HOW FAKE REVIEWS CAN HURT YOUR BUSINESS
Reviews are something that should be taken very seriously which every company (irrespective of size) should be particularly concerned about preemptively managing them. This is because they (positive reviews) are essentially important to upholding respectable standards and ensuring that a good business image is maintained. Significantly, reviews play a major role in a consumer’s purchasing decisions.
On the other hand, negative reviews can badly affect any business or brand in the market. Take for instance, there is a new restaurant in town and all of a sudden you begin to hear and read about some terrible reviews on the new restaurant, would you want to take a first date there?
7 out of every 10 customers would rather prefer to go and dine elsewhere than to visit a restaurant with negative reviews. This hint was revealed by a research carried out by Keeping It Kleen. According to the study, 70% of consumers rely on online reviews.
The rationale behind this observation is relatively simple. This is majorly because most consumers do not have enough time to spare i.e. each of them has a limited amount of time. Even if they are offered a full refund of their money, extra time spent in dealing with accidents, mistakes or outright incompetence cannot be entirely fixed for the customer in most cases.
Let’s consider the illustration that was earlier introduced of a bad meal on a first date. Such a situation tends to a wasted evening and can possibly lead to early termination of a relationship even if the restaurant does not charge for the food. Nobody will want to accept that, in fact only a few people would even care if a legitimate reason was presented for the poor service they had earlier received. So, because people want to experience a seamless night out that is not associated with any complications, they majorly rely on online reviews in most cases.
Before people start making forever decisions, they must have been getting feedback. Today this information has even become more easily accessible by the public due to the introduction of review sites like Google, Yelp and iTrueReview thereby allowing it to extend to a wider populace.
Consider how many people have asked friends, colleagues and family for their opinions on a particular restaurant, and think about the impact that a poor review would create on their selection. If there is anything you must know, know that negative reviews directly translate into brand damage and business loss.
In order to avoid this, it is important to actively manage your online presence by encouraging positive reviews and taking an early stance on brand management through online review pages. If you have one positive review and one negative review, it will probably result in business loss or no less than uncertainty on the part of the customer.