Online product reviews are growing in importance for marketers. Amazon is a famous example of a company having remarkable success using product reviews and community feedback, as Kevin Maney describes at BusinessInsider.com. Reviews and ratings are now a part of the product purchase cycle. Customers increasingly rely upon recommendations for purchase decisions big and small – and there is no going back.

Every industry will be affected by what people say online about a company and its products. Controlling what is said is impossible. Managing the positive and negative effects will be difficult and resource intensive. Actively engaging in the process is necessary. Getting started now is essential.

Steven Levitt on The New York Time’s Freakonomics blog ponders in 2005 why people take the time to post reviews. Times have changed. No longer can we afford to ask why they do it, we need to position our companies to take advantage!

Kevin Maney in The Atlantic describes how ratings are spreading fast:

But rating is about to spread like a pandemic. Everything—everyone—will get rated by Web users. You. Me. The dentist. All the hairstylists in town. The sermons in every place of worship. Youth soccer coaches. Lunch meats. Wine. The fact is, on tomorrow’s Internet, everyone will know if you’re a dog.

Abbey Klaassen at AdAge.com notes thatfeedback is altering more than marketing:

The feedback is altering not just how the marketing department works but also how companies design their products and work with suppliers. And it’s not limited to small, nimble players; companies using product reviews range from niche retailers such as Oriental Trading Co. to big, broad-based behemoths such as Walmart.

Take the time to understand where your company stands in this new world of customer engagement, online reputation management, and product reviews. Then create an action plan and go meet your fans!

Engage fans and critics online.

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