A recent survey by SirPortly and YouGov that revealed that Nearly half (46%) of UK consumers use social media for online purchasing decisions and over a third (35%) use it to vent about bad customer service. Steve Hurn, CEO of social commerce company Reevoo argues why brands can no longer avoid bad reviews online.
Brands will not want to hear that over a third of consumers are publically complaining about bad customer service to their social networks, it can strike fear into the heart of brand managers that are not digitally and socially savvy.
However the way to deal with this is not to stick your head in the sand and hope your brand doesn’t come under fire, but rather to ensure you have honest and verified reviews of your products and services online.
This research reveals that there’s a desire for consumers to make their feelings known to brands, and if you don’t proactively request consumer feedback you tend to get only the extreme views – people with an axe to grind – which is not a true reflection of your brand or service.
The mere presence of bad reviews isn’t enough to put most consumers off: it’s the ratio of good to bad that matters. A few bad reviews carry much less weight with consumers when they appear alongside dozens or hundreds of good reviews. Less than 1% of consumers leave a retailer’s website after seeing one badly reviewed product. Most importantly, bad or critical reviews aren’t just good for the shopper – they’re good for the business owner too.
Rigorous reviewing from loyal customers will help you improve your products and services.
Furthermore, this thoughtful and detailed feedback will give you the opportunity to demonstrate how responsive you are to your customers. If you haven’t done it already, it is now time to get out there and begin gathering this valuable feedback from your customers, positive or negative.
By Steve Hurn
CEO
Revoo
www.reevoo.com
