With the increasing dependency of people on reviews posted online, while making buying decisions, it is kind of a herculean task to find a well-known product or service that does not have any reviews, whether positive or negative. The growing significance of reviews or experience has resulted into the authenticity of the reviews being questioned. In this article, we will cover what role authenticity plays in the online review world.
The Impact of Reviews
The majority of the consumers give the relatively the same value to online reviews as personal recommendations from friends and family. This tells us that these reviews instill trust in the company and its product/service, and help consumers feel more confident that their investment is worthy.
This very fact has propelled some brands to engage in generating positive reviews online which may sometimes get backfired as consumers are becoming smart. People may doubt the legitimacy of reviews as explained ahead.
Questioning the Authenticity of reviews
Consumers have also started to become aware of fake and misleading reviews. Brands with too many positive reviews are also doubted for their legitimacy.
According to Mintel, experts estimate anywhere from ? to ½ of online reviews to be fake.
Reviews on your website v/s reviews on a third-party platform
Reviews on any third-party platform will have more credibility as compared to reviews on a brand’s own website. Brand’s website may only feature a good image of the product to attract more customers. But third party platforms may have all the unbiased reviews since they take extra efforts to measure the genuineness of the reviews.
How fake reviews can be prevented
To solve this problem, third party platforms like Mouthshut filters out dubious, planted, solicited, and otherwise inauthentic reviews with the use of technology. Platforms like these are more reliable as it only shows real and authentic reviews. Since this site targets all customers who have used the products as well as prospective buyers, it becomes very essential for businesses to use such sites to maintain their reputation.
Key Takeaway
It’s okay to have a proper blend of positive and negative reviews. The way you resolve it matters. In a nutshell, it has become very necessary for companies to use third-party sites like Mouthshut to stand out from the crowd and make their business more reliable amongst customers.
