If you are looking for a buyers guide before you go shopping, here is something that can help you make a smarter decision! We all know that there are buyers guides written and compiled by product experts that are served alongside newspapers and magazines. You can get a buyers guide to buying a new lip color for a new car. These buyers’ guides usually tell you all about your new purchase, and don’t you get excited when they talk about the best features of a new Nokia phone or a new motorcycle that just came out? There is no doubt that these guides are packed with information and are still very powerful tools in today’s markets. Often these guides are compiled by a publisher and sponsored by the manufacturer of the products for which the guides are intended. But keep in mind that most of the time these guides are nothing more than advertisements in disguise.
There are several compelling reasons for these buyers’ guides to mimic an advertisement. One is that most of the time the guides are sponsored directly or indirectly (via ads) by the product manufacturers and therefore the authors cannot write against the products and therefore they have to follow the line of the manufacturers. And since there is no way for the main players in the buying and selling game, i.e. the buyer, the manufacturer, or an existing consumer of the product, to interact, it basically becomes a one-way conversation where the buyer hears all the good things about the product. product. This is more of a biased representation of the products it features, and in most cases, the authors of the guides are the company representatives or other contracted individuals who have an interest in promoting the product.
Appropriately, a buyers guide, as the name suggests, should be shopper- or consumer-focused and primarily concerned with the betterment of consumers. If we think about it, we would know that customer satisfaction goes a long way in making the business stronger. Therefore, a true buyer’s guide will not only help consumers, but also the manufacturer of the products in the long run. Once a buyer criticizes a product, it actually presents an opportunity for the manufacturer or sellers to rectify that flaw or gap or respond to changing consumer tastes. But sadly, these buyers’ guides are rare in circulation, and yet the vast majority are one-way communication types where paid reporters and experts write a product review more as part of a business deal than a review. review. Probably the authors and editors of the buyer’s guide did not realize the need of consumers; consumers are looking for more than brochures in buyers’ guides.
So what is the choice before the consumer in the absence of a true buyers guide? Consumers are gradually learning to differentiate between biased information and true reviews. They can no longer be fooled and many consumers are already turning their backs on these sponsored guides. They increasingly rely on other consumers for information about products and services. Gone are the days when a company can form consumer opinion through clever advertising and influence buyers to select its products. Twenty-first century consumers have at their fingertips a very powerful tool and that is the internet. There are already hundreds of blogs that anyone can access and these online diaries tell us the real consumer experience of products and services. They also recount the harrowing experience some consumers had to face due to unscrupulous companies and/or inferior products. The information is voluntary and does not pay, so people perceive it as authentic compared to advertisements. There are also positive comments that are actually recommendations and consumers take note and choose wisely.
But the battle against biased information that seeks to influence and mislead consumers can only be won if there is greater participation. It is time for consumers to act to ensure that consumers claim their rights and that their voices are heard. They also deserve timely action as they are tired of slow and often ineffective consumer forums that have a very poor track record in India. In the context of a weak consumer rights protection system and many vested interests, only consumers can help other consumers, and they can do so without spending money or much effort. There are already few websites available where a consumer can find reviews about a product and also write a review for others to read. But again discretion should be applied as some of the websites contain many fake reviews and also paid inserts. Consumer blogs are also a very good source of unbiased and authentic information. The best part is that a consumer can also interact with the author and can ask specific questions before making a purchase decision. So if you’re a savvy consumer, you’re better off listening to your parents than an expert when you want to buy a product next time. Don’t worry too much about experts, you can be an expert overnight and all you need to do is write product reviews that other consumers look forward to wanting to read.