Online Reviews Essay Example

đź“ŚCategory: Articles, Business, Marketing, Strategy
đź“ŚWords: 546
đź“ŚPages: 2
đź“ŚPublished: 22 June 2021

Online reviews are an extremely important component of business profit and representation among other competitors. The article titled “Customer Motivation and Response Bias in Online Reviews” written by Saram Han and Chris K. Anderson, explains the relationship between underreporting bias in novice versus experienced online reviews. The first question asked by Han and Anderson (2020) was if “customers ha(d) the same level of motivation to post a review across different satisfaction levels” (p. 142)?  The result of this study was varied among whom they spoke to but Han and Anderson (2020) determined that “customers who had bad and extreme experiences are more likely to post reviews than those who had positive or mild experiences'' (p.151). According to Han and Anderson (2020), the second question wondered if customers more familiar with the review process have similar posting motivations based on satisfaction levels than novice reviewers. Using the benefit-cost theory, Han and Anderson (2020) found that “consumers who are already familiar with posting reviews and thus post reviews regardless of the benefit to them” (p. 515). The article also gave managerial advice for hotels that want to capture their best reviews. One change that was advised was to simplify the review process by asking less in-depth questions and transfer from emails to text and app inclusive platforms. 

This article opened my eyes to the importance of online reviews and underreporting bias. After reading this article, I tried to think more critically on how I might have written an underreported bias out of frustration or excitement on something I had bought. I only write reviews once a while, and when I do write a review, I want it to be impactful. A related key concept that the article brought up was the social exchange theory. This theory and the cost-benefit theory introduced me to the difference between cost and benefit surrounding online reviews. First-time reviewers have to decide between different platforms, accounts, and rules and have a higher cost. According to Han and Anderson (2020), regular reviewers post reviews because of “how easy it is” (p. 144). I believe that underreporting bias is a substantial issue than the article brought up. Underreporting bias can bring bad publicity to a hotel and is something that consumers should think about before posting. 

A great example of underreporting bias is a family who had a bad experience at a hotel and later left a public review. This review surrounded negative aspects of their experience and gave no credit to the positive things the business did. As post purchasers saw these reviews, it swayed their business and persuaded them to create false notions on the hotel. One thing that the family didn’t post was that they slept in a cleanroom. If the family had disliked this establishment, they would not include this spectacular room because they are unknowingly posting an underreported bias review out of motivation. There is an abnormal need for humans to brag or complain about their experiences. This issue expands on the importance of containing underreported bias. Another concept was Word of Mouth in the online aspect. E. W. Anderson (1998) found that “extremely unsatisfied customers are most willing to share WOM opinions, followed by extremely satisfied customers” (p. 145). This information didn’t surprise me, but has made me more interested in looking into reviews and not just bad reviews. Leaving online reviews is an essential component for the business, customer, and prepurchaser. Unfortunately, making sure your reviews have equally positive and negative parts will limit underreported bias and will make the reporting process easier and more effective for everyone.

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