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| Incentive to rate 5 star! |
Recently, we bought a low-value product on Amazon (Sunshades for our car windows). In the package, was a customer offer - Rate us 5 Star and get Cashback!
In today's online, digital marketplace, paid influencers, AI chatbots, and Algorithms, are an open secret marketing toolkit, which are pushing products, backed with big Moolah.
This is happening at an enterprise, B2B level. As an individual customer, I can blame the system, the malpractices of business houses, where revenue comes before business ethics. But, if customers also become part of this malpractice, I am robbed of the little left pleasure of being an armchair activist (sarcasm intended).
See, the above picture of the Customer offer. The seller is offering cashback as an incentive to receive a 5 Star rating. If the offer was leave us any rating based on your satisfaction level, it would be legit. However, when the cashback is for only a 5 star rating, it's bringing down the tactics of paid influences at an individual (customer/retail) B2C level.
The best case scenario can be, great product, high customer satisfaction, 5 star rating and cashback claimed. Win win for both parties: seller and buyer. The other potential buyers, buys this great product by seeing the 5 star rating and they also benefit from making the right choice. Win win for the marketplace.
The worst case scenario can be, poor quality product, low customer satisfaction, yet the customer provides a 5 star rating for minimising his loss. The Seller here is incentivized to continue profiteering on a sub-standard product. The customer makes a marginal cut on his loss, but still ends up being a loser with a net-loss. But such customers, ends up causing loss to many more potential buyers who ends up buying this sub-standard product, on the basis of the 5 star rating. God forbid, if this vicious cycle continues like a chain reaction, individuals cutting their personal losses, but stir-up collective losses, by misguiding others to buy a sub-standard product.
Though we don't have control on enterprise, B2B level, we can be responsible and play our constructive part at an individual/retail B2C level and exert control, here. So, next time, we ask this question To Trust or Not to Trust, the rating? we should remind ourselves, an ecosystem is only as good, or as bad, as it's members collective behaviour.