The Good, Bad & Ugly of Online Reviews
- Neil E. Montgomery
- October 31, 2014
- 12:10 pm
Viral videos, product launches, local businesses, restaurant openings, travel destinations, hotels, and countless other things you find online are impacted by online reviews. There is no avoiding them.
Regardless of how we feel personally about online reviews, they are here to stay and we will therefore be opening up everybody’s inventions for review.
Read some of my personal experiences below:
The Good
A recent study from BrightLocal.com shows that 8 out of 10 people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. The first review of my product on Amazon pointed out an easily fixable flaw that didn’t come up in testing that improved my product overall. The reviews since have been positive which have helped grow sales. It’s important to listen to all feedback whether or not the review is positive or negative in nature.
The Bad
“Simply the best, most awesomest revolutionary product EVER… I just bought 50 more so I never run out.”
– said no reviewer ever
Astroturfing: Posting fake reviews of your product or service. While this is dishonest and deceitful business practices at best, it is also illegal with violators starting to get hefty fines. Be wary if you see a product or service with all 5 star positive reviews from people who have only ever reviewed that one product.
The Ugly
“You should make a DVD of your video… so you can slice your throat with it.”
This is a real comment from an Internet Troll on my first viral video. It is best to ignore and delete these comments if you can because all the Internet Troll is looking to do is get under your skin.
