Opinion: Consumer reviews are valued more than advertisements

As people eagerly click on a video on YouTube, an unwanted 20-second advertisement pops up.

You impatiently watch the timer go down, waiting for it to be over. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Skip.

Advertisements are created to entice audiences to invest in their product, but sometimes it does quite the opposite. Persistent commercials can get beyond irritating when you have to see the same annoying ad over and over again.

However, when consumers are looking to buy a product, we often turn to past customers to decide if we should buy the product or not.

Buyers tend to rely on the company’s customer reviews rather than the advertisements because of personal experience and false advertisement.

Let’s say you are looking for a phone, one that would last you a fair amount of time and is worth it for its price. There is a huge variety of smartphones to choose from and reviews from customers definitely help condense the search.

According to Craig Bloem, he states that 91% of people regularly or occasionally read online reviews and 84% trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

And they make that decision quickly: 68% form an opinion after reading between one and six online reviews, according to Inc.

In online reviews customers can be honest about the product and give their full opinion as well as pros and cons. They have personal and hands-on experience with the commodity itself, and some may argue that there is nothing more helpful than true background knowledge of products.

Companies don’t judge these reviews as they are critiques which companies can use to better their product, and shoppers reading these reviews use them to better their search for the product.

When people have the power to voice their opinion, even when it’s a small critique on a makeup product, they benefit all.

Compared to customer reviews, company ads are often misleading to enhance products. Large food chain commercials are a great example of this.

When food ads are aired on television it isn’t very difficult for audiences to tell the difference between what is actually sold and what is shown on screens. It is very common for advertisers to add features that would make fast food more appealing to consumers.

According to Bright Side, companies use spray on deodorant  to “add shine to fruit” and dish soap in beer, milk or coffee to create “a stable foam that looks natural and attractive.”

Establishments use these deceitful techniques to fool audiences for their own profit. This forces consumers to rely on reviews to pick what to eat for dinner.

There was a time when advertisements were very popular amongst the population.

However, ads have become more outdated. We now depend on customer reviews to choose where we would like to invest our money because there is nothing more powerful than the voice of the people.