Customer reviews are being used more and more to support persuading consumers to buy products online. As consumers become more aware of the insincerity of reviews, fake news and paid influencer reviews which brands collect themselves, it is much harder for brands to demonstrate their authenticity with reviews they display online collected by their own tools.  As beauty reviews have such a high impact on sales conversion, especially for beauty,  ensuring authenticity and integrity with review content from a trusted partner  is key for the future.

You might have asked yourself the question ‘’How can I still believe reviews? How do I know these reviews haven't been financially incentivised? How can I ensure reviews are as honest as possible? In a time of fake news, bots and manipulation you should know about the drawbacks of old fashioned review tools:

Drawback 1: You are not getting enough (positive) reviews

So, how exactly do you motivate consumers to leave a review? Most people will buy your beauty product, they might like it and therefore they might buy it again. A great success for you without any doubt, but are these customers advocating your product to their peers? Chances are they are not, simply because they are not motivated to do so. Instead customers are more likely to leave negative reviews. Why? Because a negative experience is an easier nudge to take action against someone or something. Therefore, even if you are getting reviews, chances are these reviews are skewed towards a negative sentiment. They will prove their loyalty and satisfaction by buying again, and they will prove their dissatisfaction by letting you and others know. Additionally according to research from Spiegel Online, a minimum of 8 relevant product reviews is required to make an impact on conversion rate. How do you get a minimum of 8 relevant reviews per product? Did you know that asking for a review via an automated mail only has an success rate of 2%? 

Drawback 2: People doubt whether the reviews are reliable

Besides a bare minimum of five to eight reviews, reviews should be honest and valuable. Just think about it, how trustworthy is a product with only 5 star reviews? An easy thought would be ‘’hmmm maybe they asked their co-workers to leave a review, i'm not buying into that.’’ And, that sentiment makes sense, most companies actually do this, consumers however will see right through it.  That’s why an average 5 star ranking is too much. If rankings go over 4,5 stars, they are seen as less trustworthy and reliable. And so, will have a negative impact on conversion rate. How do you receive great, personal and honest reviews? Quality and credibility are key. But how do you get some highly qualitative reviews? Which are helpful for your next visitor? 

Drawback 3: Most review tools will give you company service related reviews, not product specific reviews

Some reviews might sound great to you as a company ‘I love you guys!’ but how does ‘Your delivery services are lacking, or your marketing advertisement is full of nonsense sound? No doubt, we all hate the sound of a failed delivery attempt or failed marketing effort especially in reviews. Whether or not a user had a good or bad experience using a product is much more important and far more relevant than it has ever been when presented in a buyer’s journey online. 

Consumers want and expect to see unbiased, authentic reviews about the performance of a product. People aren’t buying products because the parcel delivery is great, they expect delivery to happen as a given as per presented time frames presented online. They want to buy a product which is great on its own accord. If you want to boost conversions, you need product reviews, not company or logistic reviews.

Don’t we all however, want to easily find authentic personalised review content to support a purchase decision, especially when it comes to finding for example the best beauty products?  Authentic user experience reviews about how the actual product itself works is key, not someone’s battle with a delivery delay. If you curly hair, you want to see reviews about experiences with the best curly hair products. The same applies to seeing reviews and experiences about the best products to use for skincare routines for acne or wrinkles, fine lines, for vegan lovers for example. Do you agree?

If old fashioned reviews (tools) have so many drawbacks? What is the alternative?

Marketeers continuously search for new ways to engage with leads and customers. Rightfully so, since customer demands evolve rapidly. Former 5 star reviews are no longer enough.  While influencers are great especially when it comes to awareness, what about the impact of authentic reviews on your bottom line?  We Are Eves has developed a platform on which thousands of beauty product users and lovers can leave honest, extensive and detailed reviews about products they use or test as part of a (blind) tester program. The platform is growing rapidly. The reviews are helping consumers to make informed decisions about what is best for them based on feedback from users like them. With just a few simple lines of code placed on your webshop, in an instance you too can start showing relevant, honest and personalised reviews that guarantee a boost in online sales. 

Would you like to know more about how our platform can help you implement reviews on your product detailed pages? Want to start Today? Contact We Are Eves now to receive a free demo on how our product could work for you.(Or another CTA - CP).