84% of people find content from an online review as trustworthy as a recommendation from a friend, according to Inc. While most people who review products do it out of satisfaction, the businesses whose products were reviewed turn out to be the winners. Positive reviews generate more business for them as well as credibility.
In a perfect world, all reviews would be authentic, and you wouldn’t have to be skeptical while reading reviews. Sadly, people typically buy items or software with a five-star review only for them to under-perform. The question is, how do you differentiate the authentic reviews from the noise?
Here are some insights on picking out the authentic reviews.
1] Most Businesses Will Tend To Buy Reviews
Of course, there are many places on the internet where you can find authentic products and IT software reviews. Sadly, if you search ‘get paid to write reviews’ on Google right now, you will find a lot of opportunities. Such companies know that incentivizing reviews could easily spike up sales.
In fact, in e-commerce platforms like Amazon, some sellers might offer a full refund to buyers who review their products. Although such platforms prohibit this, differentiating these reviews will mostly lie on the shoulders of the potential customer.
2] Luckily, Some Sites Can Help
Sites like ReviewMeta and Fakespot are some of the best at identifying questionable reviews. While ReviewMeta primarily focuses on Amazon based products, Fakespot tends to cover a wider spectrum that ranges from Yelp and Amazon to TripAdvisor and Walmart. Both will require you to paste the link to the review on the site and wait for the site to do its magic.
They comb through the details of the reviews and reviewers while looking for spelling mistakes and grammar errors, mismatched dates, purchasing patterns and number of reviews. Once the process is done, Fakespot will typically grade the product using a letter grading system.
On the other hand, ReviewMeta will offer you an idea of what the rating for a product would have been had the questionable reviews been absent. As such, this makes it easier to judge a product with a clearer picture.
3] Though, They Too Might Be Borderline Inaccurate
In some instances, both sites might have showcased product perspectives that are different – which leaves the decision in your hands.
Ideally, the tools aren’t meant to offer a straightforward answer but offer data as a guide to help you make your decision. Use these tools whenever you think that a product review has artificially inflated ratings. They will at least offer you some insights when unsure.
4] What about Unreliable Reviews?
There is a fine line between authentic, reliable reviews and unreliable reviews, and the devil lies in the details. While a review might be authentic, the chances are that it might not provide enough information to work with.
For instance, in case you are scrolling through a software review, you should expect details such as customer support, pricing, maintenance, and security.
A reliable review should paint a clear picture of the experience that a customer had with a product rather than offering general praise. Such intricate details can not only help you form an opinion of the product but also help determine whether you will be getting the most out of your purchase.
Conclusion
When scrolling through the different reviews, take everything you read with a grain of salt. If you think that a product is questionable, why not use the review analyzer tools mentioned above. Even better, it would be easier to commit to research before opting to buy a product to avoid future regrets.
