Unfortunately, many of these debt-ridden consumers don’t understand the industry or what they really need. “Trustpilot allows 4 Pillars to demonstrate that we are a company that provides consumers with a better option for those experiencing financial hardship,” says 4 Pillars co-founder and CEO Troy Tisserand.
The company considered several rating platforms, but Tisserand was concerned that choosing a rating platform that engaged in unethical practices would undermine 4 Pillars’ reputation. “Some of them had these backdoor processes where you could remove negative reviews, or you could actually increase the number of reviews you can get by having the same person leave five reviews,” he says.
Ultimately, the team chose Trustpilot because they shared similar values around transparency and integrity. Consumers know that a business can’t remove reviews from Trustpilot just because they don’t like what they say. These reviews provide an opportunity for the company to grow and for consumers to see the full range of customer experiences.
The night before 4 Pillars launched on Trustpilot in April 2017, Tisserand remembers being so nervous he couldn’t sleep. “When a company starts making the decision to start collecting reviews, you’re really putting your company’s reputation and your brand on the line,” he says. What if they received a barrage of negative reviews? Or what if something else went wrong?
But the next day, when hundreds of five-star reviews rolled in, Tisserand knew they had made the right decision. Customers rave about 4 Pillars’ friendly and knowledgeable staff, as well as their excellent communication. While not surprised, Tisserand was relieved that the majority of their customers were extremely satisfied with their experience and were happy to share their stories with other potential customers.
Although most of the 4 Pillars reviews are positive, the 4 Pillars team has learned to treat the occasional negative review as an opportunity for improvement, especially when it comes to clients moving into the second phase of their program after they have restructured their debts . “Sometimes when they’re adapting from one part of our business to another, they don’t see the importance of what that second program is going to do and how it helps them move forward,” says Tisserand. Armed with this new knowledge, the 4 Pillars team now follows up with each customer to make sure they understand the importance of this second phase so they don’t go into debt again.
The 4 Pillars team contacts every customer who leaves a negative review so they can learn from that experience. “We’re always improving our systems and there are times when something can break in our customer journey,” says Tisserand. “A review is an early indication that something might not be working.”
Knowing that they may be audited has also given staff members additional motivation to strive for positive interactions with customers. “Because they go the extra mile, it actually reinforces our brand and the evaluation process,” says Tisserand. “Trustpilot allows us to capture all that energy that we have in providing that really good customer service experience.”
Tisserand and his team opted for simplicity when integrating Trustpilot into their business. For example, three-, four-, and five-star reviews are built into the reviews page of their website and include their Trustpilot rating in their email signature. “It’s more of a subtle communication strategy that lets the person know we’re doing great work,” says Tisserand. “As long as we’re focused on the great work we’re doing, then we’ll keep getting new reviews that reflect that work,” he adds.
This approach is paying off as 4 Pillars has garnered over 3,200 reviews with an average of 4.8 stars as of August 2023.
Beyond sharing positive customer experiences, 4 Pillars’ Trustpilot presence also helped improve search engine optimization. “Because our channel is active and we’re constantly getting reviews, Google indexes this constant new content and our rankings increase as a result,” says Tisserand. “Whenever they search for our brand, the Trustpilot page comes up.”
Tisserand also raves about the Trustpilot team and their in-depth understanding of the review process. Over the years of working with the Trustpilot representative, they have built a strong relationship.
Trustpilot is always there to check in. I think this really speaks to the type of brand Trustpilot has and what you should expect from a company of this calibre.
— Troy Tisserand, Co-Founder and CEO of 4 Pillars
Customers are understandably picky about who they do business with, so trust matters now more than ever. However, it is not enough to simply build a solid reputation with customers. Companies need to make their positive brand reputation visible so that current and future customers know who they can trust.
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