Where Do I Find A B2B Review Site?

In today’s consumer marketplace, it is taken for granted that no one buys anything without reading reviews. Gone are the days when shoppers are at the mercy of salespeople or advertising, and the limited information they give to a prospective buyer. Let’s be honest – in 2015 would you even consider trying a restaurant you haven’t been to before without first reading a review on Yelp or Urbanspoon? Whether we’re shopping for something as simple as an app for your cell phone or purchasing something larger, we want to read reviews. And it’s not a so-called “expert” opinion we’re usually looking for. We all want to know what real people, users like ourselves, have to say about it.

But that’s the B2C (Business to Consumer) world. What about B2B (Business 2 Business) buyers? If you’re a procurement professional, you’ll likely want to apply the same process to your corporate purchases. And you’re not alone. A 2014 study by Acquity Group reveals that before making a B2B purchase, 94% of corporate buyers do some form of online research. And B2B review sites are an excellent starting point. It’s so much more efficient than the long and arduous process of researching details on the individual websites of multiple vendors.

So, when making a corporate purchase, where do you find a B2B review? There are a number of excellent sites popping up which focus on just these type of reviews, and we’ll look at some of those below. But for starters, a web search can get you on the right path. B2B review sites frequently refresh their content with updated posts, and feature an actively posting and commenting community, so they tend to rank highly in search engines. In fact, you’re more likely to hit a B2B review site than an individual vendor’s site in your searches.

If you’re looking to purchase business technology, G2Crowd is an excellent spot to start. They’ve done an excellent job of providing an alternative to poring through piles of vendors’ spin and sitting through endless meetings. They offer what they call crowd-sourced wisdom: peer reviews from users who work with similar solutions.

In the world of procuring business software, you might take a look at TrustRadius, as site which boasts “Software Insights From Real Users”. Their self-proclaimed mission is “to bring transparency to the world of enterprise technology by helping technology users learn from their peers.”

DiscoverCloud focuses on apps for business. If you’re looking to make a decision on SaaS solutions or outsourced services, this site is designed to save you the trouble of sifting through clutter, and instead provides the tools and information you need to make an intelligent decision.

VendOp is an ideal resource for finding vendors for virtually any business and industrial services. It supports dozens of B2B vendor categories, in areas including consulting services, manufacturing, component supply, and financial services, and houses tens of thousands of reviews from current or recent customers.

Whatever products or services you’re responsible for procuring, you’ll no longer need to go through the old school process of relying on only the information put out by vendors. The new world or B2B review sites is empowering procurement professionals with valuable information from your peers, which will not only save you time, but will also help you obtain the data you need to make a responsible decision.

Don't forget to take a look at some of the best rated companies while you're here. Lists are broken down by service to make it easy for you to find what you're looking for.