Consumer Reviews: 7 Predictions For 2017
Without a doubt, 2016 was a year of milestones for consumer reviews.
We saw greater attention from the federal government to the topic of consumer reviews than ever before. That attention resulted in greater legal clarity and protections around consumer reviews than ever before.
It also began to set some rules around companies could and could not use consumer reviews.
And then, from other sectors, we saw continued criticism of consumer reviews on sites like Yelp and Rotten Tomatoes. (For a full examination of 2016’s review milestones, check out my article, “5 Stories That Changed Reviews in 2016.”)
What all of this attention highlights is the fact that consumer reviews are a more significant part of our culture and our economy than ever before. Nearly everybody reads reviews now before going to a restaurant for the first time or checking out a new movie or purchasing a new washing machine or trying a new weight-loss shake. And they trust those reviews — from complete strangers, mind you — as much as recommendations from family and friends.
Waay more than messages from companies and more than academic studies.
When you take into account the reviews that are submitted formally on review sites like Angie’s List or just shared informally on social media, consumer reviews can make or break companies’ reputations.
Yes, consumer reviews have become a force to be reckoned with, for good or ill. And while the last few years have been a mad scramble to control the power of reviews — through non-disparagement clauses or paid reviews — this next year is shaping up to be all about streamlining reviews, cutting out the bad and accentuating the good.
Now that 2016 has set the stage for a big leap in consumer reviews, here are seven events that I predict we’ll see in 2017:
1. Paid/incentivized reviews will become endangered species
If there is a “public enemy one” right now in the world of consumer reviews, it is the despised duo of paid reviews and incentivized reviews.
Internet retail giant Amazon started a crusade to clean out the garbage in its reviews system almost two years ago, first targeting paid reviews by outright suing thousands of paid reviews and than those sellers who were paying them. This year, Amazon launched a second wave, this time against incentivized reviewers and those incentivizing them — those sneaky sellers who sent free products to reviewers in exchange for a positive review of the product. Yes, Amazon hates any reviews that are potentially fake/biased, but they’re not the only ones.
Beginning this last year, the FTC started throwing their considerable weight at paid/incentivized reviews when it charged that retailer Lord & Taylor had deceived its customers via incentivized social posts and native ads. They essentially equated this practice with false or fraudulent advertising. Lord & Taylor agreed to settle.
Needless to say, in this environment, things are only going to get tougher for anyone looking to buy favorable reviews on review sites or social media. At the very least, companies will have to disclose that these reviews are paid/incentivized, which sorta defeats the purpose.
What should companies do? Steer clear of incentivizing anyone — in the form of money, free goods, or discounted goods — to give you a good review. If you must get a review from someone influential, try to do it without payment or incentives. If they insist on some kind of repayment, make sure that they disclose that their review was paid/incentivized.
Of course, the ideal is that they give you a positive review for free because they really like your product or service.
2. Consumer review protections will be expanded/clarified
The Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 was signed into law by President Obama on December 15 and focuses specifically on protecting consumers from so-called non-disparagement clauses by banning any contract that:
“prohibits or restricts an individual who is a party to such a contract from engaging in written, oral, or pictorial reviews, or other similar performance assessments or analyses of, including by electronic means, the goods, services, or conduct of a person that is also a party to the contract; (2) imposes penalties or fees against individuals who engage in such communications; or (3) transfers or requires the individual to transfer intellectual property rights in review or feedback content (with the exception of a nonexclusive license to use the content) in any otherwise lawful communications about such person or the goods or services provided by such person.”
While this refers specifically to contractual attacks on consumer reviews, you can bet that these same protections will be applied to other forms of attack against reviews.
What companies should do? Know what practices are now illegal. As you study the language of the Consumer Review Fairness Act, however, you’ll also see that companies are still protected against reviews or comments that are libelous, harassing, false, misleading, etc.
3. Reputation management companies will be scrambling
Few industries have as much to lose from recent shifts in the consumer reviews arena as the reputation management industry. Why? Because, along with cleaning up companies’ websites and those of their executives, one the biggest weapons in these firms’ arsenal was the takedown request. If they found an image, a comment, or review that they deemed hurtful toward a client’s company, they could issue a takedown request. When it came to reviews or negative comments in social media, they could also sue.
Well, as consumer review definitions and protections continue to be clarified and expanded (see #2) it’s going to get much more difficult for reputation management firms to delete negative reviews and comments.
What should companies do? Companies may continue to use reputation management firms to protect their copyrights and overall online image, but they would do well to ensure that their firms are on top of changes resulting from new legislation.
4. More lawsuits
Inasmuch as the majority of the recent developments in consumer reviews have been pro-consumer and anti-business, a buildup of frustration and legal challenges from companies is all but guaranteed in 2017.
What should companies do? Surely, it’s in the benefit of our economy and our democracy to let businesses exercise their rights on the issue of consumer reviews and how far they can and cannot go. This is how we arrive at sound legislation that doesn’t unjustly penalize either consumer or company.
5. Increased quality control
You might think that all of this protection around consumer reviews means that consumer can now speak their minds without limits, but you might be wrong. With reviews being thrust into the limelight, it’s very likely that companies, academics, and government entities alike will start demanding more of review sites.
The “Navigating By the Stars” study, published this year in The Journal of Consumer Research, showed a gaping disparity between consumer reviews and those done professionally by Consumer Reports. If consumer reviews are so useful and trustworthy, the study asked, why the disparity?
This is a question that has lingered over consumer reviews for years, and one which remains to be satisfactorily resolved.
I predict that in 2017 review sites will start to feel the pressure to tease out more factual, accurate, helpful reviews from consumers. On some sites, this could very well mean the death of the ubiquitous — but problematic — star rating system.
In its place, look for review sites to experiment with more detailed three-dimensional ways to assess how a consumer’s experience went. For instance, a review site might ask consumers to rate how well a restaurant performed in various areas (Ex: customer service, quality of food, cleanliness, timeliness).
What should companies do? If the whole consumer reviews thing feels a bit one-sided right now (in favor of consumers), just wait.
6. Reviews will migrate to social media
According to a 2015 study by the Pew Research Center, 76% of Internet-using adults now use social media. And as Facebook and Twitter make it possible to consume news, video, and other content without leaving their sites, more and more social media users aren’t leaving. Ever.
This is bad news for all the traditional review sites out there, which rely on people navigating to their sites to submit reviews. But it doesn’t mean that reviews will decrease.
The truth is, people can’t stop reviewing. We can’t stop telling people how great that restaurant last night was, or how terrible of a job our hairdresser did. It makes for a great story and plenty of likes. So while we tend to visit review sites less, we’ve just brought our reviewing ways over to our social media network of choice.
Many of these reviews are embedded in the stories we share daily and hourly on our social media accounts:
“OMG! Just ate Double Bacon Chicken Burger at Joe’s. Threw up 10 secs later!!!!!!”
“Shoe sale at Macys. So happy!”
“What evr u do dont try the new Southern Fusion place on 11th #iwanttodie”
And then some of the reviews on social are aimed directly at companies, and these reviewers expect responses now. One study found that 53% of people who tweet to companies on Twitter expect a response within an hour; 78% if they are tweeting a complaint.
In 2017, the migration of reviews to social media will only continue.
What should companies do? If you are only monitoring review sites for consumer reviews, you are missing a lot. Luckily, most of the top social media automation tools out there feature intelligent scanning for anything that looks like a review. One more thing: once you start looking for reviews on social, you’d better be ready to respond.
7. Reviews will get harder to track
This one is very much connected to #6, but not completely. Yes, reviews are happening on review sites, like Amazon and Yelp. And yes, they’re happening on social media. But people are using these media and so much more to convey their feelings about companies. Think old favorites like forums and blogs and newfangled additions like Snap and something that will probably come out tomorrow and make this article look outdated.
As a result, the consumer review landscape is becoming fragmented. And the ability to track all of these reviews is only going to get harder to track.
What should companies do? You can drive yourself bonkers trying to watch them all. Identify only the top 5–10 sites you want to track, based on where your customers and potential customers tend to congregate most. Use automation tools as much as possible to lighten your load. And then focusing responding well to the reviews you find. The ultimate goal of review monitoring is to create opportunities to engage positively with customers.
