Bad Reviews Can Be Good News

In the past I have written about the positive impact that user-generated content can have on sales. But what happens if someone writes a negative post, article or review of one of your products? For many marketing managers, the threat of a negative review is enough to make sure that there is not user-generated content on their site. But is this is right move?

Well Joan Voight in a recent Adweek article pointed out that more and more companies are moving towards user-generated content and customer reviews.

Many brands are joining Amazon.com and review sites such as yelp.com, tripadvisor.com and consumersearch.com in offering reviews on their web sites. In May, Toshiba joined Dell and Hewlett Packard in offering online reviews “to enhance the buying experience.” Levi’s will join Fair Indigo and EMS in the apparel space, offering customer reviews by the close of 2007.

“If all reviews are good, customers question if the ratings are legitimate,” Bill Bass, CEO of Fair Indigo, told Adweek. “Not only will people ignore the reviews, but it will hurt their trust in the brand. It would be better to have no reviews at all.”

“In two years customer reviews on branded sites will be more common,” said John Lazarchic, Petco’s vice president of e-commerce. “A few years after that if shoppers don’t find reviews on a site, they’ll just go shop somewhere else.”

An similar article on article in Retail Wire titled “Negative Online Reviews Really Positive” (reg. required) included the following opinions:

Having customer reviews or feedback on site is just plain common sense. In some of the focus groups I have held, I found that most online shoppers have done their research before making the purchase and, therefore, if they can’t find reviews of products on the store’s site, they will go elsewhere for information. The biggest concern for online retailers is keeping customers on their site until the purchase is complete. Having reviews and feedback ensures the customer stays within that particular website… Doron Levy, president, Captus Business Consulting

Regarding response to negative internet feedback, I think the retailer needs to respond as professionally as possible, speaking candidly and respectfully to those who criticize. It is also a great opportunity to learn; find were there is a misunderstanding of the intent or use of products and services, or gain an greater view of how the site (retailer) is doing a dis-service to the customer. I will admit that feedback is more available from online sources as the internet offer a great deal of anonymity…Jerry Gelsomino, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Experience, Pratt Corporation

Some interesting points here. User-generated content is not going anywhere. As John Lazarchic put it, if shoppers do not find reviews on your site they will look elsewhere. So how to handle bad reviews?

I believe that bad reviews present an opportunity for you to talk to your community about a product and the problems that someone is having with it. Bad reviews present an opportunity for dialogue. As James Connell of Roots Canada said when we interviewed him:

I believe marketers should look at SMO as a way to participate in communities that could provide insight into resolving issues at hand, identifying trends and market forces. Often if you have an engaged audience they will help resolve an issue you present, take ownership of the end result and partner with you to promote it. Too many times people look at SMO communities as opportunities rather than communities. They go in with their bulldozers and try to achieve the maximum result in a short period of time by buying their way in rather than taking time to woo the mayor and the prom queen to engage the community. Provide value that engages the audience and the reward is incredible.