Intranet reviews: how to find unbiased opinions online

Intranet reviews: how to find unbiased opinions online

Jonathan Davies

7 mins read

How to find unbiased intranet reviews to inform your purchasing decision

The best way to find out what an intranet platform is actually like is from people who have used it. But how do you go about finding those people? Here are a few methods you could try:

Method #1: Reach out to customers from published success stories

Most software companies publish case studies or testimonials to show off their happy customers. And who better to ask about a software platform than people who have already used it?

When you see customers featured in testimonial videos or mentioned in case studies, consider reaching out to them on LinkedIn. Most people love sharing their opinions, and many will be happy to set up a quick call to tell you about the intranet software.

Here are some questions you might want to ask:

Method #2: Visit reputable third-party review sites

Software comparison sites are a great place to look for honest intranet reviews. However, it’s important to stick to reputable sites like G2, Capterra, and Software Advice. These sites allow users to share their opinions on all sorts of software, including employee intranets. Crucially, they also independently verify each review, so you’re much less likely to see fake ones.

Another advantage of these sites is that you can filter reviews according to criteria like company size, role, industry, and region. So, if you’re an IT support engineer in a mid-sized marketing firm in Germany, you can filter your results down so you only see reviews from people with similar profiles.

Method #3: Use Crunchbase to create a list of current customers

Another option is to use a company insights platform like Crunchbase to come up with a list of companies that currently use the intranet software you’re researching. Then, you can search for the relevant people within those companies on LinkedIn, and reach out to ask about their experience. Not sure who to search for? Leaders in HR, IT, or internal communications are usually a good bet.

Method #4: See what users are saying on social media

Social media is another good place to look for real, unfiltered opinions about an intranet platform. Start by checking the company’s page and reading through some of the comments — which might be positive or negative.

It’s also a good idea to search for the company name so you can see other posts people have published about the software. Keep in mind that one of the biggest reasons people tag companies on social media is to complain. Looking at how the company responds to complaints can be interesting, as it gives you an idea of what their support service looks like.

Method #5: Request a free demo

While it’s not exactly a way to find intranet reviews, the best way to develop your own opinion on a platform is to see it in action. And most intranet providers will happily walk you through their software and answer your questions on a demo call.

Make sure you come prepared with a list of the specific features you want to see demonstrated, and any questions you want to ask. Here are some questions to consider:

How to use reviews to find the right intranet software: 4 tips

Knowing where to look for intranet reviews is just the beginning of the process. To find the right intranet software for your organization, you need to know how to use and understand the reviews you find. Here are a few tips to follow:

Filter down to the most relevant reviews

Filtering online reviews can help you to narrow them down until you’re only seeing the most relevant ones. There are a few ways to do this. First, as mentioned above, you can use sites like G2 to find reviews from organizations that are similar to yours.

Alternatively, you can filter reviews by theme by searching for specific keywords based on the aspects of the software that are most important to you. For example, if ease of use is a key consideration, you might search for keywords like “user interface”, “learning curve”, or “deployment”.

Double-check the authenticity of intranet reviews

If you’re going to base a buying decision on a review, it’s important to be sure it came from a real person. But unfortunately, not all reviews are genuine. Thankfully, there are some common red flags you can look out for that might indicate a review isn’t real:

Read both positive and negative reviews

Sites like Capterra and G2 provide an average rating for each software, which can be useful for comparing different tools. But even if a product is highly rated, it’s a good idea to read some negative reviews. This way, you’ll learn which features people didn’t like — which could inform your choice if they’re particularly important to your organization.

Equally, even if a company has a lot of negative reviews, it’s worth looking at the positive ones too. This tells you what the provider is doing well, and might give you some things to look out for in reviews of other products.

Pay attention to when reviews were published

Another important consideration when reading online reviews is the date when they were published. Software can change significantly over short periods, so reviews over 18 months old are likely to be outdated.

Also, software providers often base updates on the feedback they receive from customers. That means that the very things people were complaining about six months ago might be the things the company is excelling at now!

Use intranet software reviews to make an informed buying decision

Choosing an intranet solution is a big decision, and you should go into it armed with all the information you can find. Yes, that means looking at the intranet platform’s website — but you shouldn’t just trust what they say. Instead, check out their social media, read some reviews on reputable sites, and ask for a demo when you’re ready.