Thanks for the vote of confidence and kind words. I look forward to meeting you in Dallas this week.

Some early adopters go to sites like Epinions and BizRate to write product reviews, but I have found these sites to be broad and shallow in this area. They are broad in that there are hundreds of thousands of product SKUs available to be reviewed. But they are shallow in that you are lucky to find a single product review and when you do you are lucky to find one that is actually more than a few words.

Contrast that with reviews on Amazon.com or our client sites, like CompUSA, Golfsmith, or PETCO. Our average review word count is 72 words and 350 characters. PETCO has more customer reviews on dog treats (over 150 for "greenies" alone) than Epinions or BizRate could ever hope to have. Why? Because they have a focused audience of pet lovers. Epinions and BizRate have a broad audience of mostly techies.

That is what I mean by the connection. A name-brand website with a focused audience will have narrow but deep product reviews by a passionate community. When people write reviews in a community where they know there are a lot of other people like them, like customers within the PETCO.com site, they will take more time to be thorough with their review to connect with their fellow customers there. What incentive do they have to do the same on Epinions or BizRate?

Thanks,
Brett

Thanks for the vote of confidence and kind words. I look forward to meeting you in Dallas this week.

Some early adopters go to sites like Epinions and BizRate to write product reviews, but I have found these sites to be broad and shallow in this area. They are broad in that there are hundreds of thousands of product SKUs available to be reviewed. But they are shallow in that you are lucky to find a single product review and when you do you are lucky to find one that is actually more than a few words.

Contrast that with reviews on Amazon.com or our client sites, like CompUSA, Golfsmith, or PETCO. Our average review word count is 72 words and 350 characters. PETCO has more customer reviews on dog treats (over 150 for "greenies" alone) than Epinions or BizRate could ever hope to have. Why? Because they have a focused audience of pet lovers. Epinions and BizRate have a broad audience of mostly techies.

That is what I mean by the connection. A name-brand website with a focused audience will have narrow but deep product reviews by a passionate community. When people write reviews in a community where they know there are a lot of other people like them, like customers within the PETCO.com site, they will take more time to be thorough with their review to connect with their fellow customers there. What incentive do they have to do the same on Epinions or BizRate?

Thanks,
Brett

I first want to say I believe in the "Concurrence Marketing" – Yankelovich Partners & "Cluetrain Manifesto" approach to your new business. I also wish you great success!

I am curious about two of your points, though. You said: "The trick is to capture those individuals in that moment, instead of sending them off with an easy click or two to go searching for reviews." = Very true, but why do so many consumers go to third party rating and review sites like ConsumerReports.org, Epinions, BizRate, etc.?

You also said: "I would also argue that customer ratings and reviews on your site are far more actionable in the sense that the online shopper is in a different frame of mind than when they are writing for their blog or on a site where they may or may not have a connection (like Epinions)." = What did you mean by "a site where they may or may not have a connection (like Epinions)"? I'm just curious why the consumer needs to have a connection other than CREDIBILITY & TRUST issues?

My intent in asking these questions is to help understand your points better, and to help your business grow by having a clearer explanation of its unique value proposition.

I'm looking forward to meeting you and Sam Decker at the Dallas, Tx. ad:tech IMPACT Conference on 3/9/06.

Sincerely,
Bill Kelm

I first want to say I believe in the "Concurrence Marketing" – Yankelovich Partners & "Cluetrain Manifesto" approach to your new business. I also wish you great success!

I am curious about two of your points, though. You said: "The trick is to capture those individuals in that moment, instead of sending them off with an easy click or two to go searching for reviews." = Very true, but why do so many consumers go to third party rating and review sites like ConsumerReports.org, Epinions, BizRate, etc.?

You also said: "I would also argue that customer ratings and reviews on your site are far more actionable in the sense that the online shopper is in a different frame of mind than when they are writing for their blog or on a site where they may or may not have a connection (like Epinions)." = What did you mean by "a site where they may or may not have a connection (like Epinions)"? I'm just curious why the consumer needs to have a connection other than CREDIBILITY & TRUST issues?

My intent in asking these questions is to help understand your points better, and to help your business grow by having a clearer explanation of its unique value proposition.

I'm looking forward to meeting you and Sam Decker at the Dallas, Tx. ad:tech IMPACT Conference on 3/9/06.

Sincerely,
Bill Kelm