Consumer Reviews Yield Valuable Clues - Web Hosting Tips

When shopping on the web, customers don’t have the luxury of trying on an article of clothing, wiggling their toes to feel the texture of a rug, spraying on a sample of perfume, holding a golf club in their hands or checking out the sound quality of a speaker system. That being the case, it is critical that you work with your web host to develop the features that make your products and services “real” to your potential customers. 

Vivid, well-written product descriptions, stellar photography and 3D images that rotate to show products from all angles can help your customers get a feel for what your have to offer. But site owners who are seriously seeking to kick their credibility (and their sales volumes) up a notch are implementing customer product reviews to help site visitors make choices. And their customers love them for it.

Web hosting provider explains - Consider these facts:

1. According to a recent survey conducted by BazaarVoice, 70 percent of online shoppers read reviews, making product reviews the most widely read consumer-generated content.
2. According to Jupiter Research, 77 percent of online shoppers use reviews and ratings when making a purchase.
3. In a study conducted by eTailing Group, 2000 shoppers were surveyed and 92 percent of them deemed online customer reviews as “extremely” or “very” helpful.
4. BizRate reports that 59 percent of users consider customer reviews to be more valuable and credible than “expert” reviews.

On October 11, 2007, eMarketer reported on a Nielson study that concluded that consumer recommendations are the most trusted form of advertising, not just among U.S. consumers but also worldwide. More than three quarters of those surveyed in 47 markets across the globe rated recommendations from consumers as a trusted form of advertising vs. just 63% for newspapers, 56% for TV and magazines and 25% to 35% for search ads and banner ads, respectively. Your web host can help you develop the consumer review mechanism that is most appropriate for your site. 

Consumers are automatically conditioned to be wary of paid advertisements because they are, after all, directed and paid for by companies whose stated purpose is to influence buying decisions. As consumers become more and more leery of the messages in paid ads, word of mouth marketing becomes critical to business growth. 

Consumer product reviews, on the other hand, make “real people” the advocates for products on sites where the audiences are highly desirable to marketers, yet the visitors tend to be skeptical of online marketing. According to Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence: “It’s trying to leverage a more trusting environment” and a form of marketing (word of mouth) that is particularly trusted by consumers.

Ecommerce site owners often post a pre-written list of questions and answers available for consumers. Through customer reviews, site owners are becoming aware of questions they didn’t predict, such as how an article of clothing fits or compatibility with other products. Even more importantly, customers are helping each other and saving each other from potentially expensive mistakes. This ultimately helps reduce customer support costs for your site.

So how do assure your customers that your site’s product reviews are written by actual consumers and not some marketing department hired by your company?
That’s the tricky part.  Do not underestimate customer savvy. Reviews that sound even remotely biased will damage your credibility (and your ability to make money). Don’t go there. Customer reviews must be authentic. Like your mama said, honesty is the best policy.

Reviews written by real consumers will not always address a product or service in glowing terms. Believe it or not, negative reviews can actually help aid a purchase decision. Consumers realize that no product is perfect. They want an honest, objective view of a product’s strengths and weaknesses.

Lastly, and possibly most importantly, reviews let your customers know that their opinions count. A customer who writes a review on a product and then sees it actually published on your site is likely to become your new best friend. As any successful marketer will tell you, it costs far less to keep an existing customer than to woo a new one.

Consumer reviews will take on even more importance as the online holiday shopping season unfolds. Get with your web host today to decide the best way to launch this feature on your site and get ready for a happy, prosperous holiday season.    

 

back to top