e h t t s i s e R o How t f o n o i t a t p m e T e k a F g n i t i o l Exp s w e i v Re
H O W T O ' S
| HOW TO'S |
"THEY WERE BUILT TO GENERATE INCOME." Online entrepreneurs will do whatever it takes just to increase revenue and maintain movement in their business. Afterall, that is the main reason of their existence. They were built to generate income. That’s it. That’s honestly the main purpose, otherwise, they will be considered as a charitable institution.
They use various approach in making sure the revenue remains constant, even if its illicit. One technique that some online businesses do in establishing consumer favor, online presence and significant ranking is using the consumer themselves to give them good rating in exchange of some incentives or product discount. In some cases they also pay third parties to give them positive reviews.
SOCK PUPPETRY
ILLEGAL PRACTICE These illegal practice is called “sock puppetry” and if caught, a marketer will be subjected to corresponding penalties. However, despite all the attempt in stopping this act, it seems permanently attached and considered already part of an online business’ regular marketing strategy.
The Federal Trade Commission Act Section 5: Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices states that a deceptive practice is a representation, omission, or practice misleads or is likely to mislead the consumer.
The act is tempting considering the significant positive result that you would get from it, and almost everybody as well as your competitors are doing it. Plus the available workarounds that you could possibly use to avoid getting caught. But just like in any other situation, temptation could always be avoided with some positive actions and total awareness in preserving a healthy reputation.
HOW TO AVOID IT
An online marketer may use different methods in getting constant and positive reviews from consumers. There are several ways to encourage customers in providing feedback and product reviews but it is essential that an online business owner go back and focus it’s attention to the most basic element of this all. The quality of the product or service itself. One should make sure that the quality is something that would trigger the consumers in providing positive reviews. You might want to go back and evaluate the product first before even expecting a good review from your customers. Now that you have proven that the product is worthy of favorable feedback, it’s time to proceed in soliciting the customer’s reaction.
You could either use the actual solicitation like sending a card along with the product, convincing consumers to provide feedback and reviews, or post an information in your physical store a detail of how to provide it. You could also try sending email encouraging a customer to provide a review but you need to be careful not to get tagged as phishing. It is also vital that you get a reputable review sites to hold your product review as it will affect its reliability. Even if you get an honestly positive testimony from a consumer but if it’s from a known fake review site then a consumer may earn a percentage of doubt over it. Don’t be afraid to report unauthorized and unethical practice. If you know some sites or competitors who do such act, inform the review site. The market is a competition, and you don’t want to be defeated in an unfair way.
Conclusion Owning an online business is challenging knowing that there will be several factors in maintaining an online presence. Factors that are beyond your control and are influenced by outside forces. But it is fitting and proper that integrity is maintained all the time. Thus, it is vital that the respect for the guidelines set forth by the ones in authority and knowing that it is created to regulate and control a uniform and fair flow for everybody, is preserved.
SOURCES:
https://anythingseo.wordpress.com/2017/11/27/how-to-resist-thetemptation-of-exploiting-fake-reviews/