We pride ourselves on being the only complete decision-making platform for UK undergraduate degree courses, universities, private and university owned accommodation halls.
More than a decade ago, our founders Paul Humphreys and Pete Sisson identified a need for a student-led service, with reviews at the focal point of the platform, so students can choose the right higher education pathway for them based on genuine, non-biased student experience.
Why Reviews? - Social Proof
Providing social proof allows you to evidence that other students have had a great experience and valued their investment with you, and by providing this on your website, you can directly influence students where your bookings/ applications are made.
First party vs. third party reviews
First party reviews left directly on your website give you more control and ownership of customer insights and behaviours, but also present a number of challenges which can be easily overcome with the use of third party platforms.
Just like you probably trust travel companies that integrate Tripadvisor reviews on their website, students are more likely to trust a provider that displays reviews from an external source.
This is why StudentCrowd offers all providers featured on StudentCrowd the opportunity to integrate their reviews via our API option. Whether you want to show your average star rating only, breakdown stars per review category or show full review text, the choice is yours. The API gives you full control over how you display reviews on your website so you can stay within your brand guidelines.
However you choose to display them, your reviews should always be linked back to your StudentCrowd profile - the original source of truth - enabling readers to authenticate your feedback for themselves.
This also allows students to view how you interact with your reviewers via review responses, ask questions or express interest.
It’s also worth noting that integrating your StudentCrowd reviews into your own website also gives you the ability to analyse your own review content.
Why are reviews important?
Build brand reputation - Reviews are a great way to showcase your brand, build a positive perception and are a crucial part of SEO. Responding to positive and negative reviews shows you care.
Impact on student decision making - Word of mouth is extremely powerful but if students don’t know anyone with direct experience, they rely on other students for information and reviews are crucial for this.
Stand out from the competition - Students value experience and they want their investment to match expectations. By providing social proof that you excel at student experience, you increase your chances of being selected over your competitors.
Increase web traffic - Reviews from third party platforms such as Google, StudentCrowd or Facebook will all contribute to directing leads to your website which will in turn, increase your ranking.
Help you to identify trends - Reviews can provide excellent insights into both the likes and dislikes of your service and is a pivotal tool for improving and delivering what students expect.
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To learn more, download a product pack or get in touch with a member of our team today.
