Why Customer Service Ratings and Reviews Matter

Feedback matters in the customer-centric era of business we work in. Whether it’s a customer telling your CEO that an agent did a great job or giving them a “negative” face after a chat session, there are many ways companies can receive feedback about their business.

One method that has increased in popularity over the years is ratings on third-party sites. Here, customers can rate areas of your business on an unbiased platform (sometimes receiving a nominal incentive) for the entire world to see. And, one of the major reasons why companies receive the overall ratings they do is because of the customer service a company provides.

But, if these ratings exist only on some corner of the internet, why do they matter? Here are four reasons customer service ratings (and reviews) matter more than you think and how to make the most of this type of feedback…

1) Good ratings and testimonials can be used by business development to increase revenue – Many businesses with good ratings like to display them in real-time directly on their website to provide third-party validation to prospective buyers. It’s a great way to break up marketing content and, if detailed product reviews also accompany the ratings, it lets you also highlight exactly what customers find valuable in your business. The message is more powerful when a company doesn’t say it.

A screenshot of TeamSupport ratings on Capterra show how we emphasize Customer Service

2) Prospective customers visit rating sites and use them in their decision-making process – Moving away from your own website, many prospects begin their buying journey by visiting the sites that solicit these ratings. Leaders like Capterra emphasize ratings specifically for customer service that contributes to an overall rating, but they also offer much more, including product information and detailed customer feedback (both good and bad). In fact, some prospects leverage these sites heavily in their decision-making process and having a low customer service rating here can disqualify you from consideration right away.

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3) Ratings can be used to identify and prevent customer churn – The value of ratings isn’t just in acquiring new business. You can use the information received from rating sites to reach out to customers that provide your company with a poor rating. This can help substantially in reducing customer churn. For example, Capterra lists the name and company of each rating, making it easy for you to know who rated you and when. This helps you further understand the pain points that drove the customer to leave a neutral or negative rating so you can address it before their concerns become reasons for leaving your business. Keep in mind that seeing a lot of negative customer service ratings can also provide social proof for a current customer wondering if their bad experiences are common for your business, which can in turn lead to an increase in customer churn.

4) Great ratings help your HR group attract better team members – This is important because it impacts all aspects of a business. Simply put, many employees want to work for companies that do well and look good online. In doing research for a company to prepare for an interview, they’ll stumble upon user ratings and reviews. People want to contribute in a company culture that values employees and time, and a great external indicator of this is how customers speak about a business. For example, if customers say communicating with the service team is easy, it likely means internal communication will be smooth as well. If it’s mentioned by customers that there are lots of roadblocks to get answers, the same will likely happen with colleagues.

In short, customer service ratings and reviews matter because they’re a valuable component of a business and its perception by prospects, customers, and employee candidates. Having a great customer service team that gets high marks not only makes them look good and stand out, it also helps contribute to the success and growth of the entire company.