Getting High On Customer Reviews..Literally

Amazon has this positive review somewhere on its site.

''Based on the strong recommendations of a number of reviewers on the Amazon site, I recently took a bottle of 2011 Barrettine to a dinner party to which I and my wife had been invited. Handing the bottle proudly to our hostess with the obligatory box of Neuhaus chocolates, I was disappointed to see her somewhat frosty reaction. Assuming this was a judgment on the small size of the bottle, I assured her that Barrettine's had not yet acceded to the popular demands for a full 75cl bottle and that the smaller volume of the bottle should be in no way be seen as detracting from its overall quality. When I later heard the sound of her crying behind the kitchen door, I assumed that this was the result of some disappointment at the over-cooking of the salmon, but in a later email from my hosts I have since been informed that a bottle of Barrettine's is not universally appreciated at such occasions.

I mention this story simply to help other readers avoid such a social 'faux pas' themselves, and in future I will certainly test out my hosts' attitudes with some indirect questions about Barrettine's at the point of invitation. Still, in the context of a wider milieu of cultural mediocrity, I say 'hats off' to Barrettine's for a product that can still excite such strong passions and debate.''

But what is the reviewer, amongst many other's, reviewing? A fine Claret? A Single Malt Whiskey?

Wrong...nothing less than a bottle of methylated spirits



You really do need to check out the rest of the reviews..much better than hotel and restaurant reviews that have been left by the owners themselves! A Ramada hotel being exposed here

Encouraging the Conversation

Clay Shirky suggests that in many cases, writing a review is more like writing fan mail (or hate mail) for a product, and the people who post them do not really expect it to be read.

So why do people write reviews.( As far back as 2010 24 percent of adults have posted reviews or comments online about things they buy (Hubspot, Online Product Research, September 2010) This infographic from Demandforce highlights some interesting reasons why they do.

Demandforce Infographic

But for whatever reason, it's always nice to be told that the content you've taken the time to produce actually gets read. So, it brought a smile to my face seeing this appear in my inbox this week from TripAdvisor

Trip Advisor Email

The pub I reviewed was as far as I was concerned pretty much out in the middle of nowhere so I was a little surprised to see 29 people reading my review.

Talking to Strangers

But people do, as the aptly named infographic from Bazaarvoice highlights, like 'Talking to Strangers'. This is particularly important of the Millenial Generation - that is , those born around the turn of the Century- who in a few years time will have the real buying power.

Over 84% claim that content from strangers has an influence on what they buy

Where my generation will listen to friends and family, my daughter's generation will listen to strangers ( so much for here listening to parental advice!)

So sites such as Trip Advisor need to keep that flow of new reviews coming in, and there is no better way (other than perhaps monetary rewards, which perhaps reduces the integrity of the review) than by keeping the reviewer informed of how their content is being used.

But first of all, you need to ask for those reviews.



Here is an example of a very simple approach from Laterooms.com

Laterooms Review Prompt

Key here is the ' 100% Genuine Reviews'.




This is important because not only do Millenials listen to strangers, but they don't trust what brands say, as backed up by the Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey

Nielsen Trust in Advertising

Also, an interesting option from Homebase where they have actually compiled a list of my purchases over a period of time...

But of course the bonus of this conversation encouragement is that it actually prompts the consumer to re-visit your site increasing engagement and obviously offering the opportunity cross and up sell

UGC Process

Favourite Subject Line of the Week

According to Edelman, 25% of consumers trust advertising, while more than 90% trust peer reviews

So this subject line from Mankind makes sense as I'm intrigued by what these top rated products are and of course the limited time element instills a sense of urgency

Of course the let down happens when I actually see the products highlighted

Because they aren't brands or products that I  buy.

Now imagine how clever it would be if the ratings were actually related to the brands and types of products I normally buy from Mankind.

We've Made Shopping Easier

Burton recently made some improvements to the customer experience when shopping on line with them.

1 - Chances are you've come to the Burton site to do some shopping, so why would the brand want to make it difficult for you to do the thing you want to do?

Some of the ugliest sites on the web are actually the best at what they do. Think Amazon, Google, Facebook.

As Gerry McGovern stated at the Fusion Marketing Experience event I attended last year, 


Ease of use is a tsunami ripping across the world. It is no longer a nice phrase, a nice to have. It is a vital necessity. If you don’t make it fast and easy you lose customers. Fact. The easier you make it the more customers you win. Fact. 

2 and 3 - yes we live in a digital world, but that doesn't mean we can ignore the physical world either. I often combine the digital and physical in my shopping experience to the extent that I order on line and pick up in store as that's convenient for me. In some instances I've even used the delivery locks used by both Amazon and Figleaves ByBox.

4 - Mobile is everywhere and if I am in desperate need of a pair of Burton carrot jeans then  giving me a simple , easy to use mobile site is key. According to this infographic from HighTable, 1/3 of consumers now cite mobile as their preferred shopping channel.


 

5 - With most of taking more notice of our peers than brands, ''25% of consumers trust advertising, while more than 90% trust peer reviews'' (Edelman) and the e-tailing group stating that  ''Customers Reviews, Q&A, and Community Forums were the top 3 social tactics, respectively,that consumers say have the greatest impact on purchase decisions'' ,it make sense to add this functionality to the site. One of the real factors in Amazons success is the way they have used Ratings and Reviews to really help the consumer in their purchase.


I for one welcome all this good work by Burton, although I'm not sure I'm not going to be tempted by those shorts.

Shopkick - Digital Rewards for Physical Shopping

Shopkick is a mobile app ( on both iPhone and Android so they get my vote!) that aims to reward customers for shopping and browsing. 

It hands out virtual points to consumers even for entering a store like Macys, Toys R Us and Best Buy in the US.

It even links to the customers Visa Card to ensure that points are awarded for using that card and promises to reward customers with free coffees etc as you are recognised when you enter the store. It also has the ability to share other customers product reviews.

I think this is a great example of using digital technology to reward and enhance the customer experience with the clever use of data, content and context as I highlighted in yesterday's post on being customer centric

The video below gives you a flavour of the offering