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Whether it’s recommending a local service to a friend or leaving online feedback, consumer reviews can be one of the strongest marketing tools for small businesses.
With this in mind, our survey shares the reasons why people leave reviews, both positive and negative, and the impact these can have on a business.
Alex Miles, COO, at Capital on Tap has also provided his top tips for how small businesses can avoid potentially negative reviews after the survey shared nearly half (46%) of people wouldn’t buy something if they read a review that says it is of poor quality.
What prompts people to leave positive (and negative) reviews?
While sometimes a product or service will be exactly what you expect, other times it might surprise you and inspire you to leave feedback — whether that be good or bad.
No matter the type of review, those aged between 16 and 24 are always most likely to leave one. Across a variety of situations, a huge 93% of this age bracket would leave a positive review, compared with 79% of the over 55s.
Meanwhile, 87% of 16-24-year-olds say they would leave a bad review, while just 67% of those aged 55 and over say they would be happy to leave negative feedback.
The most common reasons people leave negative reviews
|
Rank |
Situation |
|
1 |
A product or service is of a lower quality than expected. |
|
=2 |
Purchased a product or service from a national company and had a negative experience overall. |
|
=3 |
Purchased a product or service from a small business and had a negative experience overall. |
|
=3 |
A product or service purchased differed from the original description. |
1. The product or service is of lower quality than expected
Customer satisfaction is crucial to a company’s reputation, and product or service quality is often at the core of this idea.
This could explain why a poor quality product or service is the reason most people would leave a negative review, with 72% of those surveyed saying they would leave a bad review in this situation - nearly three-quarters of customers for business owners to be mindful of.
2. An overall negative experience with a national company
69% of respondents said that they are more likely to leave a negative review if they have a bad experience overall with a national company.
3. An overall negative experience with a small business
Similarly, 66% of respondents said they are more inclined to leave a negative review if their experience with a small business was mostly negative.
This shows that it’s important for businesses, both big and small, to provide high-quality customer service through all aspects of the purchase process to reduce the risk of negative reviews.
4. The product or service is different from the original description
A further 66% of people said they would leave a negative review if they believe the product or service is different from the original description advertised.
Which cities leave the most reviews?
Where you live seems to play a part in how likely you are to leave a negative review. Those living in Belfast are most likely to leave a bad review, with a huge 90% admitting they would be happy to do so.
Bristol (88%) is another city that is happy to share their poor experiences, followed by Brighton and Manchester, with 84% of residents saying they’d leave a negative review across a variety of purchasing situations.
It seems people in Brighton are happy to leave a review regardless of the situation, as they're the most likely to leave a positive review. 94% of those living in the seaside town say they would leave good feedback across a range of purchasing situations. This is followed by Cardiff with 91% of people giving positive feedback, and Belfast (90%) where the residents share a similar inclination for leaving positive reviews.
The most common reasons people leave positive reviews
Positive reviews are hugely important for any business, and our survey reveals exactly what businesses can do to receive these reviews.
|
Rank |
Situation |
|
1 |
A product or service provides good value for money. |
|
=2 |
The business offers good quality customer service. |
|
=2 |
Purchased a product or service from a national business and had a positive experience overall. |
|
=3 |
Purchased a product or service from a small business and had a positive experience overall. |
|
=3 |
Product or service is of higher quality than expected. |
|
=3 |
The business offers a referral bonus. |
1. The product or services provides good value for money
Money-conscious Brits are happy to leave a positive review if they think the product or service provides good value for money, with a huge 84% saying they would provide a good review in this situation.
2. The business offers good quality customer service
Exceeding customer expectations is becoming increasingly important in today’s business landscape. 83% of consumers we surveyed said they are likely to leave a positive review if a company delivers good customer service.
3. An overall positive experience from a national company
Meanwhile, the same number of people said that they’d also give good feedback if they purchased a product from a national company and had a positive experience overall.
4. An overall positive experience from a small business
When it comes to SMEs specifically, it’s great to see that 82% of those surveyed said they would leave a positive review if they had a good overall experience after purchasing something from a small business.
What prompts people to leave online or word-of-mouth reviews?
Nearly half (45%) of Brits trust word-of-mouth reviews over online ones. However, this does differ across the generations. Gen Z tend to trust online reviews more, while the over 55s are more likely to believe feedback they hear from friends or family.
Word-of-mouth reviews can be difficult to quantify though, so what would cause people to share an online review over a word-of-mouth one?
Word-of-mouth reviews
When it comes to word-of-mouth reviews, the number one reason that people would share their experience of a product or service, whether good or bad, is if it was good but overpriced. More than half (56%) of those surveyed said they would share a product or service with friends and family in this instance.
People love a good deal, so perhaps it’s no surprise that another common reason for giving a word-of-mouth review is if someone purchased the product or service with a discount or as part of an offer (53%). Along a similar theme, people said they would share a word-of-mouth review if the business offers a referral bonus (52%).
Online reviews
Interestingly, the top three reasons people gave for leaving online reviews are entirely different. The most common prompt for leaving this kind of review is because a business asked for it, with 65% suggesting this is the top situation in which they would actively share their experience. As a business owner, it’s clear that asking your customers for feedback really pays off.
Another common reason for people leaving online reviews is having a negative experience with a national company (60%). However, on the flip side of this, the next most common reason for giving an online review is if they had a positive experience overall with a small business (56%).
The impact of negative reviews on consumer behaviour
We know negative reviews can be harmful to businesses, but our research has explored this further to better understand what types of bad reviews would put people off purchasing a product the most.
Nearly half (46%) of people said they wouldn’t buy something if the review they read says it is of poor quality. This differs slightly across the generations though, with 53% of the over 55s agreeing with this statement, compared with just 34% of those aged between 16 and 24.
Word-of-mouth reviews also have a big impact, with two-fifths (41%) of Brits also saying they wouldn’t buy a product or service if they heard a negative review about it from a friend or family member.
Everyone wants to know that they’ll be taken care of if any issues arise, and 37% of those surveyed said they wouldn’t purchase something if the review says that the customer service from the company is poor. This is actually the type of review that would put Gen Z off the most, with 38% saying feedback about bad customer service would prevent them from buying a product or service.
How to avoid potentially negative reviews
Alex Miles, COO from Capital on Tap says, “Negative reviews can clearly have a big impact on consumer behaviour. In fact, our survey found that 11% of people say they wouldn't buy a product or use a service if it has an online review below five stars. This number triples to 30% when it comes to a product or service being rated less than three stars.
“However, there are some simple steps businesses can take to deal with negative reviews and avoid them in the future.”
1. Respond to any negative reviews
First things first, if you do receive negative reviews, don’t ignore them. Make sure you respond to these quickly, and make an effort to apologise to the customer. Take responsibility for the issue and attempt to rectify the problem for them.
This is an opportunity to use your brand voice, and show other potential customers that you’re a professional business that cares about providing the best possible experience for each individual.
2. Use negative reviews to your advantage
Most businesses will receive negative reviews at some point on their journey, and while it can feel disheartening, you should also take this as a learning curve.
Any negative feedback is a chance to improve your product or service, so you need to make sure you’re monitoring and analysing every review you receive and using them to your advantage.
3. Encourage more positive reviews
As our survey has shown, one negative review might not prevent someone from purchasing your product or service if it’s surrounded by a lot of other positive reviews. So, you need to encourage as many reviews as possible.
Make sure the review process is seamless for your customers, and keep it personal so they feel like their review will actually make a difference.
One of the best ways to encourage positive reviews is through excellent customer service. Go the extra mile to make sure each customer has a great experience interacting with your business.
Also, be proactive in requesting reviews from satisfied customers soon after their purchase. Making the review process convenient and sending friendly reminders is an easy way to increase the likelihood of getting that positive feedback.
Offering great customer service, as well as providing good value for money where you can will help encourage positive reviews. Most importantly, make sure you’re asking for the reviews themselves.
Methodology and sources
All data has been collected from a survey of 1,002 general consumers in the UK. Survey was conducted in April 2024.
