The Power of Proximity: Exploring Narrative Language in Consumer Reviews

Marketers know the importance of online reviews, but what can be done to improve the prompts asking consumers to review? Across eight studies, the present work shows that a prompt that encourages writing reviews for a close audience enhances consumers’ use of narrative language. A growing body of literature reveals that narratives are powerful persuasive devices for shaping audiences’ beliefs, including when reading online reviews. However, little is known about what aspects shape the communicator's use of narrative language in the first place. A prompt that encourages writers to imagine as though they were writing for a close audience increases narrativity, an effect mediated by consumers’ tendency to write in a natural, less effortful style when writing for a close (vs. distant) audience. The effect is attenuated when people write about material (vs. experiential) purchases, and when people write on a smartphone (vs. PC). Consumers find writing for close others to be at least as enjoyable as several other prompts, but with improved outcomes for firms. As most review sites provide limited guidance on how to write, this research offers an inexpensive and scalable intervention to improve reviews and the review writing experience.