Retailers, Check Out Your Reputation Online
With all the talk of the past couple of years, transparency has yet to come to the sordid activities politely known as politics and high finance.
But, as we all know, transparency has come to CE retailing - in some cases with a vengeance.
Price checking, product availability and feature packages are one issue, but what about retailer reviews?
Retailers, have you checked reviews of your stores on Yelp.com? I have, but some background first.
I checked Yelp the other day about a new restaurant my wife and I wanted to try. Visiting the site, I compared the new restaurant’s reviews with other restaurants we know. Curious, I expanded it to local merchants (butcher, hardware store, even my barber).
The reviews of those businesses were - in my opinion - pretty accurate.
I then expanded it to CE specialty, electronics/appliance stores and home-improvement stores that I have visited or purchased products from over the years.
It wasn’t a pretty picture.
But let me step back for a moment. Yelp users may not be typical consumers. Based on my observations, they are mostly under 30, can write pretty well and have the time to do so, and are comfortable taking and giving advice online.
I also noticed that reviewers on Yelp - in a very general way - are a little more positive on local businesses than chains, at least from what I read. And, human nature being what it is, consumer reviews are usually complaints vs. complimentary pieces.
Of course, negative reviews about your business by competitors can appear on the site, even though Yelp said it monitors such postings.
Still, if I was a retailer with a couple of stores, or a regional manager of a chain who thinks he may have problems with a location or two, I’d check out Yelp and other review sites out there to get another perspective on your operation. Many of your customers are doing it already.
What’s your view of review sites like Yelp in providing some insight into your retail operations? I’d like to hear from you.
Scott commented:
Steve,
Like you, I use the web to help me with my purchasing decisions. I use Yelp.com regularly. In fact, I have contributed 109 reviews to their site. Frankly, I couldn’t agree with you more, transparency is something that all consumers are looking for. Whether it is looking for prices, product reliability, product availability or features, we are all looking for the best bang for our buck.
As for CE, I thought that you might be interested in ResellerRatings.com. It is quite the opposite of what you would think for a reviews site.
ResellerRatings is not a complaints board like many sites. 80% of all the reviews are positive. Unlike Yelp, all the retailers on this site are e-commerce sites. ResellerRatings has been in business for 15 years and during that time, has accumulated 800,000+ reviews (over 640,000 positive reviews) and covers over 30,000 e-commerce stores. These reviews are so trusted that Google Shopping, Google AdWords, and Bing Shopping chose our reviews to power their engines.
ResellerRatings was also recently acclaimed in Scientific American as a source for reputations for online retailers. Here is a link to the story: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=pogue-use-it-better-the-best-customer-review-sites
1,500 brands including TigerDirect, 1800PetMeds, Newegg.com, MacMall, AutoPartsWarehouse and other notables, participate at ResellerRatings to monitor customer reviews and resolve issues, and to generate reviews from customers post sale with our checkout exit survey which emails customers one week post sale to obtain their review.
After all of ResellerRatings anti-fraud filters have done their job, if a merchant sees a review that they think is written by a competitor or by someone that did not use their services, they can flag the review. Then, ResellerRatings will contact the reviewer and require proof of purchase. If the review has proof of service, the review remains on the site and if not, the review is taken off. This makes ResellerRatings fair to not only the merchant but also the consumer. ResellerRatings requires real experiences from real people. Negative reviews would make anyone upset, but if merchants do their best to follow ResellerRatings suggestions for the best online reputation, one bad review in a hundred reviews still gives you a great rating.
Negative reviews also give merchants a chance to go the extra mile for consumers and show great customer service. Great customer service and willingness to go the extra mile is what changes the casual shopper into a avid fan. Negative feedback also allows merchants to be aware of ways to improve their businesses. I also think it is important for merchants to know that they should not fear negative reviews. It is a powerful tool. In life, we all know that no one can please everyone all of the time, so a negative review here and there makes a company seem “real.” Honestly, when I see only positive reviews, I feel a little suspicious of a company. I think “is this to good to be true?”
Managing your reputation online is an art and has been perfected by many retailers by using ResellerRatings. You can hear how some companies are doing it by going to: http://www.resellerratings.com/merchant-solutions and watching the videos on success stories.
Thanks,
Scott
Founder & CEO
ResellerRatings
please email customercare@mypressplus.com or call 866-71-PRESS (866-717-7377).