The access to this article is limited until 10th of July, but I found it to be quite interesting for online service providers (like hosts are): http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30033

A couple of short quotes:

When asked what sources of information they are “very likely” to consult before making a decision about their entertainment options, 62% named Web sites with user reviews as their top choice, even beating out a knowledgeable friend (59%).

The gap was even wider with product Web sites and newspaper and magazine reviews (52% and 25%, respectively). In this case, it appears that user reviews are especially important for products or purchases that are experiential in nature -- something that can’t be touched or felt in advance and can’t be returned if it doesn’t live up to the user’s expectations.

Vendors of services, for example, might take note of these results and consider their own user review strategies. It’s critical to have a source of user reviews to help buyers make their purchasing decisions.


Digging deeper into the importance of user reviews, Goldstar asked users how a negative media article affects their decision vs a negative user review on a Web site. The difference in the behavioral-altering ability of the two sources was significant.

Only 2.3% said they would be strongly affected by a negative critical review compared with 45.7% who said it would have no effect at all. By comparison, 30.5% of users said they would be strongly affected by a negative user review, while only 16.9% said there would be no effect at all.

That's a good article, but honestly I'm surprised. sometimes reviews, testimonials, etc are so contrived you don't know what you can trust and what you cannot. Myself, I go by recommendations first, and secondly by how convincing the web site is overall.

Well if a review is unbiased then it is very useful. there are providers however who stimulate/reaward their customers to post a positive experience with them. But sure the purcahsing decision highly depends of the review anyone can find for a web host.

I found it particularly surprising that customers trust users like themselves (or what appear to be users like themselves ) more than they trust the experts. Or maybe trust is not the right word, but they are influenced more by the user reviews. It may be that customers feel that the experts might have ulterior motives to praise or criticize a service.

Interesting are the results regarding negative user reviews as well. I would have thought they carried less weight in people's eyes, given the attention that some negatively reviewed hosts continue to enjoy. :)

Personally, customers review are not a big decision criteria. I would prefer chosing a host with word of mouth from people I know and Trust. It is so easy to fake a testimonial than like ldcdc said I also found it very surprising that people still trust them without asking any questions.

There should be a real unbiased site like hostsentry.net (for web hosting stats) but for testimonials which are verified and trustful, then it might be useful. If anybody wants to start a service like that contact me ;) I think I just gave someone here a nice business idea damn ! I should keep them to myself ;)

You know that the negative reviews works better than positive. Even I've seen many who are sceptical about both. But anyone motivate themselves to post negative review easier than to go anywhere and to post their appreciation from any service provider.

I have a friend who made travel arrangements online a short time ago, and he avoided a hotel completely over one or two negative reviews. It's a shame that some people shed a negative light on a company based on what a couple of people say, without realizing the company's sheer size and volume of business they do each year. Unhappy customers are a reality for any business. :)