Like the sun, product reviews can heat up product image, interest and sales. Nothing warms the boss’ heart, or makes sales grow more, than great reviews and word-of-mouth (WOM).
But sometimes, “solar flare” reviews can disturb the company’s plan and efforts. Less than perfect reviews light a fire under members of the organization, especially the communications team. How you deal with momentary poor reviews will go a long way in keeping the company growing.
There are two reasons product reviews are important:
1. Speed and positive impact aren't just important … they're vital.
2. Consumers trust customer written reviews 12 times more than company written product descriptions. Before making a purchase, 70 percent of consumers (B2B, B2C) look at product reviews first, according to a report by ChannelAdvisor.
Influences
With the world of information at their fingertips, today’s consumers can get all of the information they need to make a purchasing decision, often without giving companies a chance to make a sales pitch. Marketing has to focus on those efforts, activities that offer the greatest amount of customer influence and sales.
Today, nearly every person with Internet access is influenced by media and consumer reviews. According to ChannelAdviser:
- 64 percent of shoppers took 10 minutes or more to read reviews
- 33 percent took a half hour or more to read reviews
- 39 percent read eight or more reviews before buying
More than Price
Being the cheapest product in the category is a long way from guaranteeing your product/service is going to be the sales leader. Most consumers consider areas such as customer service, reputation, return policies and the company’s social/environmental programs in their purchasing decision.
Even with teens who have grown up online, friends are still their top source of information; but the importance and trustworthiness of publication and customer reviews has grown rapidly.
Dos & Don'ts
1. Don’t barter for a good, professional review. Whether it’s keeping the product/service or offering a significant discount, that discussion shouldn't occur prior to the review.
2. Request that people identify their review with their real name or an online name. Few people trust anonymous reviews because they feel they were paid reviews, employee-generated (yep, it’s done) or from competitors (especially negative reviews). Always ask for an honest, credible review.
3. Attempt to verify consumer reviewers actually purchased the product to boost credibility. Amazon, Yelp and other site reviews often suffer because the reviews are either so good or so bad they stretch credibility.
4. Respond to negative reviews in a positive, constructive manner. If it’s a negative review, don’t automatically lash out. Study the review carefully and determine if there are factual errors, differences of opinion or one of those people who can’t be satisfied. If at all possible, take the discussion offline and try to resolve the issue(s) in a professional, constructive manner.
5. Monitor and moderate reviews. Don’t expect every review to be a five-star review. Moderate reviews to make sure you don’t display anything inappropriate or overly negative, but you shouldn’t be greedy about 5-star reviews. If every product on your site is excellent, you’ll perhaps lose credibility. Be okay with three- and four-star ratings.
6. Be available. Reviewers (media or individual) go through the installation, operation and testing at all hours. When they’re in the middle of the project and encounter an issue or have a question, they can’t wait until you get around to responding when it’s convenient.
7. Don’t ignore bad reviews. With the right response, you may be able to turn a negative into a positive.
Sales Impact
Consumers may not rush enmass to buy your product or stand in long lines for hours on end; but positive reviews and WOM will have a strong influence on product interest and demand. Getting good reviews in the media and online isn’t easy, and most of them won’t be five-star ratings and outstanding accolades.
The difference between a good and a great company is how it earns and handles its reviews … especially mediocre or negative reviews. There are no shortcuts to getting good media/online reviews but they are very important in creating strong, positive, action-oriented word of mouth (WOM) and sales.
It’s worth the effort.
Current Issue - May 2024