Reviews - do they really help to sell the products? | Warrior Forum - The #1 Digital Marketing Forum & Marketplace

10 years ago

I am no American but I always base my decision in valid reviews. Reviews helps a lot in deciding whether to buy a certain product/service or not, especially those reviews that don't have referral links.

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AffiliateWaves 10 years ago

Review always help me in selecting better product for me and it applies to most of us .Reviews help in getting a better idea of product

Product having more reviews are viewed more so they sell more.
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Myles Sinclair

10 years ago

I suspect that much of the data has been collected by market research groups on behalf of the companies who have commissioned reports. Getting hold of that data may be a problem.

However, as most companies seem to make use of reviews, it suggests that it's a good move to do so.

I know that I will always seek other peoples opinion, if possible, when buying something new.

You could always conduct your own survey, by going out and asking random people their opinion on reviews. Then you'll have your own data. You have to be careful how you phrase any questions though, as results can be skewed or manipulated, just by the wording!

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Chriswrighto 10 years ago

Yes. Absolutely.

It's a matter of social proofing - check that out.

A review is just a way of showing that someone has bought your product and benefited from it.

Think about your own online shopping...

Chris
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Yurka

10 years ago

Thank you all for your feedback. I am aware of the anecdotal evidence that reviews can be an effective selling tool.
However, I am looking for stats and research papers rather than "look at amazon, they must be doing something right"

Originally Posted by Myles Sinclair

I suspect that much of the data has been collected by market research groups on behalf of the companies who have commissioned reports. Getting hold of that data may be a problem.

yeah, something like this. Ideally in public domain because I am writing an article and would like to include credible references, which my readers can check up on.

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Yurka 10 years ago

something like these:
http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~aghose/p...ower_print.pdf
[]Highly Recommended![] The Content Characteristics and Perceived Usefulness of Online Consumer Reviews - Willemsen - 2011 - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication - Wiley Online Library

come on there must be some research geeks here, no?
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TheRockstarWriter

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Yurka

Thank you all for your feedback. I am aware of the anecdotal evidence that reviews can be an effective selling tool.
However, I am looking for stats and research papers rather than "look at amazon, they must be doing something right"

1. Go to your nearest college/university.
2. Find graduate theses.
3. Try searching by marketing first, then general business, then psychology/sociology.
4. ???
5. Profit.

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Eric Lovelace 10 years ago

Yup,

Review always help within the purchasing process. Look at Wal-Mart, Target, Etc. basically anywhere products are sold reviews help the consumers decision in purchasing.

Here is an article I found from I credible source I believe:
The Harvard Business Review
Bad Reviews Can Boost Sales. Here’s Why - Harvard Business Review

Very interesting take on negative reviews actually increasing sales of a product. Weird huh?
Check it out and hope it helps

Eric
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- aprilm 10 years ago
  
  In my opinion, yes. When my husband and I are deciding on a product, whether it be a household appliance or information product, we ALWAYS go to Amazon and look for the item to read consumer reviews. And I always read the worst one first. And then I will read the best ones. You can gain a lot of info from the 1 and 2 star reviews!
  
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ajbarnes777 10 years ago

Not sure about "proper research", but I know that I personally search for honest reviews on just about everything I purchase online.

For example, I was recently looking for a pair of all around boots (comfortable, sturdy, easy on and off, tough, weatherproof, affordable, and stylish). I could have just settled for a "popular brand", but after reading some reviews, I ended up going for an affordable pair of boots on eBay for $55... and they are hands down the best pair of boots I've ever owned (they're called Maelstrom work boots by the way).

There are some exceptions where I may not hunt for reviews prior to making a purchasing a decision (such as new IM products that were just launched with no reviews yet... but look promising or were launched by a reputable marketer).

Bottom line, from what I've seen as a marketer and on a personal level, REAL reviews do matter a lot.

By the way, this is why a popular review style called the "Conduit Method" works so well. It is based around NOT selling in your review... but instead just detailing all the basics of a product along with listing a few reviews from actual users. This type of review is designed for those already in a "buying mode". I've tried this method on some of my sites... and it does work. If you're a War Room member, you can check out the MASSIVE thread about this review method HERE.
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- DiggitySEO 10 years ago
  
  Absolutely. Whenever I make a site to sell an affiliate product, I review the product as well as similar competitors, highlighting the good points about the product I'm selling. Works like a charm.
  
  Make a Top 5 list and people will always flock to the #1. Especially if its not the most expensive of the group.
  
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KevinChapman

10 years ago

I always read the reviews on products before I buy them and it can sway my decision one way or the other.

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Mark Tandan

10 years ago

Consider one of the largest online marketplaces in the world, Amazon. Look at the # of reviews for their products.
Experienced Amazon affiliates, those with big sales, will certainly agree that reviews increase conversions. Not just any reviews, but highly rated and well written ones.
If you look at any number of programs teaching how to maximize affiliate earnings on Amazon, a common theme is to either use products with those types of reviews, or get people to submit reviews for products they want to promote.
Maybe it's not science, but it is Amazon and reviews sell products for them.

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gknugurlu

10 years ago

Before purchasing a product always check for reviews.

Firstly check on your own to get ideas about the product. Check their website, check the quality. Does it seem professional to you. Is it really looking as professional as they promote or advertise their product. Then check for reviews on the net. While reading reviews be careful. Because for sure you will find a lot of reviews about the product that do not give you a real experience. They are also promoting the product and this is the reason. Figure out to find real reviews from people that had real experience after purchasing the product and tell you how the system works and what is it exactly about and makes it worth.

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darrenmonroe

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Yurka

It seems so obvious that product reviews help to channel customers to buy the product BUT is there any proper research on this?

A quick search just brings up random articles stating for example that 70% of Americans read the reviews before deciding on a product, with no references as to how this data was collected and analysed - just a blank statement.

Can anyone point me to a quality source, please?

Here s a flip side to your question but first disclaimer: I do a lot of reviews here. But I started doing them because one marketer back in 2010 was getting lit up over her product and frankly as a non affiliate I LOVED IT.

The feedback was so great and people kept asking me questions over the following year I figured... "Hmmm maybe they could help other people" .

I have done reviews as a non affiliate , affiliate and told people ALWAYS if I was either and always if I got it as a review copy or I paid for it.

My take away on reviews is that it can make a serious difference as long as they are coming from the heart and genuine.

Last note if you see no reviews that doesn't make it bad. It is just that you are swinging in the wind if you buy. I learned that one the hard way at a $3000 price tag.

Hope that helps

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guitarizma

Banned 10 years ago

Originally Posted by Yurka

It seems so obvious that product reviews help to channel customers to buy the product BUT is there any proper research on this?

A quick search just brings up random articles stating for example that 70% of Americans read the reviews before deciding on a product, with no references as to how this data was collected and analysed - just a blank statement.

Can anyone point me to a quality source, please?

Its not about research - its about human instinct. Nobody wants to pay for something not useful. And we being social animals turn to "reviews" so we can learn from someone else's mistake.

If someone is looking to buy something he'd do "research" and reviews (fake or genuine) are that research.

So, if you're trying to sell something, you'll have to push your product the way your customer wants it. Its based on human psychology - definitely not a blank statement.

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MonopolyOnline

10 years ago

Yes it matters a lot.

I cannot show any research directly, but from personally experience helping other build websites, reviews are essential.

In order of effectiveness:

1) Testimonials
2) Reviews
3) Rating system

In almost all websites I work on, these three components are implimented for higher conversions.

To Your Success, Mark

sidenote: Amazon's rating system is inaccurate at best as it uses the simplistic positive - negative votes rating. I implement the same as Reddit, Yelp, Digg : Lower bound of Wilson score confidence interval for a Bernoulli parameter. Cool stuff if you are a geek.

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vuccha

10 years ago

Its about basic human instinct.

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onSubie

10 years ago

I haven't found that stat but some reword what the findings are.

This Local Consumer Review Survey (2012) study says "72% trusted online reviews as much as a personal recommendation" which could be the stat they meant.

Study: 72% Of Consumers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations

This is a different study called A Study on the Effects of Online Consumer Reviews on Purchasing Decision (PDF) from the Department of Commerce, Bharathiar University

http://www.pjitm.com/Doc/Papers/PAPER-5.pdf

It is quite detailed.

Mahlon

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Pedro Lopes

10 years ago

People read reviews because they want to see if someone they can relate to has bought the product so they can feel better about buying it themselves..
That's why promoters use testimonials, facts tell but stories sell..

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gluckspilz

10 years ago

Easy questions. Yes it works! Works wonders if done correctly!

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peetjahbee

10 years ago

I know a guy here in germany who made tests and he find out that reviews are good for selling especially high priced products.

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BradVert2013

10 years ago

Yes, I always read reviews before buying something - especially with ebooks.

A negative review won't necessarily keep me from buying something. I like to read the good and bad about something I want to buy. If an ebook has all glowing reviews from a relatively unknown author with only one or two books out, I get really suspicious about the legitimacy of those reviews.

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vedremo

Banned 10 years ago

Reviews exist to serve as a validation that a product or service is useful or plain useless to a customer's life.

We live in a world where we always seek someone else's approval. That's the psychology behind Reviews. It's being used as an effective marketing/sales tool to entice people in buying a product or service.

It works with the concept of the Referral system. Word of mouth alone from a happy and very satisfied customer can increase a product or a service's sales by 20%. This is why companies even hire professional reviewers for their products and services.

This would explain why some crappy product or service still gets good reviews. That's why discernment is very valuable. Sometimes, we simply cannot rely on the reviews that we read. This would lead to the next stage of actually buying a product or availing a particular service. We have to see if it's really worth the money that we spent.

We have to thank Social Media since it has been a good venue for customers' rantings. It has been a good source of validated good or negative feedback. It also led to the awakening process of companies - that they cannot fool their customers anymore and that they have to clean their acts if they want their businesses to continue to exist. The same thing applies to Forums like this one.

Always remember this phrase "If it's too good to be true, then it probably is."

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eklipz316

10 years ago

Not sure how the information was collected that you're referring to, but I know for myself, I always read reviews before buying and they influence my decision all the time. Reviews are the only way to really find out how something performs in real world situations.