“Who had Reddit on their review-site bingo card?”

When we posed this question to a customer and brand marketing roundtable at our B2B Summit in April, we saw few raised hands … and many rueful grins.

B2B review sites have long been part of the B2B marketing toolkit. Now, review-site relationships have taken on another layer. B2B review content from G2, TrustRadius, PeerSpot, and, yes, the robust discussions on Reddit substantially informs the LLMs that feed results on ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, and other AI-driven answer engines. This means that marketers must include review-site presence in their answer engine optimization (AEO) strategy.

In our new report, B2B Review Sites Seize A Broader Role In The Buying Network (Forrester access required), we explain the evolving role of review sites and guide marketers on creating and maintaining a strategy that aligns with business needs.

How Have B2B Review Sites Changed?

B2B firms already have many reasons to consider their review-site strategy. A company’s review-site listings, reviews and ratings, and presence in comparison and “best of” lists support brand reputation and preference. Intent data from review platforms supports marketers and sellers. Review content patterns and sentiment feed product and messaging decisions.

The role of review sites informing LLMs is not a replacement for these use cases; it’s an addition. But it is a critical one. Forrester research shows that nearly all B2B buyers (94%) use answer engines during their search. Many of these buyers establish preference early in the process. If a solution isn’t showing up in that early research stage, it might never show up at all as the buyer moves from education to a decision.

Stick With The Fundamentals: Authority, Authenticity, Alignment

What’s a marketer to do? First, avoid trying to predict the next move. Marketers may be tempted to chase individual tactics sans strategy or leap on a bandwagon. A more rational approach will keep hands steady and precious resources deployed where they are most effective.

  • Seek to understand. Review site platforms are not “one size fits all.” Take time to understand the content and tone of relevant B2B sites as well as what they offer. Our report explores review-site capabilities, many AI-driven, from stars and rankings to intent data and sentiment analysis.
  • Don’t shortcut customer authenticity. LLMs favor authentic, clear, and consistent content. The need to stay real is not new. It should be muscle memory for anyone guiding customers’ sharing of their success. B2B buyers have always leaned toward peers and influencers who provide an unvarnished assessment. AI-powered search enhances the need for authentic proof but did not create it.
  • Ensure brand and demand connection. Buyer autonomy forces B2B companies to engage buyers early. Brand reputation and demand teams have a vested interest in how the company shows up when and where buyers are researching, and who those buyers trust (spoiler: Peers top the list). Given the role of review sites in preference marketing, these teams should align on everything from messaging to metrics and stay in close partnership with customer marketing, customer advocacy, and any other customer-facing roles charged with activating user stories.
  • Nurture customers today for review content tomorrow. Successful customers provide an edge for answer engine optimization. But reviews do not write themselves. Companies should not wait until someone is asking about review site listings or wondering about poor search visibility to identify and nurture successful customers. Companies with mature customer advocacy programs and strong customer communities already have a leg up in the form of advocates sharing their opinions and stories without prompting. But even those without a foundation can start with small improvements in how they find and engage advocates.

Forrester research can help you understand the role of influencers and customers on B2B buying decisions, craft a review-site strategy that optimizes your resources, and start or improve a customer advocacy program. Contact Forrester or your existing account team to learn how.