Online consumer reviews is a form of electronic word-of-mouth
and is an emerging trend in product marketing which is highly influential on a consumers
final purchase decision.
According to (Cui, Lui, & Guo, 2012) online product
review web sites outrank all other media in influencing customer decisions. This is because consumer- oriented information
about products written by other experienced consumers is noticed to be more
trustworthy. Experienced consumers offer critical information in reviews which
helps other consumers make informed decisions about purchasing new products. In
an infographic ‘the Importance of Online Customer Reviews’ Saleh states many
interesting facts about customer reviews. According to Saleh around 88% of
consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (Saleh,
2016). This shows how powerful consumer reviews can be to other customers who seek
for information about a specific product to gain an insight into the quality
and feedback of other consumer’s experiences before purchasing. Consumers who search
for online reviews accept them as a ‘valuable and credible’ source of
information to find out about the product strengths and weaknesses from a
customer’s perception, (Robson, Farshid, Bredican, & Humphrey, 2013).
According to the Authors of a market research journal
nearly a quarter of all internet users consult online reviews prior to making
their purchase decision of a product or service, (Robson, Farshid, Bredican,
& Humphrey, 2013). This is because
online consumer reviews provide recommendations, important information and
product experiences from another customer’s perspective, rather than just what
is adverstised by the business.
Online reviews can be very overwhelming for consumers, with
an influx of information overload it makes it difficult for consumer and
marketers to make meaning from the considerable amount of reviews and
information presented by consumers. (Robson, Farshid, Bredican, & Humphrey,
2013) described online reviews as unstructured and responses are unsystematic
therefore making it difficult for consumers to choose reliable reviews. Information
overload is not only overwhelming for consumers but can be very difficult for
the businesses to understand what customers like or dislike and if they need to
improve their products or services. If negative online consumer reviews are
posted they can have a detrimental effect on a business’s image. According the
Saleh 86% of people will hesitate to purchase from a business which has
negative consumer reviews.
It is important for
businesses to keep updated with consumer reviews and make it applicable to
their online websites as there is a very positive relationship between consumer
reviews and product sales. To ensure positive reviews businesses need to
critically analyse all consumer feedback, positive and negative, to establish
what their customers want in order to meet their needs and eliminate poor
product reviews.
Online consumer reviews is a current issue in marketing as
consumer experience on products or services is highly influential to those
seeking for more information. However many consumers provide incorrect and
inconsistent information which is miss leading and can have a huge effect on
the business. Consumer reviews are a very powerful form of online communication
with consumers sharing product and service experiences with the online
community which are visible to the world. To benefit from consumer review and
encourage positive feedback marketers need to understand how to influence
consumers to share product information according to (Cui, Lui, & Guo, 2012)
researchers have recommended encouraging advocates and withholding product
information to influence consumers to provide online reviews and share positive
information about their products and services.
References
Robson, K., Farshid, M., Bredican, J., & Humphrey, S.
(2013). Making sense of online consumer reviews: a methodology. International
Journal Of Market Research, 55(4), 521. http://dx.doi.org/10.2501/ijmr-2013-046
Cui, G., Lui, H., & Guo, X. (2012). The Effect of
Online Consumer Reviews on New Product Sales. International Journal Of
Electronic Commerce, 17(1), 39-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/jec1086-4415170102
Other references
Baek, H., Ahn, J., & Choi, Y. (2012). Helpfulness of
Online Consumer Reviews: Readers' Objectives and Review Cues. International
Journal Of Electronic Commerce, 17(2), 99-126. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/jec1086-4415170204
Saleh, K. (2016). The Importance Of Online Customer
Reviews [Infographic] | The Invesp Blog. Invespcro.com. Retrieved 2
September 2016, from http://www.invespcro.com/blog/the-importance-of-online-customer-reviews-infographic/
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