Establishing Buyer Trust Through Quality Reviews with Allyson Havener, TrustRadius

“People read three-star reviews. They don't read five-star reviews. People are looking for truth. They're looking for actual helpful content, and nothing's five stars,” says Allyson Havener, CMO at TrustRadius

In this episode of The Content Cocktail Hour, Allyson Havener, CMO at TrustRadius, explores how reviews, AI, and data-driven content are shaping modern B2B marketing. Allyson shares why quality beats quantity when it comes to reviews, how TrustRadius is setting the industry standard for authenticity in customer voice, and why proprietary data is a brand’s secret weapon in the age of AI. She also offers her unique perspective on why CMOs, not CROs, should lead go-to-market teams and how aligning marketing with finance is a game-changer.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why TrustRadius rejects nearly half of its submitted reviews to maintain quality and credibility
2. How AI is affecting buyer trust—and how businesses can protect their content from becoming commoditized
3. The hidden power of proprietary data and how it fuels content, product, and marketing strategy



Resources:

Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-gandolf/

Explore AudiencePlus: https://audienceplus.com

Connect with Allyson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allyson-havener

Explore TrustRadius: https://www.trustradius.com

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:16) Understanding TrustRadius

(02:04) Balancing vendor and buyer solutions

(04:54) The importance of quality reviews

(05:53) Philosophy and strategy at TrustRadius

(08:52) AI's role in reviews

(12:39) TrustRadius' data-driven content strategy

(17:32) The value of content marketing

(23:38) Why CMOs may be better suited to lead revenue teams