Frequently Asked Questions

TrustGrade is a customer review platform that provides business owners with tools to control their reviews so they can protect their reputation from fake, false, and even bad reviews. It's also a platform that converts these reviews into a grade so businesses can display a TrustGrade Badge to establish and build customer trust.

TrustGrade focuses on giving businesses more control and protection over reviews by allowing them to flag false and misleading reviews, remove reviews which contain profanity, block fake reviews, and use the Instant Feedback Loop to address negative reviews (to satisfy the customers concerns and potentially resulting in a revised, great review), and manage real-time alerts.

TrustGrade is designed primarily for businesses to manage their reviews, but consumers also use it to leave reviews and interact with businesses.

While TrustGrade might not have the same user base as Google or Yelp, it offers businesses more control over the review process and provides a fairer balance between business and consumer feedback. Other review platforms are generally biased towards consumers and don't provide a level playing field for businesses.

Yes, TrustGrade is available to businesses of all sizes across all industries, unless otherwise stated in the terms and conditions.

Yes, TrustGrade operates globally, and businesses from different countries can use the platform to manage their reviews.

Benefits include the ability to flag false or misleading reviews, request amendments to reviews, receive real-time alerts, pin and highlight top reviews, filter and remove inappropriate content, block fake reviews with customer verification, and display the TrustGrade Badge with associated business grade.

Yes, TrustGrade provides customer support to help businesses with their accounts and review management needs.

TrustGrade blocks fake reviews with customer verification. TrustGrade also allows businesses to flag false or misleading reviews and submit evidence that explains why the review is inaccurate.

Yes, businesses can pin their best reviews and highlight key parts to ensure positive feedback is more visible.

TrustGrade uses a closed-loop system to ensure reviews come from verified customers, preventing fake reviews from being posted.

TrustGrade allows businesses to address negative feedback quickly, flag false reviews, and promote positive reviews through pinning and highlighting. Businesses also receive the TrustGrade Badge as part of their subscription which enables them to "show off" the grade they've earned on the platform to establish consumer trust.

Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews by sending requests promptly and offering outstanding customer service.

No, TrustGrade operates independently from platforms like Google Reviews or Yelp.

Yes, reviews play a significant role in customer decisions, and having a high TrustGrade rating can help build trust with potential buyers.

Businesses and customers communicate directly via the instant feedback loop, and disputes are resolved through open dialogue and feedback between the customer and the business in a transparent manner.

While you cannot control what customers write, providing excellent service and requesting reviews can lead to more positive feedback.

TrustGrade currently allows reviews in any language, making it accessible for businesses with international customers. Adding support for more languages throughout the TrustGrade dashboard, widgets, and badges may be available in future updates.

Yes, you can mention specific products or services in your responses, but it's important to stay focused on addressing customer feedback.

TrustGrade works well for both service and product-based businesses, as reviews can focus on any aspect of the customer experience.

TrustGrade reviews can be featured in paid ads by copying testimonials and embedding them into your ad creative, though the platform itself does not integrate directly with ad networks.

The Instant Feedback Loop allows businesses to address negative feedback quickly, resolve customer issues, and request the customer to amend their review, turning a negative into a positive. Once this is done, the negative review is no longer used in the grading calculation.

TrustGrade offers the option to pin your top reviews, ensuring that positive feedback is displayed prominently on your profile and in your displayed reviews on your website.

Yes, businesses can highlight key parts of reviews to draw attention to the most impactful or relevant feedback, like this.

When a review is flagged, it is marked as potentially false or misleading, and the business can provide evidence or explanations to dispute the claim. This way, people can see both sides of the story - the reviewers and the businesses. This levels the playing field and gives business owners a voice.

Flagged reviews are marked for customers to see both sides of the story—businesses can explain why the review is false or misleading, allowing transparency. Even though the review is flagged, however, the number of stars provided by the reviewer still counts towards the business's grade. That's why it's important to use the Instant Feedback Loop to resolve any issues.

Yes, businesses can update their responses to reviews as needed, allowing them to adjust their messaging based on new developments.

TrustGrade offers spam filtering options, automatically removing reviews identified as spam from your overall grade and rating calculations.

Yes, reviews containing profanity are automatically flagged and removed from the overall review grade calculations with the optional profanity filter.

Yes, reviews can be flagged for various reasons, including inappropriate content, spam, or not being relevant to your business.

The real-time alert system notifies businesses immediately with a text alert when they receive a negative review, allowing for prompt action with this optional feature.

TrustGrade allows businesses to set up text and email alerts whenever a 1- or 2-star review is posted.

TrustGrade assigns a letter grade based on the overall rating of reviews, with higher star ratings contributing to better grades..

Yes, TrustGrade provides analytics and reporting features that help businesses track trends and understand customer sentiment over time.

While TrustGrade doesn't have direct social media integration, reviews can be manually shared across platforms like Facebook, IG, Tik Tok, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

TrustGrade provides an easy, intuitive dashboard for each business to manage their customer reviews.

TrustGrade uses a closed-loop system to ensure reviews come from real customers only by allowing businesses to verify customer identities through purchase data.

Yes, businesses can selectively send review requests to their verified customers using TrustGrade's tools which include links and QR codes.

Yes, TrustGrade does not require customer names, as long as enough other information is provided to verify they are a legitimate customer.

Yes, customers can amend their reviews if they choose to after a business has used the instant feedback loop to address concerns.

Reviews remain on TrustGrade indefinitely, but businesses can flag outdated or inaccurate reviews if necessary.

Yes, TrustGrade provides widgets that allow businesses to display reviews and TrustGrade Badge on their website and the TrustGrade Badge can also be used in email signatures.

No, TrustGrade is independent and unaffiliated with Google Reviews. However, businesses can ask customers who have left a TrustGrade review to also create a similar review with Google which may add some SEO benefit.

Yes, businesses can reach out to customers after resolving their concerns and request that they amend their reviews using the Instant Feedback Loop. The old review is then removed from the business's grade calculation and replaced with the new, amended review.

Yes, TrustGrade supports SMS-based review requests by providing businesses with links they may share with their customers.

TrustGrade does not moderate reviews but provides businesses with tools to flag inappropriate content and provide evidence if needed.

The colors of the TrustGrade Badge are non-customizable however you may choose black and white or grey versions if more suitable to your website's design.

You can select reviews with particularly strong feedback and use the highlight feature to make them stand out like this!

Yes, many businesses include their TrustGrade Badge in their marketing to show their commitment to customer satisfaction. Many companies also include the TrustGrade Badge in the signature block of their emails.

Currently, TrustGrade only supports text-based reviews, but multimedia review options may be available in future updates.

No, TrustGrade does not allow pre-screening of reviews, but the Instant Feedback Loop allows businesses to address negative feedback after it is posted.

Businesses cannot delete or change any reviews on Trustgrade, even if they believe the review is false or misleading. Instead, they can mark the review as such and provide an explanation to the public, but the review and its grade remain visible. However, through the Trustgrade feedback loop, businesses can actively engage with consumers to resolve their concerns. If a business successfully addresses a consumer's issue and requests an amended review, the consumer can choose to update their original review. In this case, the new review replaces the old one, and the updated star rating determines the business's grade. This feedback loop encourages businesses to provide excellent customer service, as resolved issues can lead to improved reviews and ratings.

No, businesses cannot delete or alter any reviews on Trustgrade, whether they are positive or negative. However, they can mark a review as false or misleading and provide an explanation to the public. The review and its associated grade will remain unchanged. Businesses do have the option to ask consumers to amend their reviews if they resolve the issue through Trustgrade’s feedback loop. If the consumer chooses to update their review after the business addresses their concerns, the old review is replaced, and the new star rating determines the business’s grade. This system benefits both businesses and consumers by encouraging resolution and improved customer service.

No, businesses cannot delete any reviews or comments, whether they are positive or negative. However, businesses can mark a review as false or misleading if they believe it to be inaccurate. The review will still remain visible, along with the grade associated with it, but the business can explain why they believe the review is misleading to provide their side of the story.

When a business marks a review as false or misleading, the review remains on Trustgrade, and the grade associated with the review is not altered. The business is allowed to publicly explain why they believe the review is false or misleading, giving them a chance to provide context or counter any misinformation. However, the review itself is not removed or hidden from view.

Yes, consumers can amend their original review if the business uses Trustgrade’s feedback loop to resolve their issue. If the business successfully addresses the consumer's concern and requests an amended review, the consumer can choose to update their review. Once amended, the old review is replaced with the new one, and the updated review (along with its new star rating) determines the business's grade.

es, the feedback loop helps businesses that provide great customer service to be rewarded with updated, positive reviews. If a business resolves a consumer's issue, the consumer may choose to amend their original review to reflect the business’s efforts. This process benefits consumers by giving them a way to have their concerns addressed and resolved, while businesses are recognized for their responsiveness and customer care.

No. The grade generally improves if the customer is happy with the actions provided by the business, but there is also the potential for the grade to be reduced if, for example, a customer left a 2-star review and, after being disappointed by the business's response to their original review while using the TrustGrade Feedback Loop, then amended the rating to a 1-star review. This is why it's important to use your best efforts to quickly resolve the customer's issues and provide outstanding customer service in order for the customer to amend their review in a positive manner.

You can sign up for TrustGrade by visiting their website, choosing a pricing plan, and creating a business account.

Basic business information such as company name, address, and website URL(s). Businesses can control multiple domains from the same account.

The setup process is quick and can usually be completed within minutes once you have the required information.

Currently, TrustGrade is primarily web-based, but its mobile-optimized interface allows users to access it via smartphones or tablets quite easily.

Yes, TrustGrade allows businesses with multiple domains to manage all reviews in one account.

TrustGrade offers embeddable widgets that businesses can use to display reviews on their websites at the locations of your choice - even next to your shopping cart.

TrustGrade allows businesses to import existing reviews from other platforms, making it easier to manage all feedback in one place.

Businesses should check their TrustGrade account regularly to stay on top of new reviews and use the platform's real-time alerts for immediate notifications of any potential negative reviews so they can be addressed timely and de-escalate any consumer issues.

Yes, TrustGrade allows businesses to respond to all reviews, providing an opportunity to address customer concerns and thank satisfied customers.

No, businesses cannot delete reviews but can flag misleading or false reviews and ask for customer amendments after resolving any issues. Reviews containing profanity can be removed from grading consideration with the profanity filter.

Yes, TrustGrade provides prompt customer support via email with any issues you may encounter.

Yes, TrustGrade provides onboarding help for new customers, although the dashboard is self-explanatory and easy to use.

Technical issues can be reported to customer support, and TrustGrade aims to resolve them quickly through dedicated assistance.

Your grade is based on the average stars received of all your reviews. Providing quality products and services and addressing customer concerns promptly are required to keep a high grade.

Respond to negative reviews quickly, resolve issues, and encourage customers to update their reviews once they are satisfied.

It's best to respond to reviews as soon as possible, particularly negative ones, to show customers that you are attentive to their concerns.

Ensure that review requests are sent promptly after the customer experience and personalize the request to make customers feel valued.

No, TrustGrade does not allow businesses to block customers from leaving reviews, but you can flag reviews if they are false or misleading.

TrustGrade offers pricing starting at $39.95 per month for basic plans and $99.95 per month for its most popular premium plan.

Yes, TrustGrade offers a 30-day free trial.

The premium plan includes features such as real-time text alerts, review pinning and highlighting, and spam/profanity filters.

No, TrustGrade is transparent about its pricing, and all fees are clearly outlined before a business subscribes.

Yes, businesses can upgrade or downgrade their plans at any time depending on their needs.

TrustGrade charges businesses on a monthly subscription basis, and payments can be made via credit card or other online payment methods.

Yes, TrustGrade subscriptions can be canceled at any time, though you will retain access to the platform until the end of the monthly billing cycle.

No, TrustGrade does not charge a setup fee. The subscription fee covers all the features and services included in your plan.