In a report by the BBC, it has been revealed that many companies are attempting to improve their online rankings through illegitimate means.
There have been allegations that some reviews left on popular ratings websites such as Trustpilot may not be as genuine as consumers believe.
Companies are said to be creating fake reviews for either their own, or their competitor’s websites. Creating fake profiles as customers, and leaving untrue reviews, whether positive or negative, makes the ratings system incorrect and may work to mislead customers.
With most companies now using the internet to promote their business, whether it be through a website, online listings or through social media, maintaining a positive online presence is essential to a sustainable business.
Reviews give potential customers an independent review on your products. Instead of relying on what you think you should be telling people about your product, you have existing customers do this for you. In effect this is free marketing for a company, and should be used as much as possible to promote your brand.
Being listed on online review websites increases visibility on other websites. Your brand awareness as a company will increase as you are advertised on other websites, and customers who may not have been aware of your products may be directed to your company.
Online review websites offer an independent comparison, as you are effectively letting an independent body compare your products to your competitors without you having to “bad mouth” any rival companies.
However, by listing your company on an online ratings website, a company runs the risk of only negative reviews being posted. It’s common knowledge that most customers are far more likely to leave a bad review than a good one, which is partially due to a happy customer expecting to be happy so it usually requires a company to go “above and beyond” expectations to get a good review.
According to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), 54% of UK adults now use online reviews to judge whether or not a company is reputable before purchasing from them. If the reviews listed on a website are all falsely positive, the customer may experience bad service, or could even possibly end up losing out on money.
Similarly, if a company’s online rating system has been tarnished by a competitor posting untrue negative ratings, they will see a loss of business, as customers will not wish to do business with a company that appears to have a bad reputation.
At NCC, we are keen to retrieve both positive and negative reviews from our customers, as we can use all comments to improve our service for our customer.
We believe that our online ratings through Trustpilot show that we are a reputable company. As we check that all of our reviews come from genuine students who have completed a course with us, we can be sure that our ratings are as accurate as possible, and are proud to currently hold a score of 9.4 out of 10.
Click here if you would like to read through a full list of our impartial reviews from customers.
Nick Cooper
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