First-Party vs. Third-Party Reviews
Do you know the difference?
Getting reviews is a cost-effective form of organic promotion, and enlisting your most loyal customers to work as your own brand ambassadors promoting your services can save money on your bottom line. An increase in revenue can be often attributed to an increase in 5-star reviews. So, it would make sense you would want to collect as many as you can, both first-party reviews and third-party reviews. But what is the difference between first- and third-party reviews anyway?
What are first-party reviews?
First-party reviews are provided by your customers directly to your business, where your business owns and controls the use of the reviews.
Also called customer testimonials, first-party reviews may include a rating, such as a number of stars on a five-star scale. The key distinction from third-party reviews is the fact that you own these reviews and you are in control of where they appear.
Typical uses of first-party reviews include displaying them on your website, sharing them with your social followers, using them in your newsletters, and other marketing methods. When placed on your website, first-party reviews can help your overall web marketing content and SEO. Of equal importance, first-party reviews, like third-party reviews, help you demonstrate social proof of your product or services to others, helping drive more word-of-mouth advertising, and organic promotion to turn prospects into customers.
What are third-party reviews?
Third-party reviews about your business are posted by users of review platforms, and the review is owned and controlled by the third-party.
Third-party reviews are posted by users of public review platforms like Google and Facebook. The user posting the review may be a customer, but could also be a prospect, a vendor, or anyone else who wishes to publicly share their experience with, or opinion of, your business.
When these third-party platforms have large audiences, their user reviews about your business can provide great exposure for you. Google is the world's largest search engine, and through their free business listing service (Google My Business), they can display relevant search results about your business, including your Google Reviews This great for your online presence, and can also contribute to your SEO and natural search rankings on Google. While they don't carry the exposure of Google, Facebook, TripAdvisor and the many other industry-specific third-party review platforms offer similar benefits.
What's your review strategy?
As a prerequisite to any first- or third-party review strategy you choose to employ, it is paramount that you first focus on employing methods that help you deliver great customer experiences. If you don't have a method of measuring your customer experiences using metrics like Net Promoter ScoreSM (NPS®), then you're essentially flying blind. The reviews you may receive, may not be the ones you had hoped for.
In LoyaltyLoop, we call first-party reviews "Testimonials". LoyaltyLoop Promoter Plan automatically collects first-party reviews when respondents give feedback to your survey. Testimonials are fresh, user-generated content (UGC). As more feedback is generated, so are more testimonials. Using the LoyaltyLoop Testimonial widgets or API, your first-party reviews can be easily displayed on your website - simply review them, and click "Publish" in your Testimonial Publisher section. Your published testimonials can also be shared on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter at the click of a button to drive further social proof. For a recommendation of how you can use testimonials outside your website and social channels, click here for suggestions, and advice on keeping your testimonials fresh can be found by clicking here.
LoyaltyLoop also helps Promoter Plan subscribers collect third-party reviews. In LoyaltyLoop, we call third-party reviews…drumroll please…"Reviews". In the same process as collecting customer feedback, customers are automatically encouraged to post reviews on Google, Facebook, or other platforms that matter to you. Customers exit your survey to a "Thank You" page where they are encouraged to post their review on these third-party sites. They can also be sent an automatic follow-up email requesting the same. This third-party review process is easy on your customer, automatic for your business, and effective.
When interacting with your customers, remember to remind them that you value Google reviews, for example. If your customers know certain review platforms are important to you, they'll be more inclined to take the time to post one there for you. Do not steer the customers by asking them to only post a review if they're happy. Solicit their honest opinions. In addition to LoyaltyLoop automatically encouraging customers, you and your team can also distribute the review link for your customers to use. Follow our instructions to obtain your Google review link to share it, making it easier for customers to post their review.