Trend: Reputation economy
In the reputation and review economy (economy) people share experiences and opinions about products, services etc. with each other in real-time. These ‘reviews’ are an important source for consumers in the evaluation and buying process. Reviews have an ‘economical value’.
The trend ‘reconomy’ is established nowadays and has become an essential part of our society. We see the rise of the reputation economy which is fuelled by a deficit in trust, more transparency and technological possibilities. The amount of review sites has risen enormously. With almost every online purchase consumers are asked to leave a review/comment. Reviews have become an essential source in the buying process. In the reputation economy one person with one online posting/video can have more effect than a marketing campaign which costs millions of dollars. This is unique and marketing- and sales departments are having a hard time with this trends where they are out-of-control. The self authenticating effect is very important within the trend ‘reconomy’. It’s hard to influence opinions/reviews. The network of people is capable of identifying false reviews quickly and to punish the false reviewer. The trend the rise of the reputation economy makes organizations start to analyze more online on what people are ‘saying’ about their products or services. More organizations improve their products and/or services based on the (online) reviews. This also happens in politics.