Consumers are more likely to trust brands that gather both negative and positive reviews than those that are all good.
Speaking at the Hays Independence Group conference in Vilamoura, Feefo head of customer success Ben Clarke-Smith said having both the good and the bad provides a more balanced picture of a business.
He added: “68% of consumers trust reviews where there’s both good and bad reviews.
“You don’t want to see (a score of) 100% out there. If you can see negative (reviews) it really shows you’re dealing with real people and a real business.”
Clarke-Smith said while 89% of consumers were influenced by reviews overall, 65% of them are more liable to choose a company that is proactive in responding to those reviews.
He advised delegates when dealing with bad reviews to keep in mind some key points: don’t copy and paste your response; don’t take them personally; don’t ignore them and don’t tell the reviewer you are passing on their comments to the relevant department.
“Make it (your response) natural and take the time to talk as a human being,” Clarke-Smith said.
He added the review market is still growing and the future use of reviews is only just beginning to be realised.
Clarke-Smith said augmented reality will soon allow consumers to point their smart phones down a high street and instantly see reviews for the various businesses pop up, while in-store beacons will allow businesses to know what their customers are saying while in a shop as well as see how they move around it.
Why shouldn’t we trust a flawed business more than a perfect one? It works that way for humans.