Description

In this episode of OnBase, host Paul Gibson sits down with Michelle Wrede to explore how businesses can transform customer reviews into powerful drivers of revenue and trust. Michelle shares her unique career path, why psychology plays such an important role in marketing, and how reviews are often undervalued in B2B.

From building credibility to improving internal processes, Michelle outlines practical strategies for embedding reviews into sales and marketing funnels. She emphasizes the importance of timing, emotional vs. functional insights, and how reviews can help reduce internal resistance while creating measurable outcomes in areas like conversion optimization, SEO, and customer retention.

The conversation also covers the future of AI in review management, the growing importance of transparency, and why testing and iteration are key for success.

Key Takeaways

• Authenticity Matters: Reviews carry an emotional weight and authenticity that case studies often lack—critical in building B2B trust.
• Leverage Across the Funnel: Reviews aren’t just top-of-funnel proof points—they can drive retargeting campaigns, emails, and late-stage deal confidence.
• Balance Emotion and Function: Emotional stories resonate, but functional details (like logistics or support feedback) drive practical decision-making.
• Fix Before You Showcase: Automate collection early, but ensure service or logistical issues are addressed before promoting review scores.
• Reviews as a Growth Lever: Beyond marketing, reviews can highlight operational gaps and inspire process improvements that directly impact revenue.
• AI & Transparency: The future of review-driven insights will depend on high-quality, verifiable data that avoids the pitfalls of opaque AI signals.

Quotes

“From psychology we know reviews work. The key is testing how and where they have the best impact for your business.”

Tech recommendations

• Trustpilot (for automated review collection and integration)

Resource recommendations

• Growth Tribe – Learning hub for growth marketing and experimentation

Shout-Outs

• Anna Bertoldini – Senior Social Media Brand Manager, NielsenIQ
• Juanita Solano Espinosa – Senior Marketing Manager Italy, Trustpilot

About the Guest

As Head of Marketing for Benelux and Sweden at Trustpilot, Michelle works across a wide range of topics within the marketing and e-commerce space. In her current role, she focuses on consumer feedback, broader marketing trends, and the use of social proof and reviews across both B2C and B2B companies. Her background in psychology also gives her valuable insight into cross-border marketing, behavioral psychology, and nudging.

Connect with Michelle.