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Sharing customer reviews has revolutionized the fundamentals of marketing. Nearly 9 out of 10 consumers consult customer reviews on the Internet before a purchase. This free and public expression of consumers changes the game. A simple observation is needed: a marketing director can no longer do without customer reviews.
THE REMINDER IN QUESTION OF TRADITIONAL MARKETING
Marketing professionals, the time for outbound marketing is definitely over. The massive purchase of advertising inserts is not as impacting as before. The big advertising campaigns around your products have never been so effective. According to a Nielsen study, only 35% of consumers now trust an advertisement seen on television. For newspapers this represents 32%, and for radio it is only 31%.
Why is this? Because over time, consumers have become seasoned with marketing tricks and they have less and less trust in advertising. Traditional media are no longer the number one weapon of the advertiser.
Even on the Internet, the impact of advertising is declining. More and more Internet users are using the “banner blindness”: in France, 30% use an ad-blocker to hide advertising space. Similarly, promotional emails have a click-through rate of about 3.3% (Experian study, 2016), a figure that continues to decline.
Internet users no longer want to be solicited by products they do not need. They are no longer attracted by the advertisements they are being asked to make, and prefer, instead, to do their own research on the web when they have a specific need. In 2016, 85% of French people reported using the Internet regularly to find information before a purchase. Thanks to the web, they find information easily and compare it to find the best solution to their needs.
THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF CLIENT ADVICE
In its search process, the customer places a growing place on the customer’s notice, regardless of the area of purchase. 88% of Internet users consult customer reviews to prepare a purchase, in store or online. And despite the fact that the authors of these opinions are unknown to them, 68% of consumers trust them. That’s twice as much trust as they give to traditional media ads …
However, the notions of trust and loyalty have not disappeared. Customers can stay attached to a sign. Only, hyper-competition has made consumers more demanding and volatile. The presence of online customer reviews provides transparency about the experiences of other users and encourages the customer to try a competing product. Trust and loyalty have become hard to come by, yet they are more than ever a big challenge for marketing.
The freedom of expression offered by the Internet has upset the balance of customer / brand, and customers are becoming aware. They are now positioned as real players in the market: no more passive users, they do not hesitate to share their opinion and their experiences, positive and negative. Knowing that 79% of people who prepare their purchases through the Internet have already shared their opinion online. That’s almost 4 out of 5 users.
The report is without appeal: it is no longer necessary to say “my product is the best”, but to have it said by its customers. This is shaking up traditional marketing strategies. Customer Opinion has become the engine of marketing.
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