Since the rise of e-commerce, the access to consumer reviews on a product or a brand has become much simpler.

Indeed, if writing several reviews on online shopping sites is now very easy, it is possible as well to read a multiplicity of them before purchasing anything.

Customer experience is now more than ever essential in the buying process, as 88% of consumers refer to these reviews before making a purchase on the Internet.

Thus, customer reviews are of great importance and should not be overlooked.

Customer reviews provide reassurance to the consumer and enable a mutual commitment between the brand and its buyers

Good to know : a large number of reviews available on a product, regardless of their tone, has a positive impact on sales.

Whether they are positive or negative, the only action of seeing reviews about products sold on a website provides reassurance to the consumer.  

Customer reviews also allow the customer to compare a product with similar ones from different brands.
Customers also tend not to choose a product with only very few reviews, in favor of another one with more reviews.

Indeed, the written feedback brings a personal approach to a product description and its sales pitch. This allows the consumer to relate to what they read.

Thus, 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust word-of-mouth.

This is why it is very important, as a brand, to offer your consumers the opportunity to give their feedback and opinion by having a part dedicated to it on your website, but also by encouraging buyers to write a review and leave a grade after they make a purchase.

And this practice offers a great advantage, even if some of the reviews are negative...because those negative feedback actually represent an opportunity !

Indeed, first of all, 68% of consumers have more confidence in the truthfulness of a product’s reviews when they see negative ones among all of them.

Those negative opinions bring a certain level of credibility to the global feedback for a product : no product is perfect and pleases everyone, there is always a margin for improvement !

In addition, offering consumers the chance to express themselves on products they buy allows brands to maintain personal contact with them in a way that is way different from newsletters sent to their inboxes for example.

Finally, responding publicly to the negative reviews,and the positive ones, shows a sense of commitment a brand has towards its clients.

It is an excellent opportunity for a company to prove that it is listening to its customers' needs and expectations and that it takes them into consideration by taking time reading and answering their comments.

The analysis of reviews provides brands a deeper understanding of their customers and a more accurate approach to their actions

First of all, customer reviews offer an insight into a sale by emphasizing its positive and negative aspects, such as a product's features that are perceived as "good" or "bad".

They can reveal real areas for improvement, allowing brands to implement the most appropriate actions.

For example, a lipstick described as "dehydrating " by its users will lead the R&D team to re-work its formula to make it more moisturizing.

To learn how to analyze customer reviews : “Cosmetic products: How to collect and process online customer reviews?”
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xb-t1wUBbok_xW790HLzn1NrvehlqBqjJmmskWpEseY/edit?usp=sharing

The analysis of positive reviews is not to be neglected either, as they indicate a way to go forward.

For example, a face cream that is highly popular may lead to the creation of an entire range.

Customer reviews are therefore a valuable tool.

They provide a tangible indication of what consumers think of the products they have purchased and they drive brands to improve.

They also have the potential to provide information about consumer profiles.

Indeed, they offer complementary information such as age, gender, and the place where the buyer lives, which can be valuable to help identifying the target and even verifying that the aimed consumers are those who actually buy the products.

Analyzing consumer reviews can therefore help define a tailored brand strategy to suit consumers and their expectations.