*This is a collaborative post
When I make a purchase online especially when buying an item that is high value I take the time to do my research. For example if we need to make a purchase for a new TV I make sure that I know what specs I want along with how much I am willing to pay for said item. I then read reviews online to find the best TV for us.
Blogs are a place to go to these days as they are a great way of advertising a product/brand/service. This is something I do myself and it's a great way of getting the brand out there and by writing an honest and trustworthy review; potential customers can see the product in use before deciding whether to purchase or not. I make sure that I include the information that people look for when writing my reviews, such as prices, quality, what's included and where the product or service can be purchased from. I am then able to pass on my monthly figures, etc to the company so that they have an idea on how well the post has done, reach wise.
On the flip side as a consumer I prefer to read reviews to get an idea how a product/service works and I opt to read reviews from other trustworthy bloggers to see if the item is right for us! This is especially the case when it comes to purchasing toys for Blake as I'd rather know if an item is ideal for his age along with the quality and price. There are so many toys out there and ones that are similar so I want to know as much as i can before purchasing. I've found over the years that a lot of products I've purchased are recommendations from reviews I've read on other blogs.
Another perfect way is for brands to use https://britainreviews.co.uk which provides a marketing tool for free once the brand has placed their personalised widget on their own website. How it works is that the site collects reviews, opinions and complaints. Then customers like myself can learn from others personal experiences. It's also good for the company to know what their customers think of them.
What I like about Britain reviews is that I am able to see reviews on services such as insurance providers, energy suppliers, holiday companies, credit and loans and much more. This means I can then make a decision on what is best for us. We like to change our suppliers regularly to get good deals so I like knowing other people's experiences especially if its a company we've not heard of before. Insurance, holidays, internet suppliers, places to eat out etc are all services I check out reviews for as I want to make sure that we get the best experiance.
These are both great ways for companies to be able to find out what their consumers think about their product/service. They can then use this information to make any improvements and is a a great marketing tool for boosting sales and getting their brand out their in the spotlight!
