independently running her own marketing consultancy.

How to keep existing customers happy & buying

review insights can lead to a higher TrustScore

Your TrustScore is given to you by your customers. It is an instant validation of your brand, of your product, and of your service. In this article, we give you tips to improve your overall score and reputation.

But the score needs to be earned and maintained, as it is an ever-changing representation of the experience customers have with your brand. And in order to maintain a high-score – one that can encourage new customers to come through - businesses need to be active and build loyal customer relationships that will translate into higher sales and better long-term revenue. 

To help businesses achieve success, Trustpilot has built an AI-powered tool that delivers [actionable insights](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/what-are-consumer-insights-and-how-do-i-use-them) from the emotional sentiment of both negative and positive reviews. But AI is just a tool, and businesses are those who need to collect feedback and act on it.  

## Why your TrustScore matters

A [TrustScore](https://support.trustpilot.com/hc/en-us/articles/201748946-TrustScore-Explained) is not just an average score of your reviews. To keep it relevant, we include multiple factors which are driven by the influence of the newest customer experience. And it is easy to understand why we calculate it this way - because it is important for customers to know if businesses are actively working on improving their service.

In a recent survey, over 5,900 consumers expressed a unique trust value in Trustpilot’s TrustScore. The more reviews a business has, the more consumers are likely to buy from it. Did you know that [87% of customers said they would not consider buying from 1 or 2-star rated brand](https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/online-review-stats/)?

The surprising finding was the impact of a score change and its correlation to trust. We discovered that by improving a 3-star review and turning it into a 5-star one, the likelihood of consumers buying from that company increased by a staggering 198%! This translates into more sales, more revenue, better customer relationships, and better long-term value for your brand. 


how many users would buy from you if your score improved

The correlation between TrustScore and Conversions

This, however, can not be achieved by hoping and wishing that customers will start leaving good reviews for no specific reason. 

Businesses who manage their reputation and work to improve their TrustScore are usually proactive in their efforts: they constantly engage with their customers, and most importantly, they act on their customers' feedback to try and get better. 

## How Staysure.co.uk maintains an 'Excellent' TrustScore with over 140,000 reviews

[Take the example of Staysure.co.uk](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/how-staysure-uses-the-power-of-ai-to-build-customer-trust), a UK-based insurance company that has collected over 140,000 reviews, most of which from happy customers.

The business chose to start using Trustpilot’s new AI tool - [Review Insights](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/introducing-trustpilots-new-machine-learning-tool-review-insights) - which analyses reviews almost instantly.

Using the insights identified by the AI-powered tool, Staysure.co.uk can now easily understand major customer concerns, and act to solve their issues before they become bigger problems. 

## Can an AI tool really help improve your TrustScore?

Yes and no. 

Yes, because we have built [Reviews Insights](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/how-to-achieve-your-company-goals-with-review-insights), an AI-powered sentiment analysis tool that can deliver meaningful insights based on what your customers are saying in their reviews.  

No, because the tool delivers reliable data-driven reports, but does not deliver shortcuts for business improvements.

The best, and the only way to improve your business results is to act on customer feedback. If your customers are expressing their negative sentiment with your brand, then you should ask yourself: “*Why are my customers having a bad experience and how can I change that?*”

customer sentiment tool trustpilot

Review Insights example

## So, what can you learn from Review Insights?

Our sentiment analysis tool can go through every single review and discover major topics for you to analyse. The goal is not necessarily to improve your Trustscore, but to improve your customer experience.  

If customers have a good relationship with your brand, they will happily write 5-star reviews, and will therefore influence a positive change in your Trustscore. 

But first and foremost, [Review Insights is a tool that can help you prioritise actions](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/features/review-insights). How you use the insights will determine the results you’ll get.

- __Review Insights as an early-warning and risk detector__. The AI-powered sentiment analysis is done in real-time, which makes it a unique source of information. You should prioritise sudden negative changes to learn what has gone alarmingly wrong. But, it goes both ways. A big positive change means you are doing something great! 

- __It can help transform bad reviews into great ones__. If you understand [why your customers are leaving 3-star reviews](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/learn-from-customers/bad-reviews-why-people-write-them-and-what-they-expect), you can easily start improving your customer relationships, and maybe incentivising a positive change towards 5-star reviews. Small changes can deliver great results. 

- __Empower your teams with meaningful and data-driven reports__. Reports from Review Insights can give your teams unique insights about customer needs, and offer solutions to improve their experience. 

- __Team performance monitoring__. We have seen customers using Review Insights as a tool for measuring the performance of their Customer Service teams. The sentiment can show customer satisfaction of your customer service, and used with [tagging in reviews](https://support.trustpilot.com/hc/en-us/articles/203840856-Tagging-and-pre-tagging-service-reviews), can help companies understand which teams need an incentive to perform better, and which teams need training. 

- __Validation of a new product or service__. Used with tagging, companies can track what customers like or dislike about a new product, and act timely to improve it or [respond to customers to manage expectations](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/how-to-respond-to-negative-reviews). If the feedback is positive, customer feedback can give you better ideas on how to make a good product even better.  

For customers, there is nothing more powerful and telling than a company’s TrustScore. The score itself is just a result of what businesses are doing in the background to maintain great relationships with their customers - a relationship built on trust, built on feedback, and sometimes helped by an AI. 

### To sum up...

- Your TrustScore defines the trust customers have in your brand. 
- It is useful for new customers to recognise you above your competitors.
- Research with 5,900 consumers suggests that star ratings are really influential. 
- AI can now help businesses increase their TrustScore by using actionable insights to improve their customer relationships. 

If you'd like to find out how Review Insights can help your business, why not request a free Trustpilot demo? It's quick and easy, just click the link below.


How AI can help you get a better TrustScore

Consumer behaviors around mental health and wellness and what this means for businesses

Consumer behaviors around mental health and wellness have been changing rapidly. What does this mean for your business?

Studies in the past few years have shown that [970 million people worldwide](https://www.singlecare.com/blog/news/mental-health-statistics/) have a mental health condition or disorder, and that anxiety [affects more than 284 million people](https://www.singlecare.com/blog/news/mental-health-statistics/ "Mental Health Statistics 2021"). And these studies were from before the pandemic, which has taken a massive toll on mental health for all of us. 

As mental health takes more of a focus, there are products and apps popping up left and right aiming to convince consumers that they can give them better peace of mind, and both happier and healthier lives. There’s also been a recent positive change in attitude towards wellness and mental health, which normalizes people getting the help they need to manage their situations. 

Regardless of what industry you’re in, being conscious of this changing landscape can benefit your company. So, how is consumer behavior reflected in mental health trends? And how can you make sure you’re adapting your business accordingly? 

## Mental health and the complex stigmas that come with it

Historically, there’s been a pervasive stigma around mental healthcare and seeking help for mental illness. These stigmas have also disproportionately affected different demographics based on [gender](https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/men-less-likely-women-seek-mental-healthcare-during-covid-19 "Men less likely than women to seek mental healthcare during COVID") and [race](https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/addressing-mental-health-black-community "Addressing Mental Health in the Black community"), making it even more challenging to seek help. Although each group is affected differently, the stigma around acknowledging mental health issues and seeking help exists for everyone. But there are positive signs that this is changing. 

[This study](https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/05/mental-health-survey "Survey: Americans becoming more open about mental health") by the American Psychological Association surveyed different age groups on their attitudes towards mental health and the results show how attitudes have improved for the better. 


The American Psychological Association surveyed American Adults on their attitudes towards mental health disorders 

American Psychological Association survey on attitudes towards mental health disorders

With 87% of adults agreeing that mental health disorders are nothing to be ashamed of and 86% saying they believe that people with mental health disorders can get better, this shows some recent strides towards acceptance around mental health issues.

The American Psychological Association survey included questions about stigma and fear around mental health disorders

American Psychological Association attitudes about mental health

Portions of the study, however, highlight the work still needed to be done to fix attitudes and stigma around mental health. With 39% saying they would view someone differently if they knew they had a mental disorder, and 33% saying people with mental health disorders scare them, this illustrates how challenging and complex it is to rid a society of stigmas and how much work there is still to be done. 

And chances are, your customers may be appreciative if you’d join the conversation in a meaningful way that makes sense for your business. 

## Consumer behavior gravitates towards services and products that support mental health and wellbeing 

So, how do these mental health trends translate into online searching and shopping behavior? And what do they mean for businesses hoping to do right by their customers by taking a stance on the hard topics?

### How consumers are researching health and wellness products and services

To learn a little more about how mental health plays into the way consumers have researched their purchases lately, we looked into how often consumers included phrases like *mental health*, *wellness*, and *well-being* in their reviews on Trustpilot during different time periods. 


Total number of reviews with related terms on Trustpilot from last year, compared with the year before that

Reviews about mental health by year comparison

Reviews about mental health year comparison

When we look at the most recent 12 months compared to the previous 12 month period, there’s a staggering 335%  increase of reviews mentioning these terms. Because the pandemic began around a year ago, this isn’t necessarily surprising. For most of the duration reflected in the column on the right, we were living with stresses in our life that none of us had ever experienced before. 


Total number of reviews with related terms on Trustpilot from the most recent 6 months vs the previous 6 months

Reviews about mental health 6 month comparison

But when we zoom in on life during the pandemic and look at the most recent 6 months compared to the 6 month period before that, we’re still seeing an increase in the number of reviews containing these phrases. 

And you might have assumed that the first 6 month period in the chart above — when the pandemic was beginning and many of us were adjusting to a completely new way of life — would have led to the most mentions of mental health in online reviews.  But this isn’t the case. 

This indicates that mental health and wellness — and the consumer demand for products that help with these things — are on a more permanent trend upwards as awareness towards mental health issues increases and seeking help becomes more common, regardless of current events.


Total number of reviews with related terms on Trustpilot from most recent 90 days vs the previous 90 days

Total number of reviews with related terms on Trustpilot from the most recent 90 days vs the previous 90 days


Reviews about mental health on Trustpilot

Now, if we look into the most recent 3 months compared to the 3 month period before that, we’re still seeing a pretty large increase of 172%. This chart is the most telling of all, as this period was centered around when the vaccine began rolling out. 

Even with the end of the pandemic finally in sight, consumers are still putting more of an emphasis on the effect products or services have on their mental health — likely to help other shoppers find businesses that won’t give them new gray hairs as part of the customer experience.  

### Mental health trends with apps and the quick shift to online support 

Reviews are just one indicator of these trends in consumer preferences and needs. The shift to increased online interaction has created demand for both new apps and online services around health and wellness, and pushed previously in-person services like therapy and psychiatry online as well.

As with many other industries today, apps are one of the most effective ways for brands to interact with their customers and keep them engaged. Mental health and wellness are no exceptions. The global market size for apps geared towards mental health was valued at [40 billion USD in 2020](https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/mhealth-app-market "mHealth Apps Market Size") and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17.7% from 2021 to 2028. This has only been accelerated by the pandemic. One study found that in the UK, [downloads for mental health apps increased 200%](https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252494669/Covid-19-has-led-to-a-25-increase-in-health-app-downloads-research-shows) from the summer of 2019 to the summer 2020. 

There are apps full of self help guides and tips on living with depression, meditation apps, and apps that help you get better sleep. There are even [apps filled with fun games](https://www.happify.com/) that are actually scientifically designed to reduce stress, build resilience, and overcome negative thought habits. Regardless of anyone’s personal situation or needs, there is likely an app out there to [help them find more peace and well-being](https://www.verywellmind.com/best-mental-health-apps-4692902 "The 8 best mental health apps").

Although online therapy was already starting to become popular, the pandemic created an extremely stressful situation for all of us — that also cut in-person interactions out of the picture. This led to an explosion in online services for therapy and psychiatry. 


Reviews are a great way to help you find online therapy companies

Customer review therapy

Customer review of therapy provider

[Ginger](https://www.ginger.com/ "Ginger - On-demand mental healthcare"), an on-demand therapy and mental healthcare app, [saw their utilization rates rise](https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/demand-for-virtual-mental-health-soaring-here-are-notable-trends-who-using-it-and-why "Demand for virtual mental healthcare is soaring") to their highest ever last September, in the middle of the pandemic. Usage of their text-based mental health coaching was up 159% and virtual therapy and psychiatry were up 309% compared to their pre-covid averages. 

And it’s not just that current customers are using these services more. Doctor On Demand reported that throughout last fall there were large increases in new patients seeking teletherapy – [up over 50% throughout October](https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/demand-for-virtual-mental-health-soaring-here-are-notable-trends-who-using-it-and-why "Demand for virtual mental healthcare is soaring") and even higher than the initial spikes when the pandemic hit last spring. 

All of this is to say — the strong consumer appetite for mental health and wellness support is likely here to stay. No matter what industry your business belongs to, it’s a good idea to keep this consumer trend top of mind. 

## How to stay relevant to the consumer trend of wellbeing and mental health

The rise in awareness around mental health and demand for more wellness focused lives will not only impact companies in the wellness or mental healthcare industries. [Some of the biggest workplace predictions](https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2021/12/28/4-post-pandemic-mental-health-trends-and-predictions-for-2021/?sh=5e31c855de5b "4 post pandemic mental health trends to watch") for employers coming out of the pandemic revolve around employee wellness and happiness. 

### Employees aren’t the only ones who notice an employer brand 

For starters, companies will likely put more of a concrete focus on employee well-being into practice, instead of just talking about it as a way to build their employer brands. An increase in work-from-home policies, more PTO — or encouragement to actually use your PTO – along with free access to meditation and wellness apps, and better benefits packages in terms of mental health and therapy will become more prevalent in the workplace as employers try to alleviate stress for employees and compete for top talent. 

Scott Shute, Head of Mindfulness and Compassion Programs at LinkedIn, believes that the emphasis for employee wellness should and will [come from leadership teams as well](https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2021/12/28/4-post-pandemic-mental-health-trends-and-predictions-for-2021/?sh=5e31c855de5b "4 post pandemic mental health trends to watch"), not just human resources. Regardless of talk around wellness programs and work-life balance, if compassionate leadership and advocacy for these programs isn’t coming from the very top of the organization in a very clear way, they likely won’t be successful in the long run. 

For organizations looking to take better care of their employees, there are an increasingly large amount of companies [popping up to help with this](https://snacknation.com/blog/corporate-wellness-companies/ "Top 40 best corporate wellness programs"). From wellness retreats or multi week training programs, to gamified models that encourage some healthy competition between employees rewarding them for healthy behaviors, there are solutions to meet every organization’s wellness needs. 

### Fresh tips for getting your business involved with wellbeing and mental health

No matter your industry, there’s a number of meaningful ways your business can offer support to those struggling with mental health and wellness. Here are some ideas to get you started:

#### Shine the spotlight on any areas where you’ve improved the well-being of your customers 

It can be tempting to think that this has nothing to do with you if your business isn’t in the mental healthcare or wellness industries, but that actually couldn’t be further from the truth. More often than you think, businesses can help their customers’ mental health in the most surprising ways. It’s likely that this furniture manufacturer had no idea their beds could impact someone’s mental health in such a positive and real way. 


Products can sometimes help customers in surprising ways 

Review of product that helped with anxiety 

Do you have reviews like this from customers talking about how your product has improved their wellbeing in an unexpected way? Consider putting together an email or social campaign featuring these reviews and tailor the message around your dedication to improving the lives of your customers.


This business helped alleviate their customer's anxiety 

Review of service that helped with anxiety 

#### Showcase your commitment to the mental health of your employees

If you do have employee wellness programs in place, show that off and use it to your advantage. Talk about it on your social channels and make it a part of your brand as a whole, not just your employer brand. Many customers want to [shop with companies](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/6-ways-to-make-trust-your-essential-brand-differentiator&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1616532559978000&usg=AOvVaw28Xs6-FQ6YDwbMi_OG4Jx8 "The value of a trustworthy brand reputation") they feel align with their personal values. 

If you’re focusing on the wellness of your employees that can go a long way in terms of your brand reputation. These things matter to many customers as well, not just your employees. 
Collaborate with local wellness companies 

Collaborating on promotions and activations with local wellness companies can be a really great way to promote wellness for companies with a product offering or service that has nothing to do with mental health or well-being. Partnering with a local yoga or meditation studio to offer discounts on each other’s offerings with each purchase is a great way to gain new customers for you both and encourage wellness regardless of the industry you’re in. 

## It’s time to lean into mental health trends

One of the most important changes that may come out of this is that because of the pandemic consumers [have become more comfortable](https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/health-care/consumer-health-trends.html "2020 Health care consumer survey") sharing data around their health. The more they’re willing to adopt tools and share their data, the more these tools can be improved and better solutions can be designed for anyone struggling with their mental health. 

There are numerous examples recently of how data, AI, and mental health can come together to shape real solutions for people who are struggling. Since the pandemic began, the Department of Veteran Affairs is increasingly [relying on AI-based analytics](https://ai.healthcareitnews.com/ai-powered-healthcare/ai-based-program-enhances-mental-health-monitoring-veterans "AI- based program enhances mental health monitoring for veterans") to monitor the mental health of veterans. And because of how mental illness can affect each patient in such different ways, AI isn’t just helping identify mental illness in patients, it’s helping [minimize the trial and error](https://towardsdatascience.com/machine-learning-and-mental-health-7981a6001bd5 "Machine learning and mental health") required in developing individual treatment plans for mental illness as well. 

Between breaking down stigmas and improving treatment plans and solutions, perhaps the future might look a bit brighter for all of us. 


Trustpilot Consumer Insights: Consumer behaviors around mental health and wellness and what this means for businesses

Trustpilot Consumer Insights: Consumer behaviors that changed in 2020, and what to expect in 2021

2020 changed the way consumers search and shop. To better understand the shift in consumer behavior, and what kind of trends businesses should expect to see emerge in 2021, we took a look at global consumer activity on Trustpilot. Here are the findings.

It’s safe to say that the period of self-isolation we all had to go through changed the way consumers search and shop, whilst businesses have had to adapt to new channels of communication, [new consumer behaviors](https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/retail/our%20insights/how%20covid%2019%20is%20changing%20consumer%20behavior%20now%20and%20forever/how-covid-19-is-changing-consumer-behaviornow-and-forever.pdf), and new audiences.

With all of the [constant adjustments brands have had to make](https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/retail/our%20insights/how%20covid%2019%20is%20changing%20consumer%20behavior%20now%20and%20forever/how-covid-19-is-changing-consumer-behaviornow-and-forever.pdf) in 2020, what can businesses expect in 2021?

As we start to see light at the end of the tunnel, [consumer behavior will no doubt be greatly impacted](https://obaninternational.com/blog/planning-for-2021-part-1-changes-in-consumer-behaviour/) once again, forcing companies to change their approach.

To better understand the 2020 shift in consumer behavior, and what kind of trends businesses should expect to see emerge in 2021, our Trustpilot team took a look at global consumer activity on our platform from July 2020 to January 2021. All Trustpilot data was taken on January 31st 2021.

Here are the findings...

## 1. The businesses consumers researched the most

There’s no doubt customer reviews can show us a lot around consumer shopping habits. 

While there are a few different reasons why people read them, consumers often research reviews when they’re looking to make a purchase, so pageviews on different types of companies can tell us a lot about what consumers are currently in the market for.


1 Company profile views last six months

It’s fascinating to see that between July 1st 2020 and January 31st 2021, shopping & fashion was the most researched industry for customer reviews, even throughout the pandemic. [One survey](https://fashionista.com/2020/07/quarantine-shopping-habits-survey-results) from the end of last summer digs deeper into the types of clothing people are purchasing. Were they purchasing more athleisure while being stuck at home or – perhaps – were they stocking up on outfits for a post-pandemic world? As vaccinations continue globally, this could suggest some interesting purchasing trends...

Will fashion retailers have an opportunity for heavily increased sales even before the pandemic ends, as people prepare for newly invigorated social lives and attempt to spread out their purchases? 

It’s relatively unsurprising that Electronics & Technology comes in at second for the most researched types of products on Trustpilot, and this actually wasn’t the case for portions of 2019, before the pandemic hit. This category includes home appliances in addition to phones, computers, software, etc. 

As people around the world have been stuck inside more than ever in recent history, it comes as no surprise to see consumers looking at purchasing and upgrading their lives and homes with these types of products. The big question here is whether or not this pattern in researching products will continue after the pandemic ends, when people are spending considerably less time at home. 

Considering the [flood of new investors to the market as the pandemic hit](https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-investing-covid-pandemic-new-easy-apps-2020-9), and the general financial uncertainty that has affected many families during the pandemic, it’s no surprise that Money & Insurance appears as one of the top categories (3rd) shoppers researched on Trustpilot between July 2020 and January 2021. There are many different types of financial services and products out there, and the pandemic has made all of us painfully aware of how quickly our own financial situations can change when something like COVID-19 happens. 


## 2. The businesses consumers reviewed the most

Today’s consumers are more inclined to write reviews when the experience they’ve had strikes an emotional chord, whether it’s positive or negative. So if a person has had a great experience, they’re likely to applaud the company with a good review. If, however, they’ve had a poor experience, chances are they will leave a bad review out of frustration.

Helping peers make a better buying decision, sharing a good or bad experience, and rewarding a company for their stellar customer service are some of the top reasons why today’s shoppers like to leave reviews at the end of the journey.

From July 2020 to January 2021, Trustpilot received a whopping 22.4 million service reviews.


2 Total number service reviews

And that’s not all. Consumers also left over 3 million product reviews on Trustpilot.com in the same period of time.

3 Total number product reviews

Now that we’ve got a better understanding of why consumers write reviews, and how many service and product reviews Trustpilot has received in that timeframe, here’s a detailed breakdown of the most reviewed types of businesses on Trustpilot.com from July 2020 to January 2021.

### Global service reviews per industry between July 2020 & January 2021


4 Service reviews per industry months

From July 2020 to January 2021, the three industries which received the most service reviews were B2B businesses, shopping & fashion and home & garden.

B2B businesses received over 2.8 million service reviews, or 12.5% of all service reviews left in the same period of time. 

Once again, it is surprising to see that in the midst of a pandemic, shopping & fashion businesses still received more than 2.7 million service reviews, or approximately 12% of all service reviews, given that our latest Fashion report found that [72% of fashion consumers spent less or the same as they did before the pandemic](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/why-ethical-fashion-brands-are-future-proof).

There’s no doubt the home & garden industry [benefited from lockdown in 2020](https://www.21digital.agency/blog/home-garden-sector-booms-during-covid-19/). With most of the world population confined to their homes all year, people invested both time and money in their home and garden. This trend was reflected in the amount of reviews the home & garden sector collected on Trustpilot. The industry received approximately 2.6 million reviews between July 2020 and January 2021, or 11.6% of all service reviews left during that time frame. 

These three sectors were closely followed by electronics (≅2 million) and finance and insurance (≅1.4 million). 

All categories saw a dip in reviews in the late summer and early fall of 2020 (August and September), and most categories observed a spike in service reviews towards the end of the year, in November and December, likely as a result of events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holidays. 

B2B businesses, shopping & fashion, home & garden, and electronics were the categories that saw the biggest spike of customer service reviews in Q4 of 2020. These sectors were also the most reviewed industries of Q4 2019, which demonstrates the importance of these verticals, whether in times of crisis or not.

### Global product reviews per industry between July 2020 & January 2021

5 Product reviews per industry last six months

When looking at product reviews in the same period of time, the three categories which received the most reviews were home & garden, shopping & fashion and beauty & wellbeing.

Unsurprisingly, the home & garden industry received just over 509,000 product reviews, or 16.9% of all product reviews left in the same time frame. Shopping & fashion received about 492,000 product reviews, or 16.4% of all product reviews. 

In July 2020, [a Trustpilot and London Research study](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/2020-consumer-report-combating-misinformation-in-the-health-beauty-sector) found that the coronavirus pandemic prompted a significant leap in spending in the health and beauty markets. 59% of US consumers and 55% of UK consumers said they were spending more on health and beauty products due to the coronavirus crisis. With so many consumers buying from the beauty & wellbeing industry, Trustpilot received over 388,000 product reviews in this sector, which equates to about 12.9% of all product reviews.

These were closely followed by electronics (≅227,000) and entertainment (≅180,000), which comes as no surprise given the current circumstances.

Most of these categories seemed to have a stable amount of product reviews throughout the summer and fall of 2020, and observed a spike around the holidays and after the Black Friday rush, in December 2020.

However, the three industries with the most product reviews – home & garden, shopping & fashion and beauty & wellbeing – all observed a much bigger dip in the late summer and early fall (August and September), and saw a much higher increase in product reviews than any of the other industries pictured, starting earlier – in October 2020, suggesting that consumers were less interested in doing their shopping online and leaving reviews in the peak of summer, when measures were eased in most countries.


Find out more about the importance of consumer insights in times of uncertainty

## 3. The top reasons behind why consumers leave online reviews 

The Trustpilot team also analyzed millions of 1 and 5-star reviews left between August and December 2020 in order to better understand the top reasons behind why consumers leave online reviews on our platform. Here’s what we’ve observed.

### A. The one reason consumers recommended a business to others in 2020

We found that one of the most mentioned keywords in 5-star reviews was “delivery”, appearing in over 1.3 million of reviews, a whopping 17% of all 5-star reviews, between August and December 2020.

Another common word in 5-star reviews was “customer service”, with just over 500,000 mentions in the same six-month period.

“Shipping” came last, with just under 160,000 mentions, a mere 2% of all 5-star reviews left during the same timeframe. 

This review data confirms that in times of crisis, customer service is one of the best assets a business can have to combat uncertainty, build trust and improve customer satisfaction.

Companies which were able to continue delivering their products quickly and efficiently, whilst still offering great customer service were clearly the brands that truly stood out in the eyes of consumers in the midst of this pandemic.

### B. The one reason consumers decided to take their business elsewhere in 2020

When analyzing 1-star reviews left between August and December 2020, we observed that one of the top reasons why consumers left bad reviews was “customer service”, with over 210,000 mentions in just six months, or about 18% of all 1-star reviews in that period of time.

“Delivery” was also one of the most repeated words in 1-star reviews with over 174,000 mentions, which represents approximately 14% of all 1-star reviews.

“Shipping” was, once again, the least-mentioned, with only 39,000 of 1-star reviews containing the keyword.

Looking back at this analysis, it is clear that bad customer service and delivery issues were two of the top reasons why consumers felt the need to leave a negative review and take their business elsewhere in the second half of 2020. Proof that every business should always strive to [deliver great customer experiences](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/5-reasons-why-customer-experience-is-the-pulse-of-every-business) and continuously [invest in their customer service](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/6-types-of-online-customer-service-you-can-implement-today). 

## 4. Businesses who respond to customer reviews have higher star ratings 

Responding to reviews ([and how you do so](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/dos-and-donts-best-practices-for-responding-to-reviews)) can have a huge impact on customer satisfaction with your brand. We separated companies by industry and then by average star rating, to compare that with whether or not companies respond to their customer reviews. 

6 TrustScore vs Number of responses to reviews

When we sort by the amount of reviews a company has replied to, you can see that the top domains have very high star ratings. This could suggest that being smart about responding to reviews ([especially responding to negative reviews in the best ways for your brand](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/how-to-respond-to-negative-reviews)) can be incredibly effective in achieving a high level of customer satisfaction. 

Something else that this data points to is the sheer number of reviews for all of the top groups in here. Unprompted, reviewers typically only leave reviews if they have an emotional experience. Unfortunately, those can often be [negative ones](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/learn-from-customers/bad-reviews-why-people-write-them-and-what-they-expect). 

These companies have relatively high numbers of reviews, so chances are they’re asking for feedback from each and every customer that does business with them. Since these typically include many happy customers who simply didn’t think to leave reviews, this can balance out the reviews from negative customers in your overall star rating. 

When we reverse the graph, it shows us the domains by industry and star rating with the lowest number of replies (with the exception of one domain). Here, we can mostly see two and three-star companies. While we do see a fair amount of companies that are responding to a good percentage of their reviews, they all have a low number of reviews in total. 


7 Star rating reverse

This can also point to companies who are not actively collecting reviews, but letting reviewers come to them. It’s likely that most of the customers leaving them reviews are the ones unhappy enough to search out their profile pages and leave reviews. 

The biggest takeaways here are that businesses should have strategies in place around actively collecting customer feedback and responding to all reviews. If you don’t have a plan for either of these two things, your online reputation could be at risk. 

## Trends to look out for in 2021 

In 2020, businesses have had to adapt to a new reality: consumer purchasing behaviors changed drastically, leaving brands with the challenge of keeping their head above water whilst trying not to be too intrusive or pushy in their customers’ eyes.

In these times of uncertainty, consumers have also been turning to their peers a lot more than usual and looking for third-party validation more than ever before when making purchasing decisions online. Naturally, this has majorly affected the amount of reviews read and written on platforms like Trustpilot.com in the last couple of months.

It’s safe to say customer reviews have become such an invaluable tool, both for consumers and businesses. Today’s consumers want to engage with more human brands, brands who put their customers at the heart of everything they do. Consumer trust is truly one of the most important things a business can build to cope during difficult times.

So what can we expect in 2021? 

We asked Gavin Laugenie, Head Of Strategy & Insight at [dotdigital](https://dotdigital.com/), for some of his 2021 predictions:

“It’s always tricky predicting or anticipating trends because change is inevitable. 2020 highlighted that fact more than ever. It was all about how we adapted to the obstacles in our paths. Which is why I say, 2021 is the year of adaptability. Your marketing needs to mirror the same agility you and your team display. That means having powerful data-crunching AI to segment and serve up accurate data to deliver targeted messages to your audience on the channels that will make the most significant impact at any given time. Email remains king, but as consumer behavior continues to change regularly, complementing email with live chat, SMS push etc. will help deliver the contextual messages your customers demand. The inbox is more crowded than ever, so your content needs to be empathetic, thought-provoking and not solely conversion driven. Spice up your creative; show some flare, be interactive, sow the seed of intrigue. But above all, have faith in your tech and be ready to rip up plans and pivot when circumstances inevitably change, and you require a new strategy.”

So what kind of changes can businesses prepare for this year? And how can reviews continue to be such a huge part of the consumer journey when the pandemic comes to an end and shops start to reopen? 

Well, after over a year of non-stop online shopping, it’s clear consumers are in need of more human contact and interactions than ever before. 

In the last few months, we’ve seen brands organise [virtual events](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.prdaily.com/5-consumer-behavior-trends-pr-pros-should-know-for-2021/&sa=D&ust=1612280103686000&usg=AOvVaw0gVkL7rzDb0-YYZFm4XEMp), and offer [virtual try-ons](https://www.prdaily.com/5-consumer-behavior-trends-pr-pros-should-know-for-2021/) (brands like Fenty, Lancôme or IKEA already offer this technology to consumers) in an attempt to offer more real-life experiences to their customers. 

But consumers’ growing desire to shop from [smaller businesses](https://www.retailtimes.co.uk/two-thirds-of-consumers-more-likely-to-shop-locally-compared-to-a-year-ago-mastercard-shows/) and [purpose-driven brands](https://blog.euromonitor.com/top-10-global-consumer-trends-in-2021/) could also mean that brick and mortar shops will be making a comeback when life resumes.

As reviews become more and more important, it’s safe to say that businesses should continue to innovate, adopt new technologies, create new content (e.g. product videos) and continue to offer great customer service in order to keep consumers both happy and engaged online. And when traditional shopping outlets reopen and consumer behaviors adjust once again, continuing to capture and learn from customer reviews should still be a priority for all businesses, both online and offline.

If you’d like to learn more about the importance of trust and third-party validation in times of crisis, check out the article below:


The importance of trust in times of uncertainty

__*This article was co-written by [Flora Frichou](https://www.linkedin.com/in/florafrichou/) & [Joseph Russell](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-russell-ny/)*__

Turning-Reviews-into-Revenue-with-insights

Trustpilot shares the best ways to use online reviews to improve customer service and positively impact revenue, and covers how their Zendesk integration makes the whole process easier.

And with the power of the internet available in the backpocket of most consumers, online reviews and referrals have become more important than ever before. 

That’s why it’s no shock that user-generated ratings have revolutionised the shopping experience for eCommerce operations as well as brick and mortar stores — no matter the industry.

Ratings and reviews are an easy way to build brand trust and loyalty between you and your customers. More so, according to a [study by Harvard Business School](https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/12-016_a7e4a5a2-03f9-490d-b093-8f951238dba2.pdf), consumer reviews have a direct impact on revenues. 

Simply put — the better (and more) reviews you have, the higher your chances are at having a better business reputation that leads to brand trust and loyalty - which inevitably leads to more sales.

In this article, we’ll share the best ways to use online reviews to improve customer service and positively impact your revenue, and discuss how our Zendesk integration makes the whole process easier.

## 1. Collecting customer reviews

Online reviews play a crucial role in determining the success of your business because they aren’t just an ancillary aspect of a purchasing decision. 

This year, we observed an [11% decline in trust globally](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/4-things-every-business-owner-should-know-about-the-state-of-reviews), with only 71% of people admitting they trust consumer brands. Nowadays, buyers want more. They want to hear about their peers’ experiences with a brand, not just what the company has to say about it. 

In fact, [the same study](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/the-critical-role-of-reviews-in-internet-trust) found that 89% of global consumers check online reviews as part of their online buying journey, and 49% of global consumers consider positive reviews one of their top 3 purchase influences.

And according to Psychological Science, in a situation with two competing products with similar ratings, consumers are more likely to buy the product with more reviews. By harnessing the wisdom of crowds, positive reviews can be a game changer when it comes to a customer’s decision to choose your brand.

So how can you make sure your customers leave reviews after their purchase? Simply [ask your customers](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-asking-for-customer-feedback). By proactively presenting your users with the ability to easily leave a review, you can maintain transparency and solicit reviews.

Now that you’re asking for feedback and receiving it, here’s how you can leverage it to highlight important consumer data.


## 2. Identifying trends

Did you know that collecting and tagging your Trustpilot reviews could give you valuable insights into your current customer experience and how to better your business in the long run?

Our sentiment analysis tool, [Review Insights](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/introducing-trustpilots-new-machine-learning-tool-review-insights), can go through every review for you, and discover major topics that you can analyse. The goal is to help you [improve customer experience](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/how-to-improve-customer-experience-on-your-website).

Indeed, the better the customer experience and service, the more likely it is that your customers will have a good relationship with your brand. This will inevitably lead to better reviews.

Trustpilot also lets you use tags to filter review content by relevant topics related to your product or service. This means you can easily get an overview of your feedback and identify specific trends. 

Review tagging can be an extremely valuable tool when it comes to better understanding your company's strengths and weaknesses, based on customer feedback. These insights have the power to improve your service and experience, boost your sales and revenue, and help you retain your customers.

## 3. Improving customer service with our Zendesk integration

A Trustpilot and Canvas 8 study found that 82% of UK consumers have a positive view towards companies that respond to reviews, and 64% of global consumers would prefer to buy from a responsive company over one that appears perfect. 

There’s no doubt responding to reviews is important, but it can be tricky to identify the reviews that need responses. That’s where our [Zendesk integration](https://support.trustpilot.com/hc/en-us/articles/227199548-Zendesk-Trustpilot-Integration) comes in. The integration helps you streamline your customer service by highlighting reviews that need your attention.

Indeed, Zendesk automatically checks your business’s Trustpilot profile every few minutes, so if you get a new review at or below a star threshold rating that you have determined, Zendesk will create a new ticket for you. 

You can then read and reply to the review from within Zendesk. Your reply will automatically appear on your business profile, and if the customer responds to, or updates, their review based on your answer, their Trustpilot review will automatically be updated.

Responding to your feedback and showing your commitment to doing better as a business is what will differentiate you from other brands. Negative reviews can, when well-handled, provide balance, help build trust and transparency (assuming you addressed the issue efficiently), and turn a hesitating visitor into a long-term customer.

By approaching consumer insights as an opportunity rather than a threat, you’ll soon see your customer service and customer experience improve, and your sales and revenue increase. 

We hope you found these tips helpful. If you’d like to learn more about the importance of consumers insights, and how to handle negative feedback well, read our ‘Bad Reviews’ report by clicking the link below:


Bad reviews: why people write them, and what they expect

Turning reviews into real revenue with consumer insights

customer service trustpilot and hubspot research

Today, overlooking customer service simply isn’t an option anymore. In the current competitive landscape, companies have to work harder than ever before to stand out from the competition. While discounts and low prices can help you acquire new customers, they certainly won’t help you retain them. 

As customers become more and more empowered, the need for customer-centric companies who care about customer experience is rapidly growing. 
 
Trustpilot review data shows that one-star and 5-star reviews most commonly mention ‘customer service’. Yet, whilst most companies like to say they are “customer-first”, too many of them either don’t listen to customers or don’t have ways to make it actionable. 

According to a [2019 HubSpot research study](https://offers.hubspot.com/state-of-customer-service), 88% of people agree that customers have higher expectations than in the past, and 89% agree that customers are more likely than ever to share positive or negative experiences. 

It’s time to take action. 

In this article, we will show you how to up your customer service game, and why you should consider doing it with reviews.

## Why reviews will boost your customer service standards

### 1. Let your customers do the talking

Today, buyers are on the hunt for [social proof](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/what-is-social-proof-and-why-is-it-important-for-marketing). According to HubSpot, reviews, ratings and testimonials rank second highest of everything people search for when doing online research.  
69.5% of companies also admit that review sites, social media and word-of-mouth directly drive leads for their business. 

If you’re not asking your customers to share their opinion, you might be missing out!
"Today’s buyers trust customers, not companies. When marketers harness this social proof, it can drive leads and generate revenue, but very few are doing so. There is still an advantage for marketers who can build the voice of the customer into their marketing efforts, but they need to act quickly," said Michael Redbord, GM Service Hub, HubSpot.

We all know it’s getting easier for consumers to compare companies online. This only makes it harder for businesses to stand out from the competition, and retain customers over time. In 2019, 95% of consumers do online research as part of their buying journey, which often involves looking for social proof.

Delivering a great experience and even better customer service helps boost confidence and improves loyalty in the long run. That’s why companies providing excellent service often put customers at the heart of everything they do. 

Did you know that, according to HubSpot Research, almost half of businesses who say they are “customer-centric” don’t actually do anything about it? Today, 42% of companies don’t survey or collect customer feedback, and only 19% of brands have a customer advocacy program.
Collecting reviews, and showcasing feedback throughout all channels provides extra information about your company, your products, and your customer service. This significantly boosts customer confidence.

Social proof on-site reviews

third-party validation online reviews

Believe it or not, leveraging reviews is a great way to improve your user experience, and answer some of your customers’ questions. 
________

Trustpilot tip: Reading customer reviews can help you identify recurring questions. Why not use this to update your FAQ page and boost your customer service standards? 
________

Customers are always going to conduct their own research — by giving them the information up front, they won’t have a reason to leave your site.

### 2. Use online reviews to identify trends

Marketing Manager at Mannys

Earlier, we asked how excellent customer service is defined. Providing great customer service means understanding your customers and your audience, their needs, and their wants. 

Great customer service also means meeting and exceeding expectations, every single time. No, that doesn’t mean getting it right every day — after all, we’re only human. However, you should be trying your best, and putting the customer at the heart of everything you do. Doing so will result in great communication and resolution skills, and therefore, a better brand reputation.

[According to HubSpot](https://offers.hubspot.com/state-of-customer-service), 74% of companies say they are measured on customer satisfaction, yet only 58% of companies survey customers. 

How is customer satisfaction being measured without feedback from customers? How is great customer service being achieved without insights from customer feedback?

Reviews helps you collect fresh consumer insights which highlight the areas of development, and the opportunities to improve your service and grow your business. 

Today, only 54% of customer service teams report to a customer success department. [Trustpilot’s new Review Insights tool](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/introducing-trustpilots-new-machine-learning-tool-review-insights) is powered by Artificial Intelligence technology. It allows you to detect trends, identify customer sentiment, and work towards a better customer experience and customer service. If you haven’t got a customer success department yet, it might be time to consider creating one!

trustpilot review insights customer sentiment

Asking for reviews shows how much you care about customer satisfaction, and how hard you are working towards improving your customer experience and your customer service.

### 3. Start acting on consumer insights

You’ve started collecting reviews, and you’re slowly receiving more and more consumer insights. 

What next?

Embrace the feedback, good and bad, and start taking action. According to HubSpot, only 12% of consumers believe a company when they say they ‘solve for the customer’. 

Prove those consumers wrong. Collecting consumer insights is great, but it doesn’t stop there. 
Customer service professionals who report into a Marketing department agree that reviews and social proof drive leads at the highest rate. Once you have the data, start thinking about which departments, processes and initiatives might be involved. Then, put of a plan of action together.

When you have an overview of where you’re doing well, and areas that need more attention, you’ll spend your time [solving customer issues](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/how-ai-can-help-you-get-a-better-trustscore) rather than finding them. Soon enough, your customer service standards will increase, and your customers’ expectations will be met and exceeded, every single time. 

In a recent Trustpilot survey, over 5,900 consumers expressed a unique trust value in Trustpilot ratings (called TrustScore). 92% of customers said they would not consider buying from 1 or 2-star rated brand. Another reason to start working on your brand reputation by improving your customer service with online reviews!


star rating trustpilot research

If you're interested in [consumer insights](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/what-are-consumer-insights-and-how-do-i-use-them) and Trustpilot’s new Review Insights tool, you can [read more about it here](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/review-insights?cta=read-more_blog_CTA-1).

Alternatively, if you’d like to find out more about the power of customer feedback, click the link below to read Trustpilot's brand new Complete Guide To Reviews.


Read Trustpilot's Complete Guide To Reviews

*Thank you to HubSpot for letting us use data from their '[State of Customer Service in 2019](https://offers.hubspot.com/state-of-customer-service)' report in this article.*

3 Ways reviews can help you deliver excellent customer service

A middle-aged woman with glasses looking at the camera

the role of customer experience trustpilot

the role of customer experience

This year, we observed an [11% decline in trust globally](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/4-things-every-business-owner-should-know-about-the-state-of-reviews), with only 71% of people admitting they trust consumer brands. Trust has changed, and customers no longer want to be told what to buy. They want to get to know the company behind the product and behind the service, which can only be achieved through a transparent and trustworthy customer journey.

[According to Econsultancy](http://www.netimperative.com/2020/02/27/brands-focused-on-customer-experience-3-times-more-likely-to-exceed-business-goals/), optimising the customer experience is one of the most exciting opportunities for businesses in 2020, with 24% of companies ranking it at their top priority this year. 

Did you know that [50%](https://www.getfeedback.com/blog/40-stats-churn-customer-satisfaction/) of consumers are more likely to do business with you again in the future after a positive customer experience? Creating a seamless experience ensures that visitors are enjoying interacting with your business at every touchpoint of the journey. By focusing on creating amazing customer experiences, you’re showing the desire for your company to go above and beyond to please every single customer.

There’s no doubt it is getting harder and harder to differentiate yourself from other businesses when consumer trust is going down and every brand is sharing great content online. But a competitive advantage is huge, and customer experience is the perfect tool to help you stand out from the competition. 

In this article, we’ll discuss ways you can improve your user journey to deliver better customer experience and power your business forward.

## Providing a smooth voice search experience

Google has suggested multiple times that it intends to grow from a search engine to an answer engine. And with the rise of Google Home, traditional SEO has already radically transformed, and will continue to do so in years to come.

Rather than providing different search results and leaving the user a choice, an answer engine provides the user with one answer only. This makes finding facts much easier for the user, but makes it much harder for companies to stand out and feature as a definite answer. 

Small companies have an advantage - by testing and identifying profitable queries, they can focus on getting ahead of larger businesses. That’s why it’s important to focus on smaller benefit-oriented searches by rethinking the website interface and optimising it with long-tail keywords. 

This makes it more likely for smaller companies to reach and maintain position 0. Position 0 is the first result, often displayed in the answer box above the other organic results. Although Google is still experimenting with position 0 results - whether they’re answer boxes, knowledge graphs or Voice Assistant results - search engines’ constant investment in voice search suggests this shift is here to stay.

Businesses that start implementing voice search into their customer experience strategy are the brands that will dominate online tomorrow.

If you’d like to learn more about voice search, SEO and answer engines, check out our webinar recording:

What companies should do in the face of voice search

## Re-imagining the customer experience with artificial intelligence

Every time Amazon recommends a purchase to a consumer, that’s artificial intelligence at work. In the world of customer experience and customer service, we’re experiencing the rise of digital assistants, chatbots, and robots answering basic queries.

Welcome to the future.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines. It has the ability to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.

Did you know that [AI can increase business productivity by 40%](https://techjury.net/blog/ai-statistics/#gref)? These days, most businesses use AI for data analysis, on-site personalisation, content, and email marketing.

Companies are also turning to AI to automate repetitive tasks and personalise user journeys to build better relationships with their customers and offer seamless experiences.

KLM uses AI on Messenger. After booking a flight on their website, KLM lets the customer choose whether to receive their booking confirmation, check-in notification, boarding pass and flight status updates via Messenger. This makes travel information easy to find in a single place.

Bonus? Their AI system also lets the user ask any question they may have on Messenger, 24/7. All messages are personalised and friendly, making it look like the customer is chatting to another human being.

screen-mobile-2

KLM chatbot 

## Delivering personalised content

In order to trust a company and their products or services, shoppers can go through a considerable amount of research before deciding to buy online. Shoppers can make up to [9.5 visits](http://www.digitalstrategyconsulting.com/intelligence/2014/11/savvy_shoppers_make_9_visits_to_a_retailers_site_before_deciding_to_buy.php) on a retailer’s site before making a purchase, and that doesn’t take into account other sites they may go to as part of their customer journey.

This year, most industry peers have been personalising their customer experience with insightful and relevant content like offers, podcasts, blogs, videos, or even events. 

Personalising the customer experience to offer relevant pieces of information creates better brand awareness and loyalty, encourages customer relationships, and can elevate your business into a thought leader.

So how will you deliver the most relevant content and authentic experiences to your audience in the moment? 

How will you build the personal connections that inspire customers to invest in your business? Where do you start?

Delivering the right content to the right person isn’t easy, but it’s certainly necessary. And it all starts by getting to know your customers. Divide your audience into groups using your existing data, and build profile types. 

Develop personalisation strategies using automation and classify your content. [What content is relevant](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/blog/creating-relevant-content-throughout-the-customer-journey?rq=content)? At what point? 

Once your audience and content are both classified, delivering personalised content through the whole journey is easier.

When you personalise the customer experience with smart relevant content, you’re creating value for your audience and delivering better experiences.


## Building trust earlier in the journey

Online reviews are still one of the best ways to build trust and transparency at any point of the customer journey. Indeed, [89% of global consumers check reviews as part of their online buying journey](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/4-things-every-business-owner-should-know-about-the-state-of-reviews), and 49% of global consumers consider positive reviews one of their top 3 purchase influences.

Today, consumers are relying more on online reviews than they have in the past 2 years, making feedback a powerful tool to convert visitors into customers and to reduce customer hesitation. 

Indeed, including customer feedback as part of customer experience is a way to help do their research directly on-site and make smarter choices. 

How? Online reviews tend to boost customer confidence and often eliminate doubt because they answer most questions consumers have as they move through the purchase journey, and provide third-party validation.


reviews on site

Fabletics reviews

In a world where word of mouth travels fast, your customers are almost certainly already talking about your business. To deliver great experiences, you must identify and understand your customers’ needs and wants, which is why it’s essential to listen to the voice of the customer.

By agreeing to manage your online reputation, you’re likely to collect consumer insights, identify areas of development, and improve your visitors’ experience in the long run.

Head of Marketing at Travel Money Group

There’s no doubt customer experience is an important aspect of the user journey. There are many ways a business can work on its customer experience, but starting with consumer insights can help you better understand which aspect of the journey you need to work on to increase overall customer satisfaction. 

To find out more about consumer insights and how they can help you improve your customer experience, click the link below.

What are consumer insights and how do I use them? An Introduction

The role of customer experience in outperforming industry peers

Consumer Behavior in the Age of Coronavirus: Global Review Trends by Industry -smaller

Consumer Behavior in the Age of Coronavirus: Global Review Trends by Industry

The rise of coronavirus has stopped the entire world in its tracks, causing consumers across the globe to change their purchasing behaviors — and leaving businesses trying to predict the future. Here's a breakdown of consumer behavior trends on Trustpilot.

An in-depth investigation from [Nielsen](https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2020/key-consumer-behavior-thresholds-identified-as-the-coronavirus-outbreak-evolves/) has uncovered a consumer behavior pattern that could help guide businesses through these unprecedented times, identifying six purchasing phases that stem from concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak (and naturally, the resulting newscycle): *Proactive health-minded buying, reactive health management, pantry preparation, quarantined living preparation, restricted living, and living a new normal*.

Though it’s clear that the situation is still evolving, the spending patterns tied to these phases hold up across markets the world over. But exactly how consumers are deciding who to buy from remains to be seen.

Here at Trustpilot, we believe we’re uniquely qualified to shed light on the role of reviews in purchasing behavior in this uncertain climate, so we took a deep dive into global consumer activity on Trustpilot’s review platform in the wake of the recent COVID-19 outbreak. 

__The data shared below was last refreshed on May 20th — we’ll be updating this data at least once per month, so go ahead and bookmark this page before we dive in.__

## What kinds of businesses are consumers researching right now? 

While the types of businesses consumers were most interested in reading reviews about varied by region over the last 30 days, one thing holds true around the world: consumers are very interested in the [experiences of their peers](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/why-social-proof-marketing-essential-business-growth) right now. 

__According to a survey of more than 1700 respondents conducted on the Trustpilot consumer website at the end of March 2020:
__
- 33.6% of consumers report checking reviews of businesses and services more frequently than they did before lockdown
- 73% of consumers want to see how companies are handling the virus
- 23% of consumers report decreased trust in companies since the outbreak
- 55% of consumers are more worried about online scams than they were prior to the pandemic

There are plenty of reasons that credible reviews are important to consumers in uncertain times — from a stronger urge to see what fellow consumers are buying in an unprecedented situation, to more skepticism towards unfamiliar businesses, who consumers could perceive as unscrupulous amid economic uncertainty. Perhaps they simply want to confirm that products or services work as advertised, whether it’s a matter of life or death or just adapting to a new lifestyle.

Without further adieu, here’s a breakdown of the trends we saw in global traffic to Trustpilot profile pages by industry from the end of February until now. 

### United Kingdom: 30-Day traffic to business profiles on Trustpilot (April 20, 2020 - May 20, 2020)

UK Consumer Behavior in light of Coronavirus: Profile visits to Trustpilot

UK-Profile-Views-April-6

UK Profile Visits 4/20 - 5/20

In the UK, traffic to Trustpilot profile pages remained relatively steady from February 23rd to March 24th, with __insurance agencies__ and __furniture stores__ receiving more consumer interest than other business categories. It’s possible that consumers felt an increased need to prepare for the unexpected — be it a medical emergency, or being asked to work from home for the foreseeable future, creating more demand for home office furniture.

Though it’s early to say how consumer spending on fashion will evolve in these uncertain times, interest in reviews for __women’s clothing stores__ declined over this time period — at least in the UK.

And despite the obvious embargo on nonessential travel plans in the age of coronavirus, visits to the Trustpilot profile pages of __travel agencies__ saw an upswing towards the end of March. It’s likely that consumers are hoping to adjust their immediate and far off travel plans, or have even heard speculation from [industry leaders](https://skift.com/coronavirus-and-travel/) that life might be back to normal by the summer, and are sussing out whether anyone else is booking new travel plans.

Our data refresh on April 6th revealed that visits to __insurance agency__ profile pages have been on the decline as we moved into the month of April, while visits to the profile pages of __furniture stores__, __pharmacies__, and __fitness and nutrition services__ started to pick up speed as consumers settled into “quarantined living”.

__As of our two most recent data refresh on April 23rd and May 20th__, visits to the Trustpilot profile pages of __furniture stores__ and __garden centers__ are on the rise — most likely reflecting consumers' desire to better equip their homes and gardens for even more time spent at home. 

### United States: 30-Day traffic to business profiles on Trustpilot (April 20, 2020 - May 20, 2020)

Consumer behavior in the US in light of coronavirus: visits to Trustpilot in the last 30 days

April-6-US-Pageviews

US Page Views 4/20 - 5/20

In the US on the other hand, consumer interest on the Trustpilot platform spiked in early March for __toiletries stores__, aligning almost perfectly to an event that moved most consumers from “reactive health management” to “pantry preparation”: Trump’s February 26th press conference on COVID-19.

While a lot of the traffic to __toiletries stores__ can be attributed to [The Honey Pot’s](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/the-latest-online-racist-pileup-is-about-vaginal-care-products-at-target.html) profile at the beginning of March, it’s also possible that the surging interest in toiletry stores was brought on by the unprecedented demand for essential bathroom items and perhaps even looking for [alternative sources of hand sanitizer](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/03/coronavirus-hand-sanitizer-sales-surge-leading-to-price-hikes.html) and hand soap.

And by mid-March, traffic to Trustpilot profile pages for __financial consultants__ spiked, likely resulting from increased concern about an economic collapse brought on by the coronavirus.  

Our data download from April 6th shows that profile visits to __banks__ spiked in tandem with __financial consultants__ in mid-March, likely as consumers turned to Trustpilot to research their options as the economy struggled. Moving further into the month of April, visits to the profile pages of __clothing stores__, __pharmacies__, and __toiletries stores__ remained steady.

Our 30-day data pulled from April 23rd shows that visits to the Trustpilot profile pages of __clothing stores, financial consultants__ and __pharmacies__ are on the rise. Perhaps US consumers are looking to clothing purchases as a way to boost morale, financial consultants to help prepare for economic uncertainty, and pharmacies to ensure their readiness for any changes in their health. 

Interestingly, visits to the profile pages of __online marketplaces__ saw an uptick around mid April, coinciding with many consumers' pay day and perhaps indicating consumer interest in supporting independent sellers over major brands during this uncertain time. 

__As of our latest data refresh on May 20th__, __clothing stores__ are continuing to receive the bulk of traffic, at least in the US. 

### Central Europe: 30-Day traffic to business profiles on Trustpilot (April 20, 2020 - May 20, 2020)

Consumer behavior in the age of coronavirus in Central Europe

April-6-CEU-Pageviews

CEU Pageviews 4/20 - 5/20

Unlike the United Kingdom, traffic to the Trustpilot profile pages of __travel agencies__ from central Europe saw an understandable decline kicking off around the beginning of March, right after the number of [confirmed cases of coronavirus in Europe](https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-timeline.html) spiked on February 28th.

And while it’s not necessarily surprising to see an upswing in consumer interest around __gaming service providers__ with most of Europe quarantined at home since early March, it’s interesting that traffic to __jewelry stores__ on the Trustpilot platform is on an incline. Perhaps novelty purchases like jewelry will remain an important part of “living a new normal” as far as consumer behavior goes.

Our refreshed data from April 6th showed that profile visits to __gaming service providers__ spiked towards the end of March in Central Europe, with visits to __cell phone store__ profiles picking up speed as we moved into April.

__Our data pulled on April 23rd__ showed that visits to the Trustpilot profile pages of __gaming service providers__ and __cell phone stores__ remained steady. Similar to the United States, visits to the profile pages of __online marketplaces__ saw an uptick around mid April in Central Europe, perhaps indicating consumer interest in supporting independent sellers over major brands during this uncertain time. 

__As of our latest download on March 20th__, the Trustpilot profile pages of __cell phone stores__ and __online marketplaces__ continue to go strong — with the addition of __shoe stores__. As Europe transitions into life after lockdown, it stands to reason that consumers might want to equip themselves with new shoes for some much-needed summer adventures.

### Australia and New Zealand: 30-Day traffic to business profiles on Trustpilot (April 20, 2020 - May 20, 2020)


Consumer behavior in the age of coronavirus: Australia and New Zealand

April-6-ANZ-Pageviews

ANZ Pageviews 4/20 - 5/20

Despite placing [restrictions on international travel](https://www.ft.com/content/65b88a38-6339-11ea-b3f3-fe4680ea68b5) back in February, and advising against non-essential domestic travel in late March, visits to the Trustpilot profile pages of __travel agencies__ were consistently high from February 23rd to March 24th in Australia and New Zealand.

It’s likely that consumers anticipated changing their travel plans in light of these restrictions, and were eager to see how __travel agencies__ had dealt with fellow travellers in the same situation.

Visits to the profile pages of __travel agencies__ reached a peak in late March within Australia and New Zealand, and is starting to decline as we move into April. 

Visits to __hobby store__ and __furniture store__ profile pages, however, saw an uptick at the beginning of April as consumers down under began to adjust to “quarantined living”.

__As of our most recent data refresh on April 23rd__, visits to the Trustpilot profile pages of __clothing stores, furniture stores__ and __hobby stores__ are on an incline in Australia and New Zealand. It's possible that consumers are looking to clothing purchases as a way to boost morale, and are investing more time and attention in equipping their homes with comfortable furnishings and leisure activities to do.

Similar to the United States and Central Europe, visits to the profile pages of __online marketplaces__ saw an uptick around mid April in Australia and New Zealand, perhaps indicating consumer interest in supporting independent sellers over major brands during this uncertain time.

__Our two most recent data downloads from April 23rd and May 20th__ showed that visits to the Trustpilot profile pages of __clothing stores__, __furniture stores__ and __hobby stores__ were on an incline in Australia and New Zealand. It's possible that consumers were looking to clothing purchases as a way to boost morale, and are investing more time and attention in equipping their homes with comfortable furnishings and leisure activities to do.

## What kinds of businesses are customers leaving reviews for right now?

In the best of times, consumers tend to [leave reviews for a few key reasons](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/why-do-people-write-reviews-what-our-research-revealed): in hopes of offering guidance to others like them, alerting businesses to issues with their products or services, or delivering constructive feedback about what they need from a business.

On top of the above reasons, now more than ever customers are likely to leave reviews to foster a sense of community in the midst of isolation, or to exercise the power of the consumer voice, whether that’s thanking a business for performing under immense strain or calling out those who might exploit the situation to the detriment of others.

Here’s a breakdown of the most reviewed business categories on Trustpilot in the wake of coronavirus.

### United Kingdom: 30-Day consumer review activity on Trustpilot (April 20, 2020 - May 20, 2020)

Consumer behavior in the age of coronavirus: review activity in the UK

apr6-UK-organic-reviews

UK Review Activity 4/20 - 5/20

In the UK, __courier services__, __energy suppliers__, __utilities companies__, __furniture stores__, and __insurance companies__ received the most reviews from February 23rd to March 24th. 

__Travel agencies__ saw a spike in customer reviews towards the end of March, likely as customers wrote in to share their customer service experiences around COVID-19-related travel plan adjustments.

As of early April, __courier services__ and __gas companies__ were seeing the biggest spike in review activity in the UK. Meanwhile, review activity for __energy suppliers__, __electric utility companies__, __insurance agencies__, and __furniture stores__ remained steady.

__As of our two most recent data refresh on April 23rd and May 20th__, __courier services__ continue to receive the bulk of reviews left in the UK, with __garden centers__ seeing an uptick in review activity towards the end of the month. Interestingly, __pet stores__ saw a spike in review activity in the very first week of April.

### United States: 30-Day consumer review activity on Trustpilot (April 20, 2020 - May 20, 2020)


consumer behavior in the age of coronavirus: review activity in the US

apr6-US-organic-reviews

US Review Activity 4/20 - 5/20

In the US, __clothing stores__, __hobby stores__, and __travel agencies__ received the lion’s share of customer reviews amid coronavirus uncertainty from February 23rd to March 24th.

Moving into April, __clothing stores__ and __travel agencies__ saw declining review activity in the US, while reviews left for __hobby stores__, __financial consultants__, and __furniture stores__ remained steady.

__Our 30-day data refresh on April 23rd__ showed that visits to the Trustpilot profile pages of __hobby stores__ received the bulk of review activity in the US, while __clothing stores, financial consultants,__ and __furniture stores__ saw an uptick in reviews towards the end of April. 

__As of May 20th__, __clothing stores__ and hobby __stores__ continue to see the most review activity in the US with a noticeable spike in the first week of May — likely after consumers received some of the fashion and hobby items they purchased to help them make the most of their new lifestyle. 

### Central Europe: 30-Day consumer review activity on Trustpilot (April 20, 2020 - May 20, 2020)

consumer behavior in the age of coronavirus: review activity in central Europe

apr6-CEU-organic-reviews

CEU Review Activity 4/20 - 5/20

And in central Europe, __courier services__, __cell phone stores__, __travel agencies__, and __gaming service providers__ received the bulk of the customer reviews left on Trustpilot from February 23rd to March 24th. 

Interestingly, European consumers are more interested in writing reviews about __courier services__ than they are in reading reviews about them in a time of crisis — at least for now.

From the beginning of April, __courier services__, __cell phone stores__, __travel agencies__, and __gaming service providers__ received the bulk of reviews left on Trustpilot in central Europe.

__As of our latest data pull on May 20th__, __courier services__, __cell phone stores__, __gaming service providers__, and __garden centers__ are seeing the most review activity in Central Europe.

### Australia and New Zealand: 30-Day consumer review activity on Trustpilot (April 20, 2020 - May 20, 2020)


Consumer behavior in the age of coronavirus: review activity in Australia and New Zealand

apr6-ANZ-organic-reviews

ANZ Review Activity 4/20 - 5/20

Australia and New Zealand saw similar trends to the UK, with reviews left for __travel agencies__ increasing in tandem with traffic to their profile pages, as customers wrote in to share their experiences with travel agencies in the wake of the initial COVID-19 outbreak.

__Hobby stores__ received the second greatest number of customer reviews from February 23rd to March 24th, followed by __clothing stores__ — reviews for which seem to be trending upwards, perhaps as consumers settle into their “new normal” and find themselves with more time to leave feedback.

By the beginning of April, reviews left for __travel agencies__ were starting to decline in Australia and New Zealand, while reviews left for __hobby stores__ and __car accessories stores__ picked up speed in the region.

__As of May 20th__, __hobby stores__, __travel agencies__, and __clothing stores__ are receiving the most review activity in Australia and New Zealand, as travel restrictions begin to ease up and consumers transition out of life under strict lockdown.

## The value of reviews in uncertain times

From our perspective, the value of reviews is significant [in times good or bad](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/the-importance-of-trust-in-uncertain-times) — and consumer activity on Trustpilot’s platform in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak echoes that sentiment. As it turns out, reviews can help businesses and consumers in equal measure in times of crisis and uncertainty.

For consumers, reviews provide reassuring transparency as a way to read about the real experiences of peers when it’s hard to know who to believe, and harder than usual to rely on a personal network. They also give consumers a voice, allowing them to thank businesses performing well under difficult times, or cry foul about a business exploiting the situation. [Open review platforms](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/inside-trustpilot/creating-a-culture-of-transparency-and-trustworthiness-with-trustpilots-new) are particularly valuable at times like these, because at their best, they can help foster a sense of community in a time of social isolation.

For businesses, reviews are a way for the customer experience heroes to shine. — through the voice of consumers, businesses that rise to the occasion can have their actions amplified to many other prospective customers. Reviews can also aid businesses in real-time understanding of customer needs. This can be especially valuable during rapid and unpredictable change, and can even help companies smoothly adapt to new channels and audiences.

In the worst of times, consumers want to engage with businesses who care, so now is the time to get closer to your customers and start showcasing your reputation.

THUMBNAIL: Consumer Behavior in the Age of Coronavirus: Global Review Trends by Industry

Consumer behavior in the age of Coronavirus: Global review trends by industry

Consumer insights and review tagging with trustpilot

Collecting and tagging reviews with Trustpilot allows you to collect valuable insights which can help you identify key areas of development within the business.

By using tags to filter review content by relevant topics related to your product or service, you can easily get an overview of your reviews and identify specific issues that you would like to investigate further. Review tagging can be an extremely valuable tool when it comes to getting a better understanding of your company's strengths and weaknesses, based on customer feedback. These inishgts have the power to improve your customer experience, increase loyalty, and help you retain new visitors.

## What is review tagging and how does it work?

Tagging simply means labeling your customer reviews with different topics, and using it as a tool to filter your reviews for further analysis.

Trustpilot offers two different ways of tagging. The first one is __automatic pre-tagging__ based on information you already know about your customers prior to their reviews, such as bought product, type of customer, sales rep, and more.

The other type of tagging is __manual tagging__ based on review content, for example customer service, delivery time or other subjects that your customers would usually write about in a review.

You can learn more about __how to tag in practice__ in the article [Tagging and pre-tagging service reviews](https://support.trustpilot.com/hc/en-us/articles/203840856-Tagging-and-pre-tagging-service-reviews), where we focus on the manual tagging based on the actual review content.

 
## Getting started: How to collect valuable insights to boost customer loyalty 

We have listed a few important steps below for you to follow in order to get most out of review tagging.

 
### 1. Find a purpose and set realistic targets

To decide which tagging categories you should have, it is important to figure out the exact purpose of organising review data by tags, and which goals or targets you need to reach to fulfill that purpose.

For example, an overall purpose could be __creating value by increasing customer loyalty__. Based on that long-term goal, you would set a 15% increase in customer satisfaction target, which would be measured by an increase in the TrustScore on your Trustpilot profile.

The purpose should serve as an overall guideline for how you set up your tagging categories. For instance, you could use the tags to investigate the top 3 reasons for customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (e.g. for all 1-2 starred and 4-5 starred Trustpilot reviews), to better understand what needs to change in order to increase customer satisfaction.

It's important to be realistic when setting targets. Trustpilot reviews are a great source of information and will help you get a better understanding of how your customer experience and customer service work, and how your products are performing. 

### 2. Choose tagging categories

So you've found a purpose/goal and have set realistic targets. You know what insights you'd like to gain, and how these would help you better your business. It’s now time to define your tagging categories.

The first step towards success is to ensure that your categories aren't too broad or too narrow. It's important to get the right balance in order to get the correct amount of information when tagging reviews, and enough data related to each tag. 

A good way to work around this is to go through the latest 50-100 customer reviews and find the 5-10 most important topics (that are aligned with your purpose as well). This way, your tags will be based on real reviews topics, rather than your assumptions of what the reviews are about.

Your review tagging can be managed in the Trustpilot Business Portal as explained in this [Support article](https://support.trustpilot.com/hc/en-us/articles/203840856-Tagging-and-pre-tagging-service-reviews).

__Example: optimising online support __

Over the last few months, you've experienced customer complaints about your response time and the quality of your online support service, but you don’t know how big the problem is, and whether or not it is worth spending resources on optimising it. 

By creating specific online support tags such as ‘Response time’ and ‘Support quality’, and tagging all customer reviews with these, you can measure exactly how many customers raise these issues, and further investigate and analyse them. This allows you to work on fixing these issues with the help of valuable consumer insights.

Learn From Your Customers