Topics
reviews, physical evidence, purchase risk, brand trust, consumer generated content
Review the activity below or download the PDF student worksheet
- Student Worksheet: Techniques to Generate Consumer Reviews
- Instructor Solutions (Members Only): Techniques to Generate Consumer Reviews = Solutions
Student Discussion Activity
The Connection Between Online Consumer Reviews and Physical Evidence
In the 7Ps of marketing, “physical evidence” refers to the tangible aspects of a brand or product that help customers evaluate quality, trustworthiness, and reliability. This includes everything from the store environment, packaging, website design, and staff uniforms to other visible elements that reinforce the brand’s identity and promises.
Consumer reviews play a key role in supporting the “physical evidence” marketing mix element in several ways, including:
1. Providing Social Proof
Social proof is where people look to the actions and opinions of others to determine their own behavior, especially in situations of uncertainty.
In the context of brand/product choice, social proof refers to the idea that consumers are more likely to trust and engage with a brand, product, or service if they see others doing so. Social proof taps into the natural human desire to fit in and make decisions that others have validated.
Consumer reviews act as social proof, providing a type of “virtual” physical evidence. While reviews are intangible, they influence the perception of the brand, which is similar to how physical evidence works in an in-person environment.
2. Influencing First Impressions
Physical evidence often shapes first impressions. When customers encounter consumer reviews, these reviews are often among the first brand touchpoints they engage with before even seeing the product in person or visiting a store. Reviews, in this sense, become part of the brand’s experience and customer journey. And, as we know in daily life, first impressions are often lasting.
3. Building and Reinforcing the Brand
Physical evidence helps reinforce a brand’s credibility, especially consumer reviews due to their independent nature. When a company claims quality service or products, receiving consistent strong positive reviews confirm and solidify that perception.
4. Mitigating Perceived Purchase Risks
Physical evidence reduces the perceived risks customers feel when buying something new, especially in services marketing. Consumer reviews give independent views to how well a product works, its durability, or the quality of service provided, which reduces uncertainty for potential buyers.
Your Task
In this exercise you will act as a marketing consultant advising a large hotel chain. As you probably know from your own experience, consumer reviews for hotels are very important in the consumer decision process. This is because (when travelling and holidaying) most consumers are unfamiliar with the choice of hotels in other cities and countries.
And, as hotel choice is often a key part of the holiday experience, consumers rely heavily on the reviews of other travelers when choosing the best hotel for their needs and budget.
As a result, your hotel chain client has come up with 17 approaches to generating more consumer reviews (as number of reviews are also important), as well as generating a higher average rating score (say, move from 4.4/5 currently to 4.7/5, by driving more 5/5 reviews).
Below you will find their 17 ideas for more consumer reviews. As a marketing consultant, evaluate each one (on a matrix scale, see further instructions below) and then also address the questions at the end.
17 Techniques to Generate More and Better Consumer Reviews
- In-Room Reminders: Place a QR code reminder (linking to a key review platform) in hotel rooms encouraging guests to leave a review
- Staff Written Requests: Get hotel staff (e.g. cleaning staff) to leave a personalized card in the room, politely requesting a 5 star review
- Selective Review Requests: Directly ask guests who are particularly satisfied with their stay to leave reviews, while providing them with an iPad/table to complete their review while they are still at the hotel
- Follow-up Emails: Send an automated follow-up email after checkout, politely requesting feedback and providing a direct link to review platforms like TripAdvisor, Google, etc.
- Getting Staff to Leave Reviews: As the hotel chain has a large workforce, and most of which have also been hotel guests at some time, recommend that their staff leave a 5 star review as that will help with the hotel’s continued success
- On-Site Review Kiosks: Install kiosks or tablets at checkout or the lobby where guests can quickly leave a review before leaving the hotel
- TripAdvisor Badges/Signs: Display badges, certificates, or awards from review sites prominently in the reception area, to subtly remind guests to submit reviews
- Staff Verbal Requests: Train hotel staff to engage with guests in a friendly and helpful manner, asking them at the end of their stay to share their positive experiences
- Incentivize Guests for Positive Reviews: Offer guests something valuable, such as a free upgrade, if they leave a 5-star review
- Incentivize Staff for Positive Reviews: Advise staff that they will receive a $ bonus for each 5-star review received, to encourage them to provide a higher level of customer service
- Contests: Hold contests encouraging guests to leave reviews, with a chance to win a free weekend stay (or other prize)
- Provide Exceptional Service: Focus on the customer experience and aim to deliver consistently high-quality service, as this should organically build positive reviews over time
- Loyalty Program Integration: Reward guests who leave reviews by providing additional loyalty points
- Suppressing Negative Reviews: Attempting to suppress negative reviews by offering refunds (etc.) to dissatisfied guests in exchange for removing or altering their reviews.
- Influencer Collaborations: Partner with travel bloggers or social media influencers who can encourage their followers to stay at the hotel and leave reviews after experiencing the hotel themselves
- Leverage Social Media: Create engaging social media campaigns where guests are encouraged to post about their stay and leave reviews
- Online Review Portals in the Hotel App: In the hotel app, integrate direct links to review sites, prompting customers to leave reviews once they check out or finish their stay
Student Discussion Questions
- In addition to the average rating score of the reviews, why are the number of reviews also important to build? That is, why would a higher number of reviews influence consumer decision making more than a smaller number?
- Evaluate the list of 17 review generation approaches and rate them in the matrix below, based on two criteria of : A. The likelihood of generating a large or limited number of new reviews (horizontal axis) and B. The likelihood of resulting in mostly 5/5 rating scores or a mix of ratings (vertical axis), as follows:
- Top right: Lots of new reviews and mostly 5/5 ratings
- Top left: Limited new reviews but mostly 5/5 ratings
- Bottom right: Lots of new reviews but likely mixed ratings
- Bottom left: Limited new reviews and likely mixed ratings
- List the review ideas that you rated in the top right box in the matrix, pick the best three to five approaches that would you recommend that the hotel chain implement?
- After selecting the top approaches from the matrix (Q3), which of the remaining three quadrants should the hotel prioritize next? Should they focus on approaches in the top-left, bottom-left, or bottom-right quadrant? Why?
- Are there any ideas on the list of 17 approaches that you would consider to be unethical or even dishonest?
- If you have recommended any of these potentially unethical ideas to the hotel, what potential risks could these tactics pose for the hotel’s brand reputation and credibility in the long term?
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