The Power of Reviews

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Pretend you got a new phone and you are looking online for a new phone case. You browse on Amazon and find two similar cases. They are around the same price, but they are made by two different brands. Which one will you buy?  Will you close your eyes and blindly pick one, or will you look at the reviews?

In Jason McDonald’s “Social Media Marketing Workbook,” McDonald discusses the importance of “trust indicators” such as reviews. In my personal experience, I highly rely on reviews when it comes to products or brands I am unfamiliar with. In the earlier situation, I would first see which case has the most reviews and then, read that case’s reviews to see if I can trust the product, brand and/or seller. I first check to see which product has the most reviews because it can be as important, if not more important, as the product’s actual review.

In his workbook, McDonald provides an example of this. There are two different sushi restaurants with reviews on Yelp. The first has an overall review of four stars, and the second has an overall review of 4.5 stars. Well, 4.5 is more than four, correct? You would think to choose the second one but look again. The first restaurant with four stars has 169 reviews, and the second has 88 reviews. Although the second restaurant has a better general review, the first has been reviewed more. What does this mean? More people have tried this restaurant and felt the need to review it.

As you can see, reviews are important for consumers because they help consumers make their decisions. Therefore, reviews are extremely important for producers because they can either help or damage their sales and/or reputation.

So, how do you build good reviews? Well, McDonald expresses the importance of promotion. Find a way to encourage your customers to write a review or share their experience with your product with others. You can see other companies doing this everywhere. For example, the tag of a scarf I bought told me to share photos of myself wearing the brand’s product with their hashtag. I have also purchased products on Amazon, and the seller has emailed me about their concern for my satisfaction and requested me to leave a review. Small actions such as these can bring you one step closer to a good review!

Reviews are powerful for both consumers and producers. As a consumer, look to reviews to help make your decisions and as a producer, work hard to get your customers to write good reviews! Your customers can be more than customers, they can also be living advocates for your product. Therefore, whether you are a consumer or producer, realize the importance of reviews and utilize them for your outmost success.

Comments

  1. Matthew BrightbillFebruary 19, 2018 at 2:25 PM

    I look at things like this all the time. If it has crappy reviews or not many reviews I am very wary of purchasing said product. I liked what you had to say about customers becoming "advocates" for a brand because it made me think of Public Relations and how word of mouth is the best form of advertising. Reviews from people in real life are often even more reliable than the reviews online. Great insight into the importance of trust between customers and corporations!

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