Is it okay to contact people who reviewed a competitor?

Reviews are public and written to inform other buyers, so reading them is fair. Contact them as you would any B2B prospect, follow the outreach rules where they are, and never misrepresent how you found them.

Which reviewers are most likely to switch?

Usually three-star reviewers who name a specific missing feature or a price problem. One-star reviewers have often already left; five-star reviewers are happy.

Where can I find competitor reviews?

G2 and Capterra for business software, Trustpilot for companies selling online, and the App Store and Google Play for mobile apps.

Should I mention their review in my message?

Refer to the problem they described, not to the review itself. "Teams often struggle with X" works better than "I read your review".

Your competitors' reviewers are your warmest leads

Why reviewers beat almost any list

Think about what a review tells you that a database row does not:

They bought in your category. Budget and need are proven.
They know what they want. They wrote it down.
They said what is wrong. Usually in one specific sentence.
You know the date. A review from last month is a current opinion.

The trap is treating every reviewer the same. The star rating changes everything about whether to approach and what to say.

Read by star rating

Stars	What it usually means	Lead value	Approach
1	Angry, often already left or leaving	Medium	Ask what they moved to. If nothing yet, offer help with the exact complaint
2	Unhappy, stuck for now (contract, migration cost)	High, but later	Note the renewal timing if they mention it, return closer to it
3	Uses it, names a clear gap	Highest	Open with the gap. They are weighing options without saying so
4	Satisfied with a small wish	Low to medium	Only if their wish is your core strength
5	Happy	Low	Skip, unless the review shows they also need something you do that the competitor does not

Three-star reviews are the sweet spot because they combine real usage with a stated reason to look elsewhere. "Good for small teams, but reporting is basic and we outgrew it" is practically a request for a demo.

Read the words, not just the stars

Within each band, sort by what the complaint is about. These four categories behave differently:

Missing feature. Strongest lead if you have the feature. Useless if you do not.
Price. Strong if you are cheaper for their case. Check before you claim it.
Support or reliability. Moderate. Everyone promises better support; it is hard to prove in a first message.
Fit. "Too complex for us" or "built for enterprises". Strong if you are the simpler option.

A decision rule that saves time: only approach a reviewer if the complaint is something you can demonstrably fix. If you cannot point to the specific thing, do not send the message.

A worked example

Say you make a project management app for architecture firms, and you read the 60 most recent reviews of a larger competitor on Capterra. Illustrative numbers:

60 reviews: 8 one-star, 7 two-star, 14 three-star, 18 four-star, 13 five-star.
Of the 14 three-star reviews, 6 name a gap you fill (say, no drawing version control).
Of the 15 one- and two-star reviews, 4 complain about something you fix and do not mention having switched.
Two four-star reviewers wish for the same version control.

That is 12 people worth approaching out of 60. Each has written your opening line for you. Most reviews show a first name, a role, company size and industry; some show a full name and company. Finding the actual person usually means matching those details against LinkedIn or a directory.

What the first message looks like

Do not say "I read your review". It feels like surveillance even though the review is public. Refer to the problem as a common one:

Hi Tom, a question for architecture practices using [category] tools: how are you handling drawing revisions at the moment? Most firms we talk to end up with a shared drive and a naming convention. We built version control into ours for that reason. Happy to show you in ten minutes, or just tell you how others do it.

Name the problem, show you have the fix, offer something small. If they reply asking how you found them, say so plainly: you read public reviews of tools in your category. More on this approach in write a first message from their words.

The ground rules

Never post replies to their review pitching your product. It is visible to the competitor and every other reader, and it reads as an advert, not help.
Follow outreach law where they are. In the UK, emailing a named employee at a company is generally allowed without prior consent under PECR, but UK GDPR still applies to their personal data, and sole traders need consent. See stop pitching your own customers for keeping a do-not-contact list.
Do not disparage the competitor. Describe what you do. The reviewer already knows what is wrong.
Check before you contact. If the reviewer is already your customer (it happens), suppress them.

Where to look

G2 and Capterra for business software.
Trustpilot for companies selling to consumers or small businesses online.
The App Store and Google Play for mobile apps, where reviewers are often individuals. Check whether they are a business buyer at all.

Where Sluice fits

Doing this by hand takes an afternoon per competitor. In Sluice you paste a review page from G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, the App Store or Google Play, and the reviewers become leads with their stars beside their words. Each is matched to a person where possible, scored 0 to 100 against your customer profile, and ranked, and HubSpot customers are kept out. Drafts open from what they wrote, and nothing sends without your approval. Not every reviewer can be identified; anonymous reviews stay anonymous. Pricing starts at $9 a month on pricing.

Do this first

Pick your closest competitor, read their 30 most recent three-star reviews, and count how many name a gap you fill. If it is more than five, you have this week's best leads.