Negative Reviews Might Help Boost Your Brand

From Amazon star ratings to #tiktokmademebuyit, people look for the opinions of others before they make decisions. 

While most brands strive to accumulate stellar reviews, negative feedback can often have positive results also. Customer complaints can highlight fixable issues before they become major problems, and encouraging open and honest reviews helps brands build trust and a platform for customer-driven brand advocacy. 

But, a recent study noted an additional and surprising way negative online reviews can be a good thing—sometimes. 

Brand bad-talking can summon brand advocates

According to the study of hundreds of thousands of real consumer reviews posted online, participants scrutinized negative customer feedback based on the reviewer’s location. The same participants, however, didn’t question the location of authors of positive reviews. And, when they learned that a negative review was from a non-local customer, participants were more likely to buy a product, just to strengthen their relationship with a brand and protect it from criticism.

The study also reported that participants took the number of a reviewer’s prior negative reviews into account when weighing the review’s importance. Including reviews from a persistently negative critic resulted in up to a 12% increase in sales for the product. 

Welcome reviews, and even highlight the bad ones

While online review management can be complex, encouraging reviews and showing the bad along with the good can help strengthen your brand in the eyes of your customers. Including reviewer profile information and information about prior reviews can benefit certain brands too. 

Looking to create a strategy to cultivate and manage reviews and build trust? The team at Vibrant combines creativity with digital marketing know-how to put brands in their best light. Connect with us today and start elevating your brand with Vibrant.