If it's worth knowing, it'll be here! Now, without further ado, pop on your reading glasses and let's get started.
The concept of someone being able to leave a review for something they have no experience of seems bizarre, but for many review industries, it still remains the case.
Rotten Tomatoes have made a big move which could just change this. Whilst anyone will still be able to leave a review, authentic reviews will now be made prominent.
The Independant reports that those now buying tickets through Rotten Tomatoes parent company, Fandango, who go on to leave a review through the app, will see a 'Verified' badge alongside it.
The move comes after films being repeatedly hit with uninsightful, "non-constructive input". With verification for products and company reviews now prominent, and movies moving in the same direction, could restaurants be next?
Whilst we're on the topic of fake reviews, Facebook and eBay are in the spotlight this month after several people offering to provide fake reviews were found to be operating on the sites.
The Guardian reported that not only had the Competition and Markets Authority found evidence of fake reviews being advertised but Which has previously suspected up to 87,000 members of being engaged in writing fake reviews.
Despite the purchase of fake reviews causing problems for many in the past, it appears it has not deterred some business from buying them. After all - there wouldn't be supply without demand.
Fake reviews can seriously harm a business' reputation when found out - and they often are, found out. Facebook and eBay are working on resolving the issue, with Facebook already having taken down 24 of the 26 suspected groups.
In the meantime? We'd recommend staying well away.
Yell, the company behind the yellow pages, was found to have been offering its staff £10 rewards for every positive review they brought in for the company, on review site, Trustpilot.
Despite having collected 5,840 reviews with an overall rating of 4/5 stars, This Is Money reports that many of its customers complain about shoddy services and rip-off prices.
The takeaway? No matter how much you try and game a Review Site, it will always come back to bite you. Whilst online reputation is important, it needs to match up to the things people are saying about you offline. Keep your customers happy, and it should never pose a problem.
Jane Bowron, a freelance journalist, has recently expressed her exhaustion with being asked to give customer feedback, touting it as 'needy and neurotic'.
It's a funny thing working in a B2C industry, as we will sometimes be our own target audience - not only sending, but also receiving customer feedback requests. Whilst we know that surveys are useful to our business, we will have also no doubt felt exasperation when filling them out.
The solution, is, of course, balance. Asking for a review as opposed to an entire survey is one way of lowering your demands, as is reducing the frequency of review requests. It's why Reviews.io only allow you to send company reviews to the same email address once every 3 months.
Restaurant reviews are one thing, but Google Lens is taking customer feedback one step further by showing popular dishes and reviews when pointed at a menu.
Set the enhance the customer-experience further and improve satisfaction, it calls for more restaurants to encourage both written and photo reviews. Something to bear in mind when sending out your review invitations...
That's a wrap! We'll see you all again next month for the latest insights into the world of reviews.
