CheckoutSmart Global Blog

The ultimate guide for choosing a ratings and review partner

Written by Paul | Dec 8, 2020 3:17:44 PM

In an environment where 93% of consumers say that online reviews influence their buying choices, this is an area of your marketing strategy that no grocery brand company can afford to leave to chance. 

But actually, securing a steady stream of those all-important reviews and feedback from users can be one of the hardest challenges any grocery marketer will face. Enter ratings and review partners. There are more than a few companies out there who promise to solve your rates and review woes. But not all can deliver this service effectively. 

For selecting a reviews partner, here’s what to look for… 

Authenticity 

If your grocery product listing is suddenly peppered with suspicious-looking feedback, you could find that your review strategy has had the exact opposite effect to what you intended. 

54% of consumers would not buy from a company that they suspected of posting fake reviews. And almost three quarters of consumers say that retailers should do more to question and combat them. 

Clued-in customers may very well do some digging into the details by checking the integrity of your feedback. If your partner is feeding reviews through to you, make sure to request that they are verified; i.e. from actual purchasers. 

Sector expertise  

It goes without saying that the grocery market is very different to, say, the consumer tech market. For your reviews to be of value, your partner should really have access to a big panel of everyday grocery shoppers. If they are trying to be all things to all sectors, the quality of output they send through may not be as great as you would like. 

Also, if they have deep knowledge of your sector, they are more likely to enable you to extract maximum value from the reviews. This includes helping you with analysis and drawing fresh insights from the content.