The Importance Of Sales Rank To Consumers
January 4th, 2010 | 
Author: Today’s consumers are confronted with a huge selection of product choices and an even larger collection of information on these products. There are many ways to rank or rate products. Consumers can leave stars for those products they own. Experts can review and rate those products within their field of knowledge. A more real world and democratic method is to review how well products are selling. While aggressive marketing may kick-start sales, in the age of the Internet a champion and a lemon are equally hard to hide. In addition, a critical mass of users force a company to focus attention on a product.
In the age of Internet and mobile social media, word of a disappointing product gets out almost instantly. In turn, when many consumers buy a given product and the buzz remains positive, that product has survived the sometimes brutal social media litmus test. Any consumer with a decent following on his or her social tools should place fear and accountability in the hearts of manufacturers and retail outlets. A simple twitter on a cell phone could start a landslide.
A substantial user base also reinforces a manufacturer’s support of a product. To maintain positive branding and ensure additional purchases of similar products, the manufacturer has a built-in incentive to provide a satisfying customer experience. The effort and expense of reselling or up-selling to a current customer is almost always less than the effort and expense of engaging a new customer. Likewise the risks of a disappointed and angry population of customers leads directly to negative word of mouth and monetary losses.
A large user base strengthens a manufacturer’s commitment to a product for the long run. The consumer can be confident that years down the road support and parts will still be available. No matter how much writers love a new offering to the market, companies are going to allocate support dollars to those items that give the greatest return in customer satisfaction and dollars: in other words, to those that sell the best.
Product ratings and reviews do play a key role in making purchasing decisions. However, they should be taken in combination with how consumers are voting with their dollars. It is desirable to be in front of the curve on a product, but not too far in the lead. Sales rank provides a good first tier filter in a product search. Once the consumer has a manageable group of related products, other consumer resources can be applied for a final decision. This will ensure that the best product will be backed with support for the near-future and years to come.
Robert Mann supervises business technology products for a Fortune 500 firm. He has built an online application for finding by sales rank located at http://www.BestProductSpy.com. This article, is released under a creative commons attribution licence.
categories: sales rank,best-selling products,product ratings,product reviews
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Tags: best-selling products, product ratings, product reviews, sales rank, shopping