The Influence of Online Reviews Katelin Brekken University of North Texas December 7, 2018
Abstract: Throughout the semester, our research group has been studying and learning about the influence of online reviews. Our research was inspired by the expanding influence of the Internet, specifically on social media platforms. The growth of the Internet brings users together whether they are states or continents away from one another. Our goal was to learn what makes one review more credible than the next. The research questioned the presence of the reviewer, the length of the review, the number of reviews, or the actual influence a review might have. In order to do so, we read articles, surveyed people around us, and formatted interviews to gain the most effective information possible. After completing our research process, we found that the more prominent the influencer, the more credible the online review. This paper reflects the steps taken in order to collect research data.
4. The Internet is growing. As more new technology comes to fruition, it is easier now more than ever to find a product or service. For any question, an answer is readily available. the influence of WOM (Word of Mouth) and E-WOM, its electronic counterpart, has become a highly trusted resource for consumers to make decisions on a product or service (Askalidis, Kim and Malthouse, 2017). After further inquiry, it was found that timeliness and helpfulness of reviews have a large impact on which ones are suggested to those researching for online suggestions (Askalidis, Kim and Malthouse, 2017). This was interesting to those of us in search of information pertaining to the credibility of online reviews. Our goal was to find what were some of the qualities that made one online better than the next. Length of reviews had no positive trends, meaning the longer reviews were not any more important than the shorter ones.the most respected reviews are those posted earliest and those that seem to deviate from the retailer/ manufacturer s prompts. (Askalidis, Kim and Malthouse, 2017). What was so interesting about the concept of online reviews was the team-like aspect of the reviewing process. There are four key components of the Diffusion of Innovation that work together to contribute to the diffusion process: the innovation itself (occasionally referred to as "the news"), communication (how the news spreads), a social system (the network throughout which the news spreads) and time (speed of news spreading). These components work together determining the ultimate success or failure of an idea or new product spreading throughout a network impacting whether or not the innovation will be adopted (Girardi, Chiagouris 2018). When someone read a review and agreed with it, it appeared that they were more likely to participate in the review process as well. There are more prominent reviewers on the Internet. If a popular social media influencer says something about a product, service, or person, their followers are going to agree with the
influencer s stance. In order to avoid the new product failing, marketers can communicate and adjust their plans to avoid the diffusion of their entrance to the market (Girardi, Chiagouris, 2018). Brands with an online presence are incorporating social media analysts to ensure that their brand is crossing over to the digital world efficiently, and engaging its consumers. Electronic word-of-mouth allows, encouraged by a brands presence by transfer of power, allows companies to better understand their audience by tapping into their conversations online about the product or service (Tahna, 2018). Participation of customers has been noted as a highly influential act, as consumers are able to connect virtually, enabling the sharing of ideas and concepts almost instantaneously (Elmore, 2009). The stories of brands are now vital parts of marketing that make consumers the authors (Tahna, 2018). Brands must pay attention to the news surrounding their brand so that they can control their imaging, because if not then customers will take their disappoint online which can ruin a brand s image (Fortune, 2015). Distinguishing which online reviews are more credible than others has become a difficult process in the modern marketplace (Henshell, 2015). When exposing the true motivations behind a review, distinguishing the credibility of the author and the knowledge base they have is an important factor (Henshell, 2015).
Sources Askalidis, G. Kim, S. J., Malthouse, E. (2017). Understanding and overcoming biases in online review systems. Decision Support Systems, 97, 23-30. Girardi, P., Chiagouris, L., (2018). The digital marketplace: early adopters have changed. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 12(1), 84-95. Henshell, J. (2015). The credibility of online reviews. Journal of Information Ethics, 24 (1), 82-88. Tanha, Masrura Ahmed. International Journal of Management Research and Reviews; Meerut Vol. 8, Iss. 6, (Jun 2018): 1-12.
5. Interview Questions 1. When researching a product, are you more likely to listen to WOM reviews, or do you go to the internet and why? 2. What are some examples of mediums that you would use for researching a product or service? 3. How important to your research process are time and quality? Give some examples of how you research a product. 4. What are a few examples of comments that deter you away from or bring you towards a product? 5. If a good product has bad reviews, how likely are you to pay mind to them? Why? 6. How do you define a good review vs a bad review? 7. If your peer or a close relative has a service or product that you do not like, how likely are you to write an honest review? 8. Say that you purchase or hire a service and come across positive/negative reviews about it. Are you more likely to switch to a better product or stay with the one you initially invested in? Why? 9. After purchasing a product or using a service, in which cases are you most likely to leave positive or negative reviews? 10. How would you refer a product or service to a peer or relative? 11. How do word-of-mouth reviews impact your product purchases? 12. Tell me about an instance in which you went to social media for customer reviews.
6.) Thematic Analysis Amazon is an online marketplace that offers millions of diverse products that ship worldwide. Users are able to compare different products and leave reviews based on their experiences with the product or supplier. For the experiment, I looked up four unique products to view what consumers thought about their experience and gathered a synopsis of 25 reviews of each product. For my involvement in this experiment, I am becoming a complete observer, as detailed by Gold Typography. My first product was a white freshwater cultured pearl necklace. Overall, the supplier had a rating of five stars. Many of their reviews praised the supplier s product. Extremely happy with these pearls! I am very particular about pearls and these were super high quality. However, some were quite critical, stating that Box was completely smashed. The pearls were so small they don t appear to be real. And I have to pay to return ship it... not my fault. Don t waste your time or money. Out of 1,803 customer reviews, 89% we five stars while only 1% were one-star reviews. My second product was an advertisement for Little Women: LA on Amazon Prime. The television program originally aired on Lifetime, but after Prime started streaming the show, customers are able to watch it wherever. Reviews for the show were intriguing. Many people enjoyed watching the drama of the reality show, but some of the bad reviews are comical. I have tried to watch this show but get SO sick of all the fighting and backstabbing!! It never stops! I have read the other reviews and just DO NOT understand! I was recording this show and quit recording it because I have never seen such dysfunctional friendships in my life! Not sure how anyone can tolerate all these hurt feelings and total Bit*&ness that this show has! Out of 42 online reviews, 66% were positive, while 34% were negative.
My next product was a dragon costume for an infant child. This product is a Halloween costume for a child, so the online reviews were most likely written by parents who bought the product for their family. Out of 67 reviews, 93 percent were five stars and 7 percent were four stars. Parents wrote that they would indeed recommend the product to someone else looking for a similar product. The final product that I searched was NYX professional makeup setting spray. It is used for elongating the wear of makeup throughout the day. This spray leaves a matte finish on the user s face, making this product appealing to beauty product users. 3,231 customers reviewed this product, leaving it an average of 4.1 stars out of 5. Many of the positive reviews raved about its low price and high-quality experience. Lower reviews stated that their oily skin did not benefit from using this product. My conclusion would be that different skin types affect the effectiveness of this product. Online reviews vary from product to product, which is why I chose four very different products to survey. Being the complete observer, I was able to see how consumers reacted to the product and why they liked or disliked the results. This is beneficial to the goal of our research product because I was able to obtain primary evidence of how people leave online reviews.
7.) Survey Questions I. When researching a product, are you more likely to listen to WOM reviews, or do you go to the Internet? A. WOM: Absolutely not, not likely, indifferent, it depends, absolutely B. Internet: Absolutely not, not likely, indifferent, it depends, absolutely II. What are some examples of mediums that you would use for researching a product or service? A. YouTube, B. Facebook, C. Instagram, D. Twitter, E. Netflix/Hulu, F. Other III. How important to your research process are time and quality? IV. What are a few examples of comments that deter you away from or bring you towards a product? V. If a good product has bad reviews, how likely are you to pay mind to them? A. 1- Not likely at all, 10- Extremely likely VI. How do you define a good review versus a bad review? VII. If your peer of a close relative has a product or service that you do not like, how likely are you to write an honest review? VIII. Say that you purchase or hire a service and come across positive/negative reviews about it. Are you more likely to switch to a different product or service? IX. After purchasing a product or using a service, in which cases are you most likely to leave a review? X. How would you refer a product or service to a peer or relative? A. Youtube B. Facebook C. Instagram D. Twitter E. Other XI. What gender do you identify as? XII. What age range are you in? XIII. Do you have a disposable income to support impulse purchases? 8. Data Analysis
9.) For future reference, I would advise that the researcher would involve themselves as either a complete participant or a participant as observer. I found that these two were the most effective ways to collect data on people as they shop. While walking around the mall, it was very interesting to witness the process in which people purchased certain products. Some would pick products off of the shelves immediately, while others would consider which brand they wanted to purchase. This is where we were able to watch how brand equity and the usage of online reviews came as a resource that consumers use when purchasing a product. Those who chose to consider purchasing one or two products often times took out their phone to research what others had to say about the product itself. A limitation of being an observer was the inability to hear the consumer s decision-making process. When other researchers plan to conduct this same experiment, I would advise that the consumers take note of what they consider while purchasing a few products. A focus group may come as a decent option, but the group could risk the fear of leaving out certain pieces of vital information. Humans, by nature, are going to hold true to what they believe, even if they do not voice their thoughts. Monitoring a group s Internet searches would also be a viable option for collecting data. The researcher would have the ability to track where the user spent time, what they wrote or watched, and have detailed data of the user s search process. A good decision post-computer usage would be to conduct a survey to collect any final thoughts that the user may have had while browsing the Internet. Overall, the results of this experiment allowed us to assume a final result: online reviews have a greater impact on consumers depending on the platform, assumed credibility, and reliance on brand equity.