It is the close of yet another fantastic summer camp season. We hope this email finds you well and that you have had a chance to check out the Summer Camp Reviews website, where families can quickly and easily scroll through summer camp reviews for camps nationwide. If you haven’t, there’s no time like the present to head on over and search for your listing – www.summercampreviews.com. Don’t see it? Follow the easy instructions to “Add Your Listing” and encourage outgoing families to brag about their experiences while incoming families search for their needs!
Researchers have now been studying consumer purchasing habits as influenced by online reviews for well over a decade. Do you know what the research shows? Businesses who have strong online followings and community support do substantially better than those who do not! Consider online restaurant reviews, for example. Luca, M. (2016) updated his Harvard Business Review article to note that “online consumer reviews substitute for more traditional forms of reputation”. In an era where we no longer seek suggestions from the neighbor next door, or trust the recommendation of aunt Sally to really be the *best* option, most consumers are turning to the internet to hear firsthand from other direct purchasers about their raw experience. And guess what, we trust them!
Online reviews are quickly taking the place of personal recommendations, with 91% of consumers trusting them equally. We believe the mom who says her autistic son had the most amazing experience at Camp Z and trust the dad who says his daughter will never again set foot at Camp A. Those reviews matter! And not just one or two reviews, we’re talking the more your program is positively abuzz online, the greater the likelihood new families will choose to send their children. Consider Park, D. and Lee, J.’s research, summarized as “consumers have a more favorable attitude toward a product as a greater number of positive reviews are offered”, particularly when the reviewer is acting in the role of recommender (2008).
Families will undoubtedly conduct their own extensive research, perhaps involving Educational Consultants or other professionals but definitely involving some level of internet search. They will skim through program listings looking for participant reviews to help narrow their search. Where have other children enjoyed going? Who is rated the highest? What do other families have to say about their time with your summer camp? Did kids themselves enjoy their time? No family wants to entrust their child, or children, to a poorly-reviewed (or even minimally-reviewed) program. Summer Camp Reviews Matter!
We form our opinions about a company after reading just one to six reviews but look for an average of 10 reviews before we feel like we “know” a company. Consumers are also increasingly zeroing in on recent reviews, with 40% choosing to only read reviews from the past two weeks (up from 18% in 2017).
Research from a study published in Psychological Science shows that when selecting products to purchase, consumers will choose those that have the greatest number of reviews, even if the reviews may be higher for an alternative product. The key message for anyone selling a product? Get reviews. Reviews will help sell your service and that, in turn, makes you revenue.
Don’t be left out! Contact us at summercampreviews.com today to ensure your program is correctly identified and start directing families to share their experiences with future campers today! Not only will you guarantee an amazing summer experience for your next round of programming, but you’ll ensure you are around to see it through.
Luca, M. – https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1928601
Park, D. – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1567422307001032
