Online review community Trustpilot achieved record growth in 2014, with an 80 percent year-over-year (YoY) increase in revenue and a 50 percent increase in posted online reviews.
In addition to increased revenue and reviews, Trustpilot saw a 56 percent YoY increase in traffic to its B2B websites. Due to this success, the company increased its staff from 127 to 325 across its offices on three continents.
It is important to note that Trustpilot's record year is likely the result of $25 million in funding that the company received in Jan. 2014. This funding was used to drive the development of Trustpilot's Product Reviews that were made available this month to enterprise customers and via a plugin for Magento users. Trustpilot's Product Reviews aim to increase trust and transparency among businesses and consumers, as well as increase customer acquisition and retention, reduce product returns and boost SEO initiatives.
"According to a survey conducted by Nielsen, 68 percent of consumers use opinions posted online when making buying decisions," said Peter Mühlmann, chief executive officer of Trustpilot. "This illustrates how essential online reviews are for businesses that want to gain insights from their customers and improve the entire customer journey."
With its focus on transperancy, Trustpilot helps businesses ensure that the reviews their customers write are authentic and accurate.