by Transforming Product Reviews into Revenue: How Consumer Feedback Drives Your Brand’s Success. Reviews, Sentiment Analysis and the Buyer Journey.
White Paper by Revuze, Silver Sponsor at MRMW EU 2024
If you think product reviews are only relevant for consumers, then think again. The feedback left by prior consumers may be impacting your bottom line because it’s become intertwined with the buyer journey. The majority of consumers, (a whopping 95%), read consumer reviews before making a purchasing decision. That means a slew of negative reviews may deter consumers from completing their purchases. On the upside, positive feedback can seal the deal and ensure a purchase.
Let’s take a closer look at the buyer journey, where reviews are leaving their mark, and where brands intervene.
Interest & Reading
The buyer journey begins with a consumer considering buying a product. It can be anything from appliances to cosmetics or apparel. While our hypothetical buyer will probably consult friends for recommendations, the fact is 49% of consumers trust product reviews just as much. As she is perusing the various sites, she’s investing in reading the consumer feedback as well. The majority of eCommerce sites make the product’s star rating and reviews highly visible.
Let’s delve into baby monitors.
In this example from Amazon, this product has a 4.5 star rating and over 2,600 product reviews. The consumer already gets an indication from the star rating that the consumer sentiment is positive overall.
Conversely, a baby monitor from the Hubble brand has a star rating of 3.2 and 480 reviews. A savvy shopper will probably be deterred by the negative trend in consumer sentiment, and it may prevent them from completing the purchase even before exploring the feature set. Why should they peruse any further if other consumers appear dissatisfied?
Decision, Receiving, and Leaving a Review
Consumer reviews represent trust and credibility, not only for the product but for the online retailers as well. Keep in mind that consumers read 10 reviews before trusting a business, and 55% read 4 reviews before buying a product. Ultimately, the purchase is completed, and the buyer receives the much-anticipated delivery.
At this stage of the buyer journey, the consumer begins using the purchased product in real-world conditions. This is when the consumer forms an opinion about various aspects of the product:
- Was it worth it? Money well spent?
- Does the packaging agree with me?
- Does it smell good?
- How is the product performing?
After two days, 5-10% of consumers will leave a review. Most of them will leave a review when prompted by a follow up email from the online retailer.
Repeat
The feedback left by the prior customer becomes part of the hive mind for future consumers to reference. The process starts all over again from interest & reading and decision to receiving and reviewing. Future consumers will assess the reviews to ultimately make purchasing decisions.
The average buyer typically doesn’t notice whether a rating includes a review. For instance, in this case, only 219 out of 480 star ratings were accompanied by a review. Additionally, buyers may not be aware if the review is organic, incentivized, or syndicated, all of which can influence the overall consumer sentiment.
Follow Up
Up until now, we talked about the consumer’s role in the buyer journey. Now, let’s turn our attention to brands and their role in the buyer journey. Truth be told, many brands do nothing and don’t address the consumer feedback at all.
Some companies use review management platforms to respond to the consumer, especially if the feedback is negative. This might involve crafting a unique message to acknowledge and thank the user for sharing their feedback. Other possible actions include offering a refund for a defective product. Company responses can show that a brand is listening to consumers- an important step in cultivating the relationship.
But is this enough to break the cycle, especially when dealing with negative feedback?
Insights
To truly change the buyer journey, companies must leverage AI platforms specializing in textual analysis and natural language processing. These robust algorithms can collect consumer feedback, cleanse the data, and organize it to provide brands with meaningful insights. This includes determining consumer sentiment benchmarks and share of discussion – providing brands with the quantitative data they need to optimize their business strategy. Additionally, these platforms include qualitative data, so companies can better understand consumer behavior.
What does this have to do with the buyer journey?
Unlike social media data, consumer review data is from verified buyers—ultimately post-purchase data. As a brand, there is no doubt that they actually used your product- their feedback is genuine and authentic.
Consumer insights from online reviews put the game back in the brand’s court because they can be leveraged to create customer-centric roadmaps. Consider the review below about the Hubble baby monitor, where consumers are frustrated by defective parts and poor customer service. As a company looking to reshape the buyer journey, this is feedback that needs to be taken to heart. It’s an opportunity to optimize the product. Perhaps it’s best to buy raw materials from a different supplier? By analyzing the numbers, and delving deeper into the feedback, brands can earn a reputation for actively listening to consumers.
Conclusion
Product reviews are crucial influencers that significantly impact consumer decisions and brand success throughout the buyer’s journey. Reviews guide potential buyers from initial interest to final purchase, with positive feedback encouraging sales and negative feedback deterring them. Brands must view reviews as vital feedback. By actively listening to consumer feedback, brands can transform reviews into strategic assets, turning challenges into opportunities and fostering trust and loyalty among customers.
Join Revuze and other international experts representing Burger King, Nestle, Philips, Givaudan, Warner Bros Discovery, Ikea, Reckitt and many more at MRMW Europe 2024.
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