Posts by Robin Gandhi
Jun 21, 2011
While studies have shown that positive online ratings correlate with higher sales, a study at the University of Maryland using data from BazaarVoice found that brands maximize their long-term benefits from online ratings when they attract a balance of positive and negative ratings from customers.
If you want to increase sales in the long run, you need to attract a balance of negative reviews, in addition to lots of positive reviews.
Here’s why:
Research Findings
In The Value of Social Dynamics in Online Ratings Forums, Wendy Moe and Michael Trusov of the University of Maryland found the following:
- The rating of your product today has the biggest impact on sales today.
- However, the number and diversity of reviews that you have today affects how the rating will change over time, as follows.
- A 5-star rating today will most likely go down over time because people will post negative reviews in response to the existing positive reviews.
- Reviews containing only 4s or 5s attract negative reviews because new users often want to add a sense of balance.
- Products with an average rating of 3 stars based on a wide range of ratings tend to improve their ratings faster than those with only 3-star reviews. As a result, the more diversely rated products tend to improve sales more quickly.
