AI & Automation
Personas
Ecommerce
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
When I started working with a B2B SaaS client as a freelancer, we faced the same challenge every SaaS struggles with: getting client testimonials. You know the drill - your product works great, clients are happy in calls, but getting them to write it down? That's another story.
I set up what I thought was a solid manual outreach campaign. Personalized emails, follow-ups, the whole nine yards. Did it work? Kind of. We got some reviews trickling in, but the time investment was brutal. Hours spent crafting emails for a handful of testimonials - the ROI just wasn't there.
Like many startups, we ended up doing what we had to do: strategically crafting our reviews page to look more populated than it actually was. Not ideal, but we needed social proof to convert visitors.
Then something unexpected happened. While working on a completely different e-commerce project, I discovered a review automation solution that was battle-tested in a different industry. This cross-industry discovery transformed how I approach testimonial collection for all my clients.
In this playbook, you'll learn:
Why manual review outreach fails at scale
The e-commerce automation solution that works for B2B
How to set up Zapier workflows that actually get responses
When automation beats personalization (and when it doesn't)
Cross-industry lessons that give you unfair advantages
Industry Reality
What everyone says about review collection
Most business advice follows the same tired playbook for getting customer reviews and testimonials:
The Standard Approach:
Send personalized follow-up emails 2-3 weeks after purchase
Craft heartfelt messages asking for testimonials
Offer incentives like discounts or free products
Follow up manually if no response
Keep it human and authentic at all costs
This advice isn't wrong - it's just incomplete. The problem is that everyone focuses on the what (getting reviews) without addressing the how (scaling the process without burning out your team).
The conventional wisdom says automation kills authenticity. That personal touch is everything. That customers can smell a template from a mile away.
While there's truth to this, it misses a crucial point: most businesses never get enough reviews because they can't sustain manual outreach at scale. They start strong, send 20-30 personalized emails, get a few responses, then life happens. Projects pile up, deadlines hit, and review collection falls by the wayside.
So you end up with the worst of both worlds: not enough reviews to build credibility, and a team that's frustrated with the manual process. The "personal touch" becomes an excuse for inconsistency.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
Here's where my experience gets interesting. I was simultaneously working on two completely different projects: a B2B SaaS that desperately needed testimonials, and an e-commerce store that was crushing it with review collection.
The contrast was stark. The SaaS team was manually reaching out to customers, crafting individual emails, and getting maybe 1-2 testimonials per month. Meanwhile, the e-commerce client was automatically generating dozens of reviews through a system they'd been using for years.
The e-commerce world has been solving review automation for years because their survival depends on it. Think about your own Amazon shopping behavior - you probably won't buy anything under 4 stars with less than 50 reviews. E-commerce businesses have been forced to solve this problem at scale.
That's when I had my breakthrough moment: what if I applied e-commerce review automation to B2B SaaS?
Most people never make this connection because they live in industry silos. SaaS founders study other SaaS companies. E-commerce owners follow e-commerce best practices. But the best solutions often come from completely different industries.
I decided to test this hypothesis with my B2B client. Instead of treating testimonials like a special, precious thing that required manual white-glove treatment, what if we treated them like e-commerce reviews? What if we automated the entire process and focused on volume instead of perfection?
The client was skeptical. "Our customers are different," they said. "B2B requires a personal touch." Sound familiar?
But we were desperate enough to try anything. Our manual approach wasn't working, and we needed social proof to improve our conversion rates. So we implemented the same automated review system that was working for e-commerce - with some modifications for B2B context.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
The solution was surprisingly simple: I integrated the same Trustpilot automation system that e-commerce businesses use, but adapted it for B2B workflows.
The Core Setup:
Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I used Zapier to connect our existing business tools with Trustpilot's automated review collection system. Here's exactly how it worked:
Step 1: Trigger Setup
I set up Zapier to monitor our CRM for specific events - completed projects, successful onboarding milestones, or positive support interactions. The key was identifying moments when customers were most likely to leave positive feedback.
Step 2: Automated Sequence
When a trigger fired, Zapier would automatically send a Trustpilot review invitation. No manual intervention required. The emails came from Trustpilot but were branded with our company information.
Step 3: Follow-up Logic
If someone didn't respond within a week, the system automatically sent a gentle reminder. If they still didn't respond, it stopped pestering them. The follow-up frequency was based on e-commerce data about optimal timing.
The B2B Adaptations:
I made three key modifications to make this work for B2B:
Timing Adjustment: E-commerce sends review requests days after purchase. For B2B, I waited until after successful onboarding or project completion - typically 30-60 days.
Trigger Customization: Instead of purchase completion, I used milestone achievements tracked in our project management system.
Platform Choice: While e-commerce might use Amazon reviews, I chose Trustpilot because it's more credible for B2B buyers.
The automation wasn't just about sending emails - it was about creating a systematic approach that didn't rely on anyone remembering to ask for reviews.
Here's what made this approach different from typical B2B review requests: instead of asking customers to write testimonials from scratch, we were asking them to rate us on a platform they already trusted. The friction was much lower.
Trustpilot Integration
Using an established review platform instead of custom testimonial forms reduced friction and increased completion rates
Zapier Workflows
Automated triggers based on CRM milestones eliminated the need for manual review request management
Cross-Industry Application
E-commerce automation principles proved more effective than traditional B2B testimonial collection methods
Volume Over Perfection
Consistent automated outreach generated more total reviews than sporadic personalized requests
The results spoke for themselves. Within the first month, we generated more reviews than we had collected manually in the previous six months.
The Numbers:
Review volume increased 300% in the first quarter
Time spent on review collection dropped from 10 hours/month to 1 hour/month
Response rate was actually higher than our manual outreach (12% vs 8%)
But the most interesting result was unexpected: customers started replying to the automated emails with questions and feedback. Instead of reducing personal connection, the automated system actually created more touchpoints for meaningful conversations.
The automated review requests became a customer service opportunity. When someone had an issue instead of leaving a negative review, they'd reply to the email asking for help. This turned potential detractors into promoters.
The system also provided valuable business intelligence. Review patterns helped us identify which onboarding steps were working and which needed improvement. The data was much more reliable than sporadic manual feedback.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons I learned from this cross-industry experiment:
Industry Best Practices Are Often Just Industry Habits: Just because "everyone" in your industry does something one way doesn't mean it's the best way. Look outside your niche for proven solutions.
Automation Can Increase Personal Connection: Contrary to popular belief, the automated system created more opportunities for personal interaction, not fewer.
Volume Beats Perfection for Social Proof: Having 20 good reviews is infinitely better than having 3 perfect testimonials.
Customer Service Integration: The best review systems double as customer service touchpoints.
Timing Matters More Than Content: When you ask is often more important than how you ask.
Platform Trust Transfers: Using established review platforms lends credibility to the request.
Data Drives Improvement: Automated systems provide better business intelligence than manual processes.
The biggest mistake I made initially was overthinking the "B2B difference." Yes, B2B sales cycles are longer and more complex, but the fundamental psychology of social proof works the same way across industries.
If I were doing this again, I'd implement the automation system from day one instead of wasting months on manual outreach. The ROI on automation setup time is almost immediate.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
Connect your CRM to Zapier and set up milestone-based triggers
Use Trustpilot or G2 for B2B credibility instead of custom forms
Time requests for post-onboarding success moments, not signup
Monitor responses for customer service opportunities
For your Ecommerce store
Integrate review automation with post-purchase email sequences
Use order completion or delivery confirmation as triggers
Connect to Google Reviews and Trustpilot for maximum impact
A/B test timing: immediate vs 7-day vs 14-day delays