When bad turns to good - user generated content building trust

Studies and articles over the last few years have shown that negative reviews can be good for business. Not only does negative reviews call for an interesting read from consumers, they are also bringing trust in the matter.

Consumers today have never been so educated before consuming products and services. They take part in the online conversation that includes, among a lot of other things, reviews and user generated content and true experiences. A study conducted by Reevoo in 2012, shows that 68 percent of the participants would trust reviews more when they see both positive and negative results.

Negative reviews can be good for business

This is the absolute core and starting point also for us at Smartson - transparency is KEY. When conducting and summarising a campaign, we always present the score by highlighting not only the positive remarks and reviews, but also what consumers see as improvement points.

This is done, no matter if 50 percent or 100 percent recommends the product. Presenting negative reviews that are well written and well formulated, can be useful, not only for companys trying to make their products better, but also because they give the positive reviews a whole new credibility.

Don´t aim for perfect

A recent article by CIO refers to a study made by PowerReviews and Northwestern University's Medill IMC Spiegel Digital & Database Research Center. They found that “purchase peaked when the average rating on an item is between 4.2 and 4.5, then drops as the rating approaches five.” - Is the window to clean? If no spots visible, credibility can be lost.

Also, as stated in a blog post, by Resumé’s Johanna Lindskog Lindell, not all brands need to be perfect. “Aiming for the clinical and perfect surface can cause a loss of credibility.” To show weaknesses and embrace them make companies and brands more human in the long run.”Thumbs up for that!

Ulf Rödholm Head of Production, Smartson