Thread: Reviews and Advertising

Advertising is still a primary means of informing the public about a product, as well as creating a certain image for it. But as far as getting people to actually buy or not buy, how big of an impact do you think reviews have? In the olden days, all you had was the magazine Consumer Reports, but now you can find reviews on virtually every product. Do companies like this, or does it frighten them? I read reviews on almost every big purchase, and everything I order on line that I cannot examine in person. For example, I was going to order a water proof case from Otter box, but the reviews were so bad, consistently complaining about the same defects in the product, that I ordered Life Proof instead.

Do you think companies try to infiltrate or subvert the review system?

Do you yourself take the time to review a really good or bad purchase or comment on things like Trip Adviser?

I generally doubt the ability of most consumers to give an objective review of a product, so I never look for such "personal" assessments. A properly conducted study of a product, with the criteria carefully defined and limitations of the study openly declared, is a far better option.

I work within a business to business sales environment. Here word of mouth is very important, but flashy marketing can play a part too. I don't think there is a simple answer. Caveat emptor.

Yeah, I suspect some people do something stupid or careless and are pissed that they can't get their money back, or their expectations are too high, but in the case of the Otterbox, people over and over mentioned the port flaps breaking off and the cover of the speaker /microphone falling off with normal use. So I do pay attention to consistent complaints. I would think that feedback wouid be valuable to companies, but also damage sales short term.

Same with Trip Advisor - every body screws up or has a bad day, but if most of the reviews are bad, and for the same reasons, I'd avoid it.

Originally Posted by DianeG

Do you think companies try to infiltrate or subvert the review system?

Yup.

Exhibit A:
Hello Herman Reviews & Ratings - IMDb

I know that anything on print is sanitized, and all negative comments are removed. That's the big problem with Consumer Reports, a magazine that was so trusted when it was first printed in the late '70's. With the internet today, I would definitely trust reviews posted by customers. But read them carefully, and watch out for morons. Be skeptical about the quality of the poster.