What incentives are there for people to write reviews on a product or website (on the net)?

Question

Amazon and ebay do great - but there's so many website that allow for reviews and there are none. I'm trying to find a new doctor and barely any yellow page results have reviews. Whenever I look for products it takes a while to find a review from somewhere other than Amazon (although I'm lucky if Amazon has a review). Reviews help everyone. I started putting up good reviews for the doctors I liked. Anyhow - was wondering from a personal standpoint and a marketing standpoint (ASIDE FROM MONEY) what is a good incentive to get someone to post a review about a product or service?

Answer 1

i get your point-i rely on reviews quite a bit and think they are one of the best benfits to online shopping.

however, most businesses will not incent you to write a review-by nature, reviews must be unbiased and incentives would make them questionable. When i read a good review, i know it is sincere-the reviewer was so pleased they felt compelled to tell others-no other reason.

Some websites send e-mails after you purchase something to remind you to write a review. I think that is a really good idea. I do it when reminded!