If you are new in business, building a lasting reputation might take some time. It can be challenging to try and please everyone or prove to them that you have a good enough business. No matter how you try, some people will not see your products and services as worthwhile.

One great way for customers to express their opinion of the quality or standard of your business is through honest online reviews. According to research, individual reviews are great for establishing trust between a customer and a business owner. Many individuals implied that they trust both personal recommendations and online reviews equally. Therefore, when the reviews go wrong, they can impact your business negatively. Here are some ways Fake Reviews can harm your business and how to deal with them:

1. Fake reviews damage trust

You might be surprised that many companies sell Fake reviews online and make much money from them. The reviews are mainly outsourced to foreign laborers who are desperate for work for low pay. These employees are trained to collect thousands of fake reviews every day. They often have many things to say about any company, and your business can also fall victim to some nasty reviews.

However, most consumers easily identify fake reviews when they see them, as the fake reviewers usually speak and write basic English. If your potential customers go through your business page and find different rudimentary comments, it can cause them not to trust your business.

2. Fake reviews reduce your search traffic

Any business that must grow beyond its small scale requires online exposure through a localized Google search strategy. Google is an effective tool for tracking businesses and predicting the latest trends. Therefore, if they begin to see unnatural reviews on your page, they will penalize your business. The fake reviews will appear to Google as if you are working against the rules, and they will gradually drop your rankings in local searches. When your search term drops, it affects traffic to your business website and causes a reduction in your investment.

3. Fake reviews can attract a huge fine

In the past, federal regulators ignored fake reviews until lately, when it has become a concern in the online market. Because consumers believe and trust online reviews, regardless of whether they are real or fake, regulators have stepped in to crack down on misleading marketing tactics. However, affected companies must pay a fine for allowing fake reviews on their Google, Facebook, Yelp, and other standard websites. You can pay up to a $300,000 fine for these fake reviews. In the future, the punishment might be more severe.

Fake reviews make you look unrealistic

Many businesses buy fake reviews to look good for potential customers. But doing this can cause more harm than good. Even the best online businesses occasionally have a few negative comments, and they do not always have 5-star reviews. Consumers will suspect you if you are a small business owner and your online reviews are too good to be true. They might think you are gaming the online marketing system.

How do you protect your business against fake reviews?

1. Offer consumers the best experience through quality service and products

You can boost your relationship with consumers if you are straightforward or willing to offer only the best services. Please pay attention to what consumers need and what they complain about, as this can help you do more for them by improving the products and services you offer generally. When your customer is happy about your products and services, you earn their trust, respect, and loyalty.

If there are fake reviews along the way for your business, your customers can be your greatest online advocates by helping you grow an online market with integrity. If people try to damage your digital brand through fake reviews, it will be difficult for them to succeed because your actual customers, who already know you have a good reputation, will overshadow negative reviews with positive ones.

2. Implement a review system that detects and removes fake reviews

You can eliminate fake reviews by implementing machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). With AI, your business page can feel safer as it can train highly skilled models to take in authentic review data, recognize fake reviews, and eliminate them on the spot.

3. Reward authentic reviews with incentives

You can give bonuses to your customers once in a while. Doing this motivates potential customers to patronize your business and improves loyalty among existing customers. They can willingly provide honest feedback about your business to others. You can give rewards such as discounts, monetary bonuses, and other prizes.

4. Allow your customers to help you identify fake reviews

When you identify fake reviews, try not to relax or do nothing about them. You can ask your customers to come to your aid by reporting them to the proper authorities. Take a cue from top companies like Amazon. They have strategic features that allow genuine people to report fake reviews. You can do the same by employing your customers and fans to fake flag reviews.

Many consumers might want to help but need to learn how to do it. Please support their efforts through empowerment measures to combat fake reviews. Failing fake reviews can make the digital platform safer to trade, share, gather, and work on.

Conclusion

Fake reviews have become so common that many upcoming brands try to cover them up to save their customer-business owner relationship. The problem with fake reviews is that they will only stop once you devise the best ways to prevent them. A fake review can threaten the authenticity of your business and consumer trust. Look for and report problematic reviews not only to avoid paying Google fines and having your search traffic reduced. You can create moderate processes and empower trusted individuals to assist you in flagging inappropriate or fraudulent online reviews.

The post How fake reviews destroy consumer trust—and how can brands and retailers respond? appeared first on Smartinfosys Blog.