Nine B2B Service Platforms Based on Customer Reviews

Online customer reviews are among the top factors that can influence a purchasing decision. Your customers and their opinions on how you serve them can make or break your business.

In times, governed by information and data, online product and service reviews are more accessible and trusted than ever. As a matter of fact, the trust in online customer reviews has been growing for years and has reached, in 2018, an amazing 78% of people who consider reviews as reliable source for personal recommendations.

Infographic: How Much Do Customer Reviews Matter?

In the following infographic you may see some numeric data to support the importance of customer reviews and measure the extent of their influence on conversions, purchase decisions and choice of service provider.

 

With all that data provided, it is only natural that in 2020 service reviews platforms flourish and their number and importance grow.

What Are B2B Services Review Platforms?

Customer reviews are even more influential when you provide B2B solutions. You work with fewer customers and need to build closer relationships with them. Even one single reference could help you close a dream deal or get pitched for a super project.

This is where B2B review platforms and market research websites step in. They help your customers find you, based on important factors such as location, experience and expertise. And usually most heavily relying on your customers’ testimonials.

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In this article, we will present to you a selection of B2B customer reviews platforms that you could consider joining. To compare their popularity, we have quoted their global Alexa ranks.

How do these sites work? Review sites, in general, aren’t the type people visit to pass the time – they have social media for that. Customers visit these platforms for advice on what they want to buy.

They utilize the good old customer testimonial principle combined with market and industry research. In most cases, they apply their own original algorithm for rating that is a combination of several factors. You may read in detail about their methodologies on each of the sites.

• Quick Tip: It is a good start to check where your peer companies and competitors are, how they are presented and rated. Then apply to join them on the same platforms.

Upcity.com

Alexa rank: 20,073
Companies on the platform: 33,000+ digital marketing service providers and agencies
Location: over 600 cities in North America

The platform serves as a B2B directory to connect any business with marketing service providers. According to the data on the site, over 225,000 businesses visit UpCity every month seeking marketing services, provided by the companies, registered on the marketplace.

The site’s two main user groups are Business owners and Service providers. You may utilize the Agency Growth Engine to increase your revenue and promote your business using UpCity’s online marketplace.

If your marketing agency gets listed on Upcity, its rating will be calculated based on the following 8 factors: your Upcity profile completion, engagement rate on the platform’s marketplace, customer reviews, third-party reviews on other sites, SEO prominence, domain authority, website speed & experience, business representation at the local level.

Clutch.co

Alexa rank: 22,118
Companies on the platform: 150,000+ advertising and marketing agencies, web and software developers, SEO, mobile app developers, IT and business service providers
Location: Global

Clutch is the leading global ratings and reviews platform for a broader type of service provider. It has been named by Inc. Magazine as one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. with a user base growing more than 50% a year. Clutch has 500,000+ buyers and sellers of services using it monthly.

Clutch has a complex independent algorithm to rank registered companies, mainly focused on objective feedback from clients. To calculate ratings, the platform performs in-depth telephone and email interviews with customers about the service quality for each Clutch-registered company. Testimonials are featured on the site like mini case studies with the possibility to embed them into corporate websites via a simple widget.

It categorizes companies by their location, business field and list of proven skills. Based on the data collected, the platform formulates a fair rating of all the firms. The search tool filters companies by their specific skill set and location.

Related: DevriX Featured on Clutch Reports:

• • New Report Names the B2B Leaders in Bulgaria, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey – 17 October 2019
  • Clutch Announces the 2019 Leading Developers Across a Variety of Technology Focus Areas– 28 May 2019

Referial.com

Alexa rank: 225,955
Companies on the platform: open to anyone who is a part of the B2B universe
Location: Global

Referial.com is a multi-sided platform built with the goal to connect proven providers of business services and products with relevant buyers. It’s open to both companies and individuals, including service providers, startups, companies looking to outsource a part of their activities and freelancers.

The profiles include information provided by the companies/ individuals themselves such as: basic profile, products and services, case studies, CEO messages and publications. They also make use of references – by clients, by employees and partners.

The profiles have ratings and are organized in community groups based on location or a business sphere. To make the most of the platform, you need to complete your profile with as much information as possible and have all your references verified by clients, teammates and partners.

B2B Platforms Specialized for Design, IT & Software Companies

GoodFirms

Alexa rank: 39,521
Companies on the platform: 9,000+ services & software development companies listed
Location: Global

GoodFirms is a research-based platform, listing and recognizing the leading software development companies on a global scale. It is the most sophisticated platform with a possibility to filter services and companies by tens of criteria. There is also a significant research section with 700+ industry reports and market data publications.

The listings are in two verticals – Service categories and Software categories – each with numerous related subcategories and location filters. It targets bigger players on the market and is not suitable for smaller firms nor freelancers.

The complex algorithm rates companies by their reviews, portfolio, market penetration and experience. When your software company gets listed there, it helps: build your reputation, get qualified leads, increase sales and get feedback to improve your service.

The platform also offers GoodBoxes – these are GoodFirms’ widgets that can be embedded into the website of the registered company to show its most recent reviews, trustscore and star ratings.

99firms.com

Alexa rank: 44,950
Companies on the platform: agencies in advertising & marketing, web development, design, IT Services, software
Location: Global

99firms is another research-based platform that utilizes its own methodology for B2B services provider evaluation. It features IT, marketing, business service and software companies to customers from any industry and size.

The information on the platform is divided into two verticals – services and software. A company’s profile at 99firms includes a short description, a services list, hourly rates and location. That information is combined with the unbiased reviews from its former clients, verified by the platform.

The companies are rated by the 99firms based on their area of expertise, business model and previous campaigns. The evaluation is by a handpicked selection, combining the criteria above.

SoftwareWorld.co

Alexa rank: 57,520
Companies on the platform: agencies in app development, web development, design, advertising & marketing, IT Services, software
Location scope: Global

If your business is a new entrant, then SoftwareWorld is a one-stop solution for picking the right software to generate hyper-functionality. SoftwareWorld is among the fastest growing online review site that showcases top software solutions for various industries. The website provides product reviews on latest apps, SAAS, and B2B products based on user satisfaction, social media mentions, online presence of vendors, and other relevant information.

Additionally, get complete buyer’s guide on popular software and services rendered by some of the best online app developers. The website features unbiased list of top software segregated by category, for example- Market research software, HR management software, Online CRM software, Project Management Software and many more. SoftwareWorld focuses on balancing each review with a detailed analysis of usability factors, mobile support, pricing, integrations, and features.

UpFirms.com

Alexa rank: 720,325
Companies on the platform: 1,000+ agencies, listed in 25+ service subcategories
Location scope: Global

UpFirms.com is a relatively new (founded in 2018) research and review platform. It lists companies in several main categories: web design and development, software development, IT services, mobile app design and development, eCommerce development, IoT development, digital marketing and SEO services.

The profiles include data about the company’s location, hourly rates, the number of employees and reviews from customers and the search tool short-lists results by these parameters. It helps service seekers make an informed decision and contact on-site the best agency for them. It is also possible to leave a review that is later verified by the platform’s operators.

UpFirms helps the registered companies acquire leads and improve market share. Similarly to the Clutch, the platform publishes periodic reports on top performers to increase their brand awareness. There is a resource section for research articles and industry trends data.

Again, to make the most of the platform, you need to provide as much information as possible and have the most reviews posted and verified by clients. However, case studies are missing here, only a list of clients are used.

Three More Niche B2B Platforms

The following sites have chosen to feature B2B service providers in a selected industry or vertical.

YouTeam.io specializes in connecting businesses to remote and managed teams of world-class engineers and developers. The platform features only handpicked professionals and has its tools to independently verify the skills of every developer suggested. Each team is managed by an experienced PM at no extra charge.
Alexa rank: 306,767

TheyMakeApps.com is an online directory of mobile application makers. Originally only featuring iPhone developers, the site added makers of iPad, Google Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry and Palm applications.
Alexa rank 398,912

Sortfolio.com is the platform for finding web designers. To present their work, it focuses entirely on their portfolio by featuring screenshots of past work on each designer’s page. However, Sortfolio doesn’t seem to use any verification of submitted data, which has resulted in a lot of low-quality content and spam listings.
Alexa rank: 345,916

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Didn’t Find What You Are Looking for?

Here are some more platforms and websites to check out:

Extract.co – A website where best performing developers are researched and shortlisted based on their previous works. The platform claims to investigate key industry metrics, discover the firms’ reputation & quality standards and rate them accordingly.
Alexa rank: 92,833

TopFirms.co – An IT Directory for companies in the following categories: web development, eCommerce development, mobile app development, digital marketing and hosting. Alexa rank: 584,692.

To name several more: ITFirms.co (Alexa rank: 113,768), B2blistings.org (Alexa Rank: 217,281), Wadline.com (Alexa rank: 115,621).

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Wrapping It Up

When customers have to choose a solution (service) provider, reviews have a massive impact on their decision, accounting for up to two-thirds of all choices. So it is really important to be on business platforms like the ones listed above.

The biggest benefit a customer reviews platform can bring to your business is sales. They put your target and current customers in focus in a way your website can’t.

Here is, once again, how to approach the issue:

• Choose the reviews platforms that best suits your industry vertical
• Apply to get listed there
• Study the platforms’ methodologies to understand how to rank high
• Once listed, ask your customers for their reviews
• Do not forget to update your information on the platform every time your business reaches a milestone or hits an important win.

You can use these tools to boost your reputation, to tell stories about your success in the form of case studies, to receive precious feedback and recommendations by your clients in the form of testimonials and ratings.