Today’s consumers should feel privileged to have many choices. Or so you might think.
From a logical point of view, the argument that increased choice is good for consumers and consumers is reasonable. The more options available, the more freedom you have.
But as consumers discover more ways to solve their problems, stress sets in.
In this article, we’ll take a look at how difficult it has become to buy software, how consumers are faced with a number of confusing choices, and how G2 aims to help consumers along the way by providing the right titles for them.
The battle against information overload
A Endless choices are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, countless brands compete for your attention and create products that benefit you.
But because there are so many to choose from, it can be difficult to know what differentiates these products based on what’s important to you, and choosing just one can be a daunting task.
In fact, decision-making is complicated by over-choice. In 2000, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper published a large sheet of paper detailing research on where consumers are most likely to buy when given limited options. Dubbed the “choice dilemma,” the study also found that consumers with fewer choices are more satisfied with their purchases.
Talking about buying problems
Shopping for software in the 90s was a lot the opposite happened. For example, if you were in the market for premium CRM software, your best bet was to read trade magazines to find a vendor. It’s crazy to think that you also have to wait for a physical CD-ROM to arrive in the mail to try it.
Today’s software buyers have tons of vendors to choose from. Choosing the right solution will become even more difficult as the B2B software industry continues to grow and expand.
On top of balancing their needs, consumers must satisfy an ever-changing list of decision makers and stakeholders. Not to mention the increased pressure to get results quickly even with long-term sales.
Let’s say you’re looking for a new resource a video conference program. Did you know that G2 currently has a list of over 357 different products and services in this category? If you want to narrow down the list, it will take time.
That’s why online reviews are so important
If you are a music lover, it will take several lives about listening endlessly to every recorded song in the world. And just as artists complain about them, listeners and fans turn to music critics to help identify new music they should listen to and new artists they should check out.
Considering the number of new music releases and the unlimited choice offered by streaming services, music lovers have to pick and choose. Music enjoyment is a constant, but there’s a reason why sites like Rate Your Music, Album of the Year, and the subreddit r/Music are just a few examples of online communities that include music reviews.
From travel to healthcare, dining to apps, and more, consumers and consumers now rely on reviews to help them make decisions. Because of this, reviews go beyond consumer products.
In the case of a B2B program, more 84% of consumers relying on reviews to help them in the research and evaluation stages.
While B2B takes inspiration from B2C
Although reviews are very important, they can add complexity to the purchase process. For example, a project management The G2 Group lists over 435 products and services, counting 75k+ reviews on them. Even if you just look at the top 10 on the G2, that’s thousands of reviews to sift through.
As any professional marketer can tell you, marketing to consumers versus businesses is very different. However, in creating products that delight users and create value, there is much that B2B can learn from B2C.
Making comments easier to post
In our research, we analyzed various online shopping experiences for our audience. Many of these websites offered additional functionality that increased the value that consumers could derive from reviews beyond ratings and ratings.
One major lesson that B2B can learn from B2C is the ability to capture customer sentiment quickly and concisely.
The following are examples of how some publishers add to their reviews and the tools that online retailers offer consumers to read and filter reviews.
Nordstrom
Shopping for clothes online can be difficult because the fit of the item is so subjective, and you can’t try it on yourself (sort of an app!). In the example above, Nordstrom includes a way for shoppers to browse reviews of popular women’s jeans.
Separated into good and bad, the buyer can choose to filter the reviews based on the given topics. If you’re someone who cares more about comfort than how your jeans look, filtering reviews like this will save you a lot of time.
You may also notice that “small” and “large” are both negative. This is because users have different needs, and showing these topics is an important step for potential buyers to narrow down the reviews that are related to them.
Best Buy
One of the best reviewed movies at Best Buy includes one from Insignia. This brand has about 3.4k+ reviews from consumers. On the right-hand side of the reviews section, Best Buy offers a list of topics under pros and cons, similar to Nordstrom’s website.
Again, this is another way that a customer can try to evaluate based on the topics that are most important – helping them to make quick purchasing decisions.
Tom’s manager
Some consumers prefer to rely on information and experiences shared by their favorite online publishers and publishers. Tom’s Guide is a popular product review site where each article provides an in-depth look at each product.
Since most internet visitors will not read the entire review, the site provides a brief summary and list of pros and cons to help readers digest the relevant information.
Helping buyers and sellers weigh the pros and cons
As reviews remain important in the retail and industrial sectors, there is a greater expectation that consumers will be able to find what they are looking for as quickly as possible.
Pros and cons are a powerful way for consumers to learn about a brand and product and to critically examine the topics that are most important to their purchasing decisions. They can be a powerful way to filter out the noise and digest feedback in a more productive way.
Coming soon to G2.com: G2’s profile and product teams will highlight the pros and cons to help consumers distill software into critical information. And best of all, visitors will be able to filter comments by topic group.
We’ve seen the need for easy-to-digest software, with positive feedback from our audience and increased search engine rankings.
Advantages and Disadvantages allow us to take advantage of this need and enable buyers and sellers to see the strengths and weaknesses of products related to t.group of participants. This empowers consumers to find the most relevant reviews to determine the right programs for them that fit their unique needs.
Featuring five of each, the Good and the Bad are recognized for each G2 category based on all reviews in the category from the past 18 months – and will be updated monthly.
Not only will these brief ideas help consumers make better decisions, but they will also help retailers quickly identify their retail locations and areas of opportunity for sales, support, marketing, service, and more.
A journey to meet consumer expectations
In 1931, Frances Taylor presented story about Atlantic Ocean titled, “Who Wants My Money?” This episode describes her struggles with shopping for commercial products and her dislike of the actual shopping experience. The surprise of choice is a new concept, but it’s something that buyers and sellers have had for a long time.
As long as we have many options, we should always find ways to help us evaluate and choose. Reviews are a powerful tool for today’s consumers, but we’re always working on new updates that help them on the world’s largest software marketplace.
Want to read more about this latest update? Learn it about the way behind Pros and cons today.