March 1, 2009 | Ecommerce, Marketing | Andrew Kamphuis

The power of consumer reviews

The statistics are everywhere. Consumer reviews generate more sales.

I personally have had a few questions with clients and prospects about ratings and reviews, and in some of these conversations the client has been sceptical. The client has felt that a single bad rating can bring down the average or a negative review can turn off buyers. That's true if the glass is half empty.

A single bad rating can lend credibility to your product. When I look at reviews at Amazon and I see 19 good reviews and 1 bad review, it leads to credibility.

A negative review can turn buyers off, but it can also let you address a negative experience. Properly handling a negative experience shows class, and it can turn a person into a fan. (And if the consumer isn't telling you about their negative experience, you can bet they are telling their friends)

Don't fear the negative review.

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Comments

gianpaolo

@ Mar 2, 2009 at 7:01 AM

http://poggioargentiera.com

As a winery I've experienced with success the feedback section on my wines. I've actually done more than that, I've started the feedback section, one for each wine and organised as a blog post where everyone can add comment on that particular wine, by creating a tasting panel of 100 members each one of which received 6 bottles and was encouraged to write a review or any comment on our website. The key factor I think was that I have of course promised that I'll allow all comments to be published, bad and good. And yes, we had bad comments but they were a large minority. I don't think that it would be credible if all comments were positive, and I think people feel encouraged by transparency and honesty. The feedback section on our wines is always open and receives comments by customers all the time. I love it and so do customers.

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