Social Media Optimization asks an interesting question this morning:  "Are Customer Reviews Better Than Ads?"  It's a question that we've addressed a couple of times in the past (here and here).  And I think it's a great question that every online retailer or other product/service site should be thinking about.

I recently had a personal experience that illustrates why customer reviews are so powerful.  I was shopping for RAM to max out my new laptop.  I started with Google and did a search to find some places that sold it online.  I found quite a few.  In fact, I had about 5 websites bookmarked that sold the same brand, type, etc.

The site I ended up buying the RAM from had one thing that set it apart from the others:  customer reviews.  To be more specific, there was a customer review that specifically addressed my exact laptop model.  That was the clincher for me.  Not only was I able to see what other people were saying about the memory, I was able to read another person's experience using the memory in the exact same kind of computer that I have.

An advertisement could never be that specific.  Well… current versions of advertising couldn't.  And even if they could, people have become so accustomed to advertisements that they often ignore the messages we put in them.  How many times have you seen a product/service advertised that didn't live up to the hype in the ad?

It happens all of the time!

I think people have become desensitized to a lot of the marketing speak and hype in advertisements.  They'd much rather see how a product/service performed in the real world.  Why do you think so many people ask their friends, coworkers, and family members about movies?  Previews make it look good.  But in the theater, it's awful.

Your products and services are no different.  By all means… advertise!  But also allow your customers the option of leaving their own comments and reviews so that other potential customers can read them.  I made the choice of where to buy something based on the fact that I could see such customer-generated information.  Other people are the same way.

So to address the original question:  are customer reviews better than ads?  No.  The two are intimately tied… but much different.  Ads will bring customers to your site.  Customer reviews will seal the deal.

I'd love to hear any of your experiences with customers reviews.  Does your website offer customer reviews?  If so, what impact have they had on sales?  Have you, as a consumer, based a  buying decision on customer reviews?  And if so, how much of an impact do those reviews have on your purchasing choices?