Many websites claim to provide objective analyses of products, goods, and services. These are known as “review sites”. The type of product presentation these sites offer is known as “consumer lead marketing”, because the “leads”, or new prospect referrals originate from first-hand consumer evaluations.

When contemplating major purchases or financial commitments, people naturally seek input from others about their experiences in similar matters. It is widely believed that such input is unbiased, and gives true insight into a particular service or product. Advertisements, of course, are designed to induce sales – regardless of product or service quality.

What will come of all of this consumer lead marketing?

In general, review sites are funded by advertisements. Due to high public confidence in consumer reviews and their long-standing history, consumer lead marketing is flourishing and clearly here to stay!

For review site operators, potential profits are astronomical due to popular demand. For the advertisers that support such sites, high visibility of their products or services is similarly profitable.

The Picture is Not All Rosy..

The profit motive inherent in such arrangements, however, creates a high risk of corruption and misrepresentation. For instance, the majority of review sites make very little – if any – effort to verify consumer statements that they publicly present. Consumer review site debunkers frequently argue that favorable reviews are often written by the businesses under review, while negative input often originates from competitors, or disgruntled former employees, etc. Also, those biased against – or in favor of – a business can post multiple comments, thereby distorting the overall conveyed impression of a product or service.

All Sites are Not Equal…

Review sites offer different levels of quality and effectiveness in presenting objective consumer leads. A few of the better-known consumer review sites are StickyBits.com, Yelp, Angies List, and Foursquare.

Yelp, Inc.

At Yelp’s homepage, a search feature is displayed that allows site visitors to review comments about 22 categories of products and services in several major US and European cities. A convenient counter is also included that indicates the number of customer comments on file for that product category.

Foursquare

Foursquare is a software program designed for use on mobile devices. Users communicate with friends and family about their experiences in various locales. Businesses “reward” patrons with discounts and prizes. Its format is primarily social networking. The consumer evaluation aspects of Foursquare are more side effects, than primary function.

StickyBits

StickyBits is a software application that members use to scan product barcodes. Software users earn “rewards” (discounts and freebies) upon completing “challenges” (series of tasks). Consumers must first download the program and scan barcodes to view product evaluations which can include comments, pictures and video. A consumer must possess a smartphone with a barcode scanning app which may seem like a small percentage of people right now but in two years most people will have a smartphone. Therefore, I predict StickyBits will have a slow rise to authority with a a bright future.

Angie’s List

The homepage of Angies List presents a clear, organized search feature for would-be consumers seeking medical and construction services. Consumers are charged a fee for Angie’s List membership, and the site employs a “report card” system whereby consumers rate providers on an “A to F” basis.

All consumer evaluations are not included in contractors’ overall ratings, as Angie’s List employees screen every evaluation for “possible malicious intent”.

In my view, two sites that offer even better consumer review content are consumersearch.com and epinions.com. Consumers can join both of these sites for free, and they provide a much larger product/service base for opinion seekers to search. This increases the likelihood that others’ comments about a particular item will be available for perusal. There is no cumbersome downloading or label scanning required to input your feedback. The focus is plainly on product evaluation – not social networking or any other purpose.

If a company discovers vindictive derogatory reviews, it may publicly rebut them or initiate litigation. Businesses have filed multi-million-dollar libel lawsuits against consumers and review site operators who disseminate negative information about them. Such suits are often unsuccessful, due to free speech concerns, and the obvious deterrent effect they have on honest consumer reviews.

The best defense against damaging opinions that a business can employ is prevention. High emphasis on customer satisfaction and retention should be foremost on any company’s agenda. My take is this; if you want people to change their bad reviews then YOU, the owner of the company, should get in touch with theses individuals and try to personally resolve the issue. Ofourse you cannot do it for all bad reviews but you should be involved with the most detrimental comments as anything less will ultimately lead to less than optimal results.

Peter Marino is the Senior Partner and CMO of reelWebDesign.com, a web design and search marketing firm in New York City.