The importance of reviews is as evident as ever when it comes to the ongoing fight to stay afloat amidst stiff competition in the online market. Yelp, a local business directory and review site has been at the forefront in this ongoing battle. In fact, Yelp has gone a step further by not only listing the businesses in its database but also allows users the ability to rate and comment on the businesses listed. Like most online review sites, Yelp enables users to leave reviews for other users like themselves – providing yet another powerful tool to the consumer seeking greater insight into the business model.
As if using Yelp for business purposes wasn’t enough to propel a business forward, another recent study found that Yelp can help reduce negative reviews of a business from customers. According to the same study, one survey found that customer’s opinions of various products and services improved when they used Yelp. Of course, the results weren’t statistically significant but when looking at the results as a whole, it seems as though a correlation between Yelp usage and a more positive opinion of a product or service was identified. This is the same success seen with online reviews – where one survey found that online reviewers tended to give more positive feedback than those who frequented the website, another survey found that negative reviews were reduced when using Yelp. You can know more about Is salehoo any good?
The reason behind these results can be different. Yelp is unique in that it allows customers and visitors the ability to leave reviews even after the transaction has taken place. Unlike other online review sites, Yelp offers the opportunity for consumers to voice their opinions about any given transaction – good or bad. But how does this impact on the customer’s experience when using Yelp? Could this tool be used as a way of eliminating negative reviews?
For one, positive reviews would likely drive more traffic and word-of-mouth advertising about the business. This would lead to more revenue as well as increased word-of-mouth recommendations. If positive reviews were erased from the equation by the use of online reviews then the consumer wouldn’t have the same amount of content available to them. This would mean that the online store owner would need to either cut back on the number of pictures or include less helpful content. This would essentially be counterproductive and limit the overall experience of the consumer.
Another factor that could limit the effectiveness of reading online reviews is that people are just less likely to express their opinions in a public forum. This means that the feedback from a customer is not as immediate and honest as a review from a friend or neighbor. Perhaps people feel that they aren’t worth the time because they don’t have many friends or other contacts. In one study found that only 19% of people surveyed who used a review site felt that they had a great experience when using the service. This means that even though Yelp offers a way for someone to voice their opinion it is unlikely that all of them will be honest in their responses.
So, why are there so many bad reviews on the Internet? One study found that the majority of negative reviews were actually created by the businesses themselves. These businesses were creating negative reviews to paint a bad picture of their company. Perhaps more important than how many bad reviews are written, however, is how many good reviews are also being created. While this may not seem to make sense to some, it has been proven that a popular website such as Yelp can quickly boost sales.