Analysis of reviews is getting increasingly important! Why? Reviews on online marketplaces such as Amazon or OTTO have long since become a decisive factor for success in the sale of products. The reason for this is the influence of positive reviews on seller performance and the strengthened trust of new customers due to authentic reviews.
Therefore, it is of decisive importance for companies to receive credible and positive feedback from their buyers as frequently as possible through strategic review management. But what additional benefits can be derived from reviews?
Often, reviews contain much more information than ratings of a product, good or bad. By analyzing reviews on online marketplaces, further strategic deductions can be made that provide opportunities for optimizing products, listings, and advertising.
This article shows which strategic deductions brands can draw from reviews and how these will improve performance on marketplaces such as Amazon.
Reviews as a source for strategic deductions
Customer reviews on online marketplaces are more than mere expressions of opinion; they are a valuable source of strategic insight. Shoppers’ reviews reflect their needs, expectations, and experiences. Brands can modify their entire market strategy in addition to the optimization of their products using this knowledge.
By analyzing reviews, brands may spot trends and patterns that affect product quality and provide information about customer loyalty, brand perception, and competitive position. In short, ratings are a repository of data that enables brands to make deductions regarding their strategy and competitiveness.
The strategic deductions enable, for example, indications of necessary product optimizations or advantages in the benefits of a product in contrast to the competition.
First: The screening of reviews
Before analysis of evaluations and strategic conclusions drawn from them, a detailed review of the evaluations should take place. Setting up a continuous monitoring system is also a good idea so that new assessments can be immediately categorized and examined.
To draw strategic conclusions, review management technologies that immediately evaluate and categorize evaluations based on many criteria can be helpful.
Analysis of reviews on marketplaces: Strategic derivations of valuations
Once the assessments have been reviewed and categorized the first strategic conclusions are now possible. These can vary depending on the content of the evaluations. Positive evaluations, for instance, enable different inferences than negative ones.
In the following, we have listed five strategic deductions and explained their benefits.
1. Negative evaluations as constructive feedback
Negative reviews are often valuable sources of constructive feedback. Brands should use them to start early in production and optimize their products based on the shortcomings pointed out. This feedback can help to address future customer needs. Continuous improvement based on customer feedback can increase customer satisfaction and ensure long-term success.
However, negative reviews can also indicate an inadequate product description. If expectations are rising in the product listing that does not correspond to reality, a correction makes sense sometimes.
Example: If the product description states that it is a soft fabric, but buyers negatively comment that it is scratchy, the product description should at least be truthfully adjusted. It would be even better to ensure, that the production uses a different material.
The product description should be, at the very least, truthfully changed if it claims that the fabric is soft, but customers complain that it is scratchy.
2. Positive reviews as sales arguments
In contrast to negative reviews, positive reviews do not point out defects but positive features or specific product characteristics. These special features can hide selling points or USPs that are perceived by buyers but not actively mentioned or promoted by sellers.
These USPs should be defined and highlighted in marketing, as they indicate that competitors may not cover these factors. Therefore, the features should be highlighted in the product listing to attract the interest of potential customers and differentiate them from the competition.
Example: If reviews point to a particular soft and pleasant fabric without this feature being explicitly mentioned or stored as a keyword, brands should store this feature in the product listing.
3. Analysis of reviews: Understanding the customer’s language and using keywords
Understanding the language of your clientele is critical to effective product placement. Buyers often use specific keywords and keyword-phrases to express their needs and expectations. These terms should be integrated into product listings and advertising campaigns. By using the right keywords, products can rank better in search results, increasing the visibility of advertisements.
Example: If buyers inside of protein powder often speak of protein powder in reviews, probably this is also the search term that interested people would look for on online marketplaces. In this case, it makes sense to include the keyword “protein powder” in the product listing.
4. Checking competitor ratings
A thorough analysis should include not only your reviews but also the reviews of your competitors. If specific negative points are frequently mentioned in the competitor’s reviews, and one’s product does not have these weak points, these aspects should be highlighted in the product lists or the A+ content. It can help convince potential customers of the superiority of your product.
Example: If buyers often complain about scratchy fabric in competitor reviews, but this criticism does not appear in their reviews, the quality of their material is probably another selling point.
Understanding how buyers use the product
The benefits of every product are not always clear. Therefore, it is important to look for clues in the reviews about how buyers use the product. Companies can use this information to optimize the product listing and highlight additional uses or applications. It helps increase customer loyalty and the added value of the product for shoppers.
Example: if shoppers report that the protein powder they bought is also very suitable for baking or cooking, but this has not yet been mentioned in the possible uses, this property can also be added to the product description.
Conclusion: Analysis of reviews and strategic derivations
Analyzing customer reviews on online marketplaces is a crucial step for brands to optimize their products and position themselves successfully in the market. Positive and negative reviews make it possible to take targeted measures to improve products or highlight USPs. Using customer language and keywords improves product discoverability while reviewing competitor reviews provides valuable insights. Finally, analyzing usage patterns helps refine product listings and provide more value to the clientele. Brands that consistently apply these strategies are well-equipped to strengthen their market position and meet customer needs on online marketplaces such as Amazon or OTTO.
About the author:
Moritz Meyer is co-founder and managing director of MOVESELL GmbH. As an Amazon expert in the areas of strategies, advertising, SEO & content, the Kiel agency has been supporting companies and brands with growth, profitability & branding on Amazon since 2017.
Moritz is also a specialist for MOVESELL’s Amazon analysis tool ROPT and has an overview of marketplace developments and analyses. He regularly shares his expertise with his network.
