How I Rate Products and Brands

I have two review systems. I review the actual product and I review the company “brand”.

Variety of Products

Backyard chicken supply companies can have a wide range of products including chicken coops, runs, feed, grit, oyster shells, feeders, waterers, predator deterrents, dust baths, and more.

As a general rule of thumb, I believe that a greater variety of products is better for the consumer because more choice allows the consumer to buy what will work best for them.

Transparency, Accuracy and Reputation

This category covers a lot about how a company does business.

Transparency

Transparency gives the consumer an idea of how open the company is about the way it works:

• Do they have a physical address or do they only have an online presence?
• Does the company provides easy access to 3rd party reviews?
• Do they provide detailed information about the company, it’s leadership and the employees?
• Is the company easy to contact and how quickly they respond to a customer?

Accuracy

Accuracy relates primarily to the accuracy of the product, shipping, and returns.

Reputation

Reputation refers to how well the company is perceived in the industry.

• Do they have a money-back guarantee?
• Do they have a quality assurance program implemented?
• How long has the company been in business?
• Finally, I try to assess the reputation they carry in the backyard chicken industry.

Product Quality

The quality of the product goes back to the quality of the design, size, materials/durability, reliability, safety, conformance to standards, and more. It also includes how it is created/manufactured, how it is packaged, shipped, and delivered.

Price and Discount

This is based on the price of the product as well as any discounts provided.

Pricing in the chicken industry can have a huge range, making it difficult to compare. It is not necessarily true that the higher the price, the higher the quality of the product. And it’s not true that bargain prices equal low-quality products.

Some price differences are due to different costs in materials or whether it was created by emerging or well-known businesses.

Customer Experience

How you experience buying chicken supplies online can differ from one company to the next. I rank the following parts of an average customer’s experience:

• How easy the website is to navigate?
• Does the company answer questions promptly and reliably?
• Are the customer service reps…
  • Polite?
  • Helpful?
  • Knowledgeable?
• How helpful is the company if problems arise?
• Shipping
  • How is the product shipped?
  • How long does a shipment take?
  • Shipping price
• How the company communicates with the consumer:
  • Do they use a live chat, email, phone or a selection of a few communication methods?
  • How accurate and knowledgeable are the customer service reps?
  • How quickly does customer service respond?