Online reviews and user testimonials play an essential role in the online reputation of companies. They also influence the consumer’s online decision. With the proliferation of these online reviews and reviews, it is more and more difficult to distinguish the true from the false, the genuine from the fictitious. It is therefore legitimate to ask whether we can trust opinions on the internet?

The impact of online reviews on consumers: a major advantage of e-reputation

On the internet, consumers rarely buy a product or service without first consulting the opinions of other customers. Whether it’s buying a washing machine or booking a hotel room, 88% (IFOP survey) look at online reviews before making their purchase. It has become an almost natural reflex to compare and trust the comments of others.

It is also important to note that 85% of Internet users say they are dissuaded from making an online purchase following reading a negative opinion left by a former consumer. We can therefore easily imagine the impact of these false comments on sales, and therefore on the turnover of the companies affected by these false opinions. As you visit Sean Abbott Marketing  you will under the kind of fake reviews that are around about the Evergreen Wealth Formula and the kind of review that you would need to read.

Are the data always reliable?

According to a survey by the DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control), just under half of online reviews are compliant. In fact, they observed an anomaly rate approaching 45%.

The issue of online reviews in the purchase and e-reputation decision leads to numerous abuses in order to gain market share or to discredit a competitor. It is therefore easy to think that some will abuse bad practices in order to gain market share, or discredit a competitor. It is indeed very easy to post a fake comment in order to harm a brand or a company and at the same time to give it bad publicity very quickly and at a lower cost.

The best example is that of a restaurant in Dijon belonging to the Bernard Loiseau agency, which received a negative comment on the quality of its establishment five days before it opened. The author of this false comment was sentenced to pay a fine of 2,000 euros. As the opinion was not based on any real experience, the intention to harm was retained as the ground for conviction.

Framing of online reviews

The countries decided, to deal with the problem in 2013 by creating a standard governing online reviews: the right standard. The purpose of this standard is to give businesses the ability to authenticate their reviews online. It makes the collection, moderation and return of online consumer reviews more reliable.

Not being obligatory and ultimately relatively little applied, it has had few results

It was in October 2016 that the government decided to tackle the problem head-on by promulgating the law for a digital economy. This law specifies that “any person whose activity consists, mainly or incidentally, in collecting, moderating or disseminating online consumer reviews, is required to provide fair, clear and transparent information on the methods of verifying reviews. Put online. It specifies whether or not the opinions it has posted are subject to verification and, if so, it indicates the main characteristics of the verification carried out”.