Online Reviews: Are They Worth Your Time & Effort?
We are living in an information transparency-based society, where people want to feel confident and secure about the people and companies with whom they do business. There are shoppers who still prefer to go into stores and physically shop, but many people start their shopping process before ever stepping into a store by means on internet browsing.
THIS MEANS
They are looking at reviews and reading about the experiences other buyers are having with the product they are looking to purchase. Shoppers want to know if a company is reputable, if the service is outstanding, if the product is worth the money they are thinking of spending, no matter if the product costs $5.00 or $500,000.
When a Customer Submits a Review
It creates a profile for that company; it allows them to stand out in their service excellence, their product, and their pricing. All three criteria connect, but are also independent of one another depending on what the future customer finds the more important aspect when making a purchase.
You Say Want Online Reviews, But What If I Had A Bad Experience?
Great reviews and five stars are wonderful, however, a negative review is just as important as a positive one. If a customer had a negative experience to the point they feel they must share, the company should be given the opportunity to change the negative experience for the customer. A company dedicated to service and valuing their customers will work to earn the customer’s trust by working to make the situation a positive experience. A great company will work to identify where the experience turned into a negative one and alter the process to ensure future customers do not have the same experience.
Negative reviews are also important to read when evaluating a company, because their presence adds validity to the reviews. If you look at a company’s reviews and they are all five-star, the reviews are likely not real, because just as people aren’t perfect, neither are companies. Every company has a few negative reviews. What’s important is how, or even if, the company responds.
Look for companies that respond to all reviews, the good and the not-so-good. Companies who actively and quickly respond to reviews, are engaged in the client experience and they care. If a company isn’t responding to reviews, they probably not reading them, which means they are likely out of touch with the client experience or are relying on pre-digital resources to ascertain client satisfaction, such as telephone or email surveys. While surveys still have their place, more consumers than ever are making their feelings public with online reviews on sites, such as Yelp, Google, and Facebook, making finding the right company with whom you want to do business easier than ever.
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