Many people may think that the millennial generation is “picky” or “spoiled” when it comes to our buying habits. However, we just want to make sure that we are getting the best product or service we can without wasting time or money. The best way to make sure of this is through review sites, which can be the breaking point for any of our buying decisions.
While most companies may think that we will just buy their product or service right away with little to no thought, the truth is that millennials will take the time to do research. The majority of the time, our research will start with review sites. Whether using Yelp or Google reviews, we look into what others are saying first. It’s almost as if we trust what online reviewers say just as much as personal recommendations from friends or family.
When it comes down to buying the product or service, anything with mainly negative reviews will almost always lead to an automatic pass on what is being offered. Who wants to buy a new phone if all of the reviews say that it breaks within a week of purchasing it? It’s not anything personal towards the company itself if we pass on what is being offered; we just want the best product that we can get.
With that being said, consumer reviews become more trusted in our eyes than a simple product description from the seller. The description just serves as a way to better understand how the seller describes the item and how they believe it should work. While it may be helpful to some extent, reviews are the best way to tell if the product or service is worth spending time and money on.
From a personal standpoint, if the product has a mix of both good and bad reviews with the good reviews outweighing the bad, we tend to trust that the product is worth purchasing. This is mainly because we see how multiple people feel about the product; it allows us to weigh our pros and cons. However, it’s also important to note that if the product or service has no reviews, it’s less likely to be trusted. With no reviews, it becomes difficult to determine if the quality is up to par.
It’s important to also point out that when the company takes time to respond to reviews, good and bad, it shows that they care and value what their customers have to say while also potentially fixing any problem that someone may have experienced. When a potential customer sees a response from the company, they are more likely to give that company a chance and buy their products or services.
To give a personal example of all of this, recently I went online to look into purchasing clothing from a company that I trust and have bought from on several occasions. One might think that I just immediately bought the products because I already trust the company and the quality of the product. That was not the case though. Before deciding if I liked the product or not I went to the reviews to see what others had to say about it first. There was no way I was going to spend money if the product was known to be poorly made.
This is not to say that every millennial will look at reviews before making a purchase or that your company’s online image is at risk if you get a negative review. It’s a simple lesson to keep in the back of your mind. Reviews are really what can make or break someone’s buying choices and they are the most helpful tool out there to lead us to the perfect product or service that fits our needs.
