The number of people who make purchases or use services via the Internet is constantly growing. According to statistics, 97% of users are looking up information about a company, its products, and its offers online, and 12% of consumers do this on a daily basis. After finding it, they either decide to buy the product or refuse to engage with the brand.
But why do similar products or services have different popularity? Among the important factors in their success are the image of the company itself, the quality of products, and the opinion of their users. In the experience of Reputation House Agency, knowing how to work with customers is a vital skill for any business. Let’s imagine that a person has chosen a certain coffee machine model and decided to read reviews about it. If he sees several negative reviews in a row on the page, the reputation of the supplier or manufacturer will suffer significantly, and the probability of purchase will be reduced all the way down to zero. The person will simply close the tab and start looking for a more suitable option.
The Reputation House team, which works with SERM and other Online Reputation Management tools, explains: before starting to trust a business, customers read at least 7 reviews. And for 60% of consumers, negativity on the Internet has become the reason for not choosing the services and products of certain companies. More and more people are starting to rely not only on personal recommendations from friends, but also on online reviews. According to the latest data, the number of such buyers has increased to 89%.
Reputation House: Customers Leave Negative Reviews More Often Than Positive Ones
Studies show that people are much more willing to share the flaws of goods or services (15 people on average) than to talk about their good qualities (11 people in total). The reason lies in psychology: for most people, it is more important to inform others about the negative, while the positive is perceived as something normal. Therefore, if you do not pay attention to the opinions that users leave about you on the Internet, their negative reviews can severely damage your reputation. And your income will decrease along with it: the loss of conversion of potential customers reaches 89% if the rating is at the level of 1-2 stars.
Let’s add to this that when searching for information, only 5% of people go to the second page of search results. As a matter of fact, Google accounts for 75.34% of the world’s search traffic, and Bing for 9.94%. And the appearance of negativity in the search results becomes a direct proof of low quality of goods or services. Accordingly, a low reputation because of reviews will lead to a decision to not make a purchase and cooperate. But it is possible to make sure that only the right resources with positive and verified information about the company get into the top 10.
SERM technology is designed specifically for this purpose, with which Reputation House has been working since 2010. The agency is represented in 8 countries around the world, has more than 200 employees, and its scope of interests is not limited to this area. Its specialists have developed a unique “IQBuzz” monitoring system and two mobile apps for working with mentions for individuals and businesses.
SERM technologies allow Reputation House to bring content with a positive tone to the top positions. Negative content will be pushed down, and in the most severe cases, specialists will initiate its removal in pre-trial or judicial order. Employees develop an individual strategy for each customer and promptly make changes to it taking into account news events, customer requests, social and other changes in the market.
The Peculiarities of Reputation House’s Work with Positive Reviews
According to specialists at Reputation House, positive reviews become social proof for customers that the company can be trusted. A large number of reviews indicates that the product/service has been used by many people, and the item itself is popular. The more evaluations of a product there are, the easier it becomes to form a clear opinion about it and dispel doubts.
And companies know this, so they often try to achieve the highest possible rating – up to 5.0 stars – by publishing their own positive comments. But the consequence of this can be a loss of reputation: there is a downside to having exceptionally positive reviews. The total absence of negativity drastically reduces trust in the company. Consumers and customers immediately have doubts: how can a product be liked completely by all users? After all, even with an ideal business, there will always be people who are dissatisfied with something and are sure to share their opinion on the Internet. A picture that is too beautiful may seem fake, designed to hide some shortcomings.
That’s why work on your image is not limited to SERM for Reputation House. The agency uses all ORM tools that help build the trust of potential buyers. And, in addition to positive comments, we publish neutral, and sometimes even slightly negative reviews. We are talking about constructive criticism, which can even play a positive role in business development.
Reputation House Agency presents an example: customers complain that the restaurant is constantly overcrowded and it is impossible to find a free table. On the one hand, this is negative. But on the other hand, potential visitors will realize that the establishment is very popular and will also want to appreciate its merits.
According to Reputation House, customers should definitely receive feedback from the company, regardless of the content of the review. Unfortunately, apologies or offers of compensation are often received only for negative comments. But ignoring positive reviews will have a bad effect on your reputation! Customers and consumers want their efforts in writing reviews to be recognized by the company. Even a few words of appreciation can help build trust with your audience, increase their loyalty, and show that you are customer-oriented.
If you need help working with reviews, Reputation House, with SERM and other ORM tools, will help you solve your problem. The agency works with businesses in different fields, media personalities, and politicians. More than 10 years of experience allow us to solve problems of any level of complexity.