How important are website reviews?

[HFE Signs]

Please give your thoughts..? Do you check before buying?

https://www.hfe-signs.co.uk/blog/how-important-are-website-reviews

 

[webgeek]

Depends on the purchase price. If reviews are integrated and I don't have to load up several browser tabs and go searching/digging, then I'd look at them, and give them weight, of course.

If the purchase price is above a certain pain threshold, where getting nothing, or poor quality products/services would cause me serious grief, then yes, I'll check their reviews, and make sure I use a payment type that can be reversed if they don't deliver as promised. Either that, or I push hard for pay upon completion or escrow so that both are protected.

 

[fisicx]

I treat these sort of reviews the same as those on eBay. I never read the positives, I only look for the bad reviews as they tell you a lot more about the service offered than all the gushing praise.

 

[Nuno]

Reviews are read by the majority, although bad reviews give credence to a whole bunch of good ones, which is why eBay reviews are totally useless.

(I once gave someone one star on eBay. They actually phoned me up and shouted abuse and then threatened me with a solicitor. Left a mental wreck I was, and totally out of cuss words.)

 

[storage]

Depending on where the reviews are they can make or break your business

 

[storage]

most people will have no hesitation on leaving a bad review, but very few people will leave a good review even if they are happy with your service

 

[ArnageTech]

Once you have 5 or more Google reviews, they will show up on Google search, so make sure they're good reviews! One method is to personally ask clients who you KNOW had a good experience using your product or service.

 

[Banksbroo]

Reviews? With a pinch of salt. Reviews will only be trusted if they are accurate and honest. If there is unrealistic pressure or expectation for the buyer to leave 100% satisfaction then the trust is eroded.

I'd like to include reviews of my products on my site, but from the services I tried my clients wern't fussed about using them. One service allowed site owners to hide or delete bad reviews, so I would no longer trust any review using that service, and certainly wouldn't want to be assiciated with it.

Amazon product reviews (mid-range results) can sometimes give a rough idea of the product, but the overall number count can be meaningless. Too many gushing reviews, sometimes with an end disclaimer "if I had bought this product".

 

[SnappyJen]

I find reviews invaluable. We ask people to provide feedback and when they are finished, they are automatically directed to Trust Pilot to leave the feedback they have given. That way, they don't feel under pressure to write something positive as all we are asking them to do is post feedback they have already given.
Having said that, you have to have a great deal of confidence in your product - we are a five star company on Trust Pilot.

 

[DesignerNick]

Depends on the purchase price. If reviews are integrated and I don't have to load up several browser tabs and go searching/digging, then I'd look at them, and give them weight, of course.

If the purchase price is above a certain pain threshold, where getting nothing, or poor quality products/services would cause me serious grief, then yes, I'll check their reviews, and make sure I use a payment type that can be reversed if they don't deliver as promised. Either that, or I push hard for pay upon completion or escrow so that both are protected.

I agree about the purchase price, if I am buying something for a fiver I won't bother but when for example I bought a surround sound system I took my time to read both product and retailer reviews as it was a fair chunk

 

[supermaster]

I always read reviews from other people before deciding to buy or not. However if the product or the service is new come and pretty cool then I will buy it even there is no any review

 

[neils3]

For example whenever I buy something from Amazon I will read both good and bad reviews. The reason I like reading good reviews is because I want to know how useful they found it, ideally how they used and any good tips.

 

[#ServicedOffices]

Reviews...

For a business, only if they are new to me (part of due diligence - keeping in mind more people will leave negative reviews than positive reviews, understanding from time to time things will go wrong (how well did the business resolve it?) and understand that in some sectors (especially restaurants) bad reviews are used as bargaining chips i.e. no discount, bad review)

For products, like on Amazon (pick the top 10 and worst 10 reviews, check dates, determine whether inconsistent reviews are due to a bad batch, check review even relates to the product (!), basic IQ test and ensure the person actually purchased the product)

For either, I avoid professional reviews... some people do take pride in leaving comprehensive reviews as though they were a famous critic, but sometimes there is a clue that gives it away of perhaps the review was paid for... and also I avoid relative reviews... it is sweet when a brother or sister, mother or father, cousin, niece or nephew, or friend puts in a good word for a worker or the owner, but this deceptive praise is normally easily seen through. Its not so bad when someone declares it openly.

In addition, I really don't like reviews that are slating a competitor, making hearsay a fact or acting as adverts encouraging people to buy another product or from another seller.

 

[columbo]

I will look at reviews but only genuine ones. If I sniff,for even one moment, that the reviews are possibly fake - it makes me run a mile. If the people behind the business are dishonest enough to post fake reviews - how can I trust them in other things?

Things that I look for to identify a fake review:

-syntax
-commonality of words or phrases used
-the poster's other reviews (if any)

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

I treat these sort of reviews the same as those on eBay. I never read the positives, I only look for the bad reviews as they tell you a lot more about the service offered than all the gushing praise.

Me too

 

[shamthompson]

I always look for reviews, feedback and previous customer purchases prior to making a deal.

 

[Mad Frog]

You have to be careful with reviews though, take them with a pinch of salt, negative reviews in particular are often unjustified and exaggerated views -Trip Advisor is a good example of this.

 

[Ian J]

I treat these sort of reviews the same as those on eBay. I never read the positives, I only look for the bad reviews as they tell you a lot more about the service offered than all the gushing praise.

I tend to review restaurants on Trip Advisor but only if I have been very happy as if the food is mediocre or outright poor I tend not to review at all.

I know that Trip Advisor probably isn't typical as many of the poor reviews of places that I like are often laughable and out of Playa Blanca's (Lanzarote) hundreds of restaurants the top rated one is a British style fish and chips restaurant.

 

[nick.w]

As an ecommerce business owner I didn't like the idea of review platforms like Trustpilot because I think people only really write a review when they have a grievance to air about a product or service.

After a lot of convincing I took the plunge and signed up to Trustpilot - and I'm super glad we did. Conversions have increased by around 4% since adding the Trustpilot widgets to our site. That's a 50% increase in conversions, which is not to be sniffed at.

Personally I look for reviews for reassurance, so it tallies, really!