When it comes to choosing a new product or service, there is always a wealth of information online. There is even so much that it can often be overwhelming. With forums, social media, review sites, and affiliate marketers, it can be impossible to know who to trust. Below, we give our expert advice on how to use online reviews effectively.
Using Independent Reviews
Independent reviews are ones done by the customers themselves. They may involve product ratings and comments on Amazon or ratings on sites such as google.com and their Google My Business feature, among others. As they are done without financial incentive, in that customers have nothing to lose or gain by doing them, you can often find some very honest answers about a product.
The problem with this is that people themselves can be unreliable. What works for one person may not work for another. When using services, one person’s minor bad experience can turn into a bigger one when written down online.
Secondly, some people like to complain. People are much more likely to vent their frustration in this way than post a comment about how good a product is. In these instances, you need to look at more than a few independent reviews. Average them out and see if any patterns are emerging, so you can decide if the bad reviews are just one or two, or a whole host of them.
Blog Reviews
Successful blog reviews are written by independent webmasters, who usually specialize in a niche. When they give a review, they often have a link back to the products, known as an affiliate link. If people follow this, webmasters get a small share of the profit.
While it may seem like this means reviews could be biased, for successful blogs, it is the opposite. They thrive on trusting relationships with their readers, built through honest reviews and giving both the good and bad. If they make up reviews to get sales, then it results in fewer returning readers.
You can find trusted sites like this for almost every niche. A great example can be found at bonus.ca/fr and their review of sites such as Casino Days. Opinions are reliable and cover everything from usability to choice of games and payment methods. The site also has a handy ranking system, so you can compare offers by providers.
Company Response
One way to assess a company or its products is to look at its response to bad reviews. This is a great indicator of their customer service and how they deal with any problems.
For example, imagine you check the reviews for a restaurant through sites such as reviewtrackers.com. If someone has had bad service and the place posts an angry tirade in response, would you want to go there? Compare this with a place that posts an explanation with an apology. If the other reviews were favorable, you would be much more likely to visit.
By using a combination of these tactics, you can get an honest review and opinion. Make sure you check the source and don’t take one as the truth. Search a few and you are sure to get the product or service you want.
Featured image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay.
