Marketing has found a new
definition in the growing virtual world of technology. The entire function of
internet marketing starting with the promotion of a product to the final delivery of the
product to the consumer has earned that technological edge. This has not only
made the process easier for the business organizations but it has also tried to
make the lives of the consumer easier and stress-free.
The online shopping platforms have had an extremely important role to play in
making this possible.
As far as promotion and
targeting of a product or a service are
concerned, the social media and search websites have played an immense role.
These platforms have tried to play a crucial role in spreading awareness about
the product or service being discussed. These media have further added a word
of mouth publicity factor to the promotion since more and more people start discussing the product and its features.
However, the one thing
that is evidently missing in such kind of a promotion is an expert and
technical review of the products/services and the essential features of the
same. This led to lower conversions
into sale though brand awareness attained heights. In the wake of this gap,
various review websites such as Yelp
has found its importance. These review websites have worked on the most
important point of consumer behavior point i.e. reviews are accepted as a
benchmark to make the decisive action of purchasing a product/service.
According to a consumer
research survey conducted by Nielsen and commissioned by Yelp, the review sites such as Yelp has led to considerably higher
conversions as compared to the Google, Facebook and other search sites. The
study has further found that most of the consumers visiting these review
websites purchase the products/services within a week or even less than that. 92%
of respondents said they made a purchase after visiting the site. The study
also finds that the review websites are not only found useful by the consumers
but they are the most trustworthy and most influencing sources recommending the
product/service.
