Comments on: Ratings “J Curve” http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/ Ideas to Help Customers Build Your Business Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:52:31 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: NSW KM Forum - Online Communities « learn.amniisia.com http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/comment-page-1/#comment-80317 NSW KM Forum - Online Communities « learn.amniisia.com Mon, 18 May 2009 03:46:10 +0000 http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/#comment-80317 [...] worry about negative comments. Groups are mostly optimistic (I found the Bazaarblog graph that Mark [...] [...] worry about negative comments. Groups are mostly optimistic (I found the Bazaarblog graph that Mark [...]

]]> By: Andrew Ward http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/comment-page-1/#comment-54520 Andrew Ward Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:22:59 +0000 http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/#comment-54520 An obvious explanation for the J Curve. If people are influenced by user generated reviews and I believe that they are, than customers are more likely to buy items with good reviews. Thus it stands to reason that future customers will also likely be satisfied with their purchase. In this situation the accurate representation of a product and its relative price should normally drive a J Curve. Also it is most likely that products or companies whose customer satisfaction is inconsistent would typically not use a feedback system that would demonstrate their relative poor satisfaction levels. An obvious explanation for the J Curve.

If people are influenced by user generated reviews and I believe that they are, than customers are more likely to buy items with good reviews. Thus it stands to reason that future customers will also likely be satisfied with their purchase. In this situation the accurate representation of a product and its relative price should normally drive a J Curve.

Also it is most likely that products or companies whose customer satisfaction is inconsistent would typically not use a feedback system that would demonstrate their relative poor satisfaction levels.

]]> By: Word-of-Mouth Wisdom #7: Ed Keller, The Keller Fay Group » Shop.org Blog http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/comment-page-1/#comment-29786 Word-of-Mouth Wisdom #7: Ed Keller, The Keller Fay Group » Shop.org Blog Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:39:35 +0000 http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/#comment-29786 [...] word of mouth about brands is positive, rather than negative.  As Bazaarvoice has noted in its research about the J-curve, consumers are more interested in sharing advice and recommendations with consumers about [...] [...] word of mouth about brands is positive, rather than negative.  As Bazaarvoice has noted in its research about the J-curve, consumers are more interested in sharing advice and recommendations with consumers about [...]

]]> By: Allen http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/comment-page-1/#comment-4067 Allen Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:41:46 +0000 http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/#comment-4067 In my experience, the take-away from a U-shape curve is not that your respondents are more "balanced", but that your quality issues are rampant - inconsistent process, customer service, and product quality to name a few. The more the J-curve looks like a U, quality is root cause because it indicates high levels of variation among customer experiences. L's say you're not meeting customer expectations, while U's suggest you are completely out of control. Conversely, the more hockey-stick the J (upward to positive scores), the greater an indication that prodcut quality, customer service, and internal processes are in sync. Virtuous cycles--by definition--work. That said, you can't rest on your laurels. I like the way Ben suggests variation among "happy" responses to tease out additional shades of gray, and using that as a segue for getting additional feedback. In my experience, the take-away from a U-shape curve is not that your respondents are more “balanced”, but that your quality issues are rampant – inconsistent process, customer service, and product quality to name a few. The more the J-curve looks like a U, quality is root cause because it indicates high levels of variation among customer experiences. L’s say you’re not meeting customer expectations, while U’s suggest you are completely out of control. Conversely, the more hockey-stick the J (upward to positive scores), the greater an indication that prodcut quality, customer service, and internal processes are in sync. Virtuous cycles–by definition–work.

That said, you can’t rest on your laurels. I like the way Ben suggests variation among “happy” responses to tease out additional shades of gray, and using that as a segue for getting additional feedback.

]]> By: mobile-reviews http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/comment-page-1/#comment-3757 mobile-reviews Sat, 03 Feb 2007 12:19:21 +0000 http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/#comment-3757 Product reviews are great for the webmasters. They get a lot of content on the site free. Either by way of their own reviews, which are anyway copied from some other source, or by way of reviews written by readers. This helps a lot in SEO. When you reads posts on any site, there is so much of contradicting views that one is bound to get confused. Moreover, you do not know which review is genuine. I think, if you are really unhappy with a product, writing a reviews vent out your frustrations for the product. Although, you are sure that not even 1% of the site visitors will not read it. The same holds true for happy buyers of products. Product reviews are great for the webmasters. They get a lot of content on the site free. Either by way of their own reviews, which are anyway copied from some other source, or by way of reviews written by readers. This helps a lot in SEO.
When you reads posts on any site, there is so much of contradicting views that one is bound to get confused. Moreover, you do not know which review is genuine.
I think, if you are really unhappy with a product, writing a reviews vent out your frustrations for the product. Although, you are sure that not even 1% of the site visitors will not read it. The same holds true for happy buyers of products.

]]> By: » Product reviews: are they really useful? ____nicolas leroy___ http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/comment-page-1/#comment-1832 » Product reviews: are they really useful? ____nicolas leroy___ Mon, 01 Jan 2007 18:53:37 +0000 http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/#comment-1832 [...] The first article - published on the Crowdstorm blog - confirmed the opinion I had on reviews: they are great for SEO as they bring some UGC (user-generated content) to shopping sites, but are not that useful to choose a product. I had a natural thinking that consumers are eager to post reviews when they are not happy or post too positive reviews to be really useful. The article from Crowdstorm explored the “ratings J Curve”, a pattern that has been recently observed and identified by Bazaar Blog: [Crowdstorm] We’ve always said here at Crowdstorm HQ that rating products or doing reviews involving five stars is a waste of time. Now there is actual evidence coming out to support our hypothesis, starting with this post from the Bazaar Blog, entitled “the ratings J Curve”. What these guys are saying is that they find the average rating always ends up around 4.3 and that there are more 1’s than 2’s and far more 4’s and 5’s than the lower ratings. Their chart implies that people are more likely to share positive experiences and often go towards the 4 or the five at the end of the scale. [...] [...] The first article – published on the Crowdstorm blog – confirmed the opinion I had on reviews: they are great for SEO as they bring some UGC (user-generated content) to shopping sites, but are not that useful to choose a product. I had a natural thinking that consumers are eager to post reviews when they are not happy or post too positive reviews to be really useful. The article from Crowdstorm explored the “ratings J Curve”, a pattern that has been recently observed and identified by Bazaar Blog: [Crowdstorm] We’ve always said here at Crowdstorm HQ that rating products or doing reviews involving five stars is a waste of time. Now there is actual evidence coming out to support our hypothesis, starting with this post from the Bazaar Blog, entitled “the ratings J Curve”. What these guys are saying is that they find the average rating always ends up around 4.3 and that there are more 1’s than 2’s and far more 4’s and 5’s than the lower ratings. Their chart implies that people are more likely to share positive experiences and often go towards the 4 or the five at the end of the scale. [...]

]]> By: tom http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/comment-page-1/#comment-302 tom Sat, 09 Sep 2006 18:46:32 +0000 http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/#comment-302 I wonder if it would be more of a U shape if the reviews were anonymous. Perhaps people are less likely to give negative ratings or sumbit any ratings if they know their identity will be revealed. E.g., how many times have you given you waitress negative feedback on those restaurant surveys that occassionally accompany the bill? I'm running a small experiment myself WRT rating people anonymously online (www.tomslist.net). There's only a couple hundred ratings so far and the distribution looks a bit more U-ish but it's still quite early. We'll see how it goes. I wonder if it would be more of a U shape if the reviews were anonymous. Perhaps people are less likely to give negative ratings or sumbit any ratings if they know their identity will be revealed. E.g., how many times have you given you waitress negative feedback on those restaurant surveys that occassionally accompany the bill? I’m running a small experiment myself WRT rating people anonymously online (www.tomslist.net). There’s only a couple hundred ratings so far and the distribution looks a bit more U-ish but it’s still quite early. We’ll see how it goes.

]]> By: Deep Jive Interests » Recommended Reads for September 8, 2006 http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/comment-page-1/#comment-297 Deep Jive Interests » Recommended Reads for September 8, 2006 Fri, 08 Sep 2006 12:22:29 +0000 http://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/2006/05/08/ratings-j-curve/#comment-297 [...] Social Networking Grows Up: Xanga Gets Fined By the FTC : : You know you've made it when you get slapped with a fine by the FTC. Xanga allowed thousands of under age children (<13) to register; of course, it doesn't really address the issue that most 13 year olds will find away around any age authentication.Chinese Invade Italy -- A Global Fight for Suits, Jackets and Textiles : : Globalization in reverse? Chinese have descended in a small town in Italy, and have started producing textiles IN Italy. Typical xenophobia abounds, but this is a fascinating, intimate article about a very strange twist on a very familiar topic. Not WeGooglebombing ... from the source. : : Yes, if you look up "failure", or "miserable failure", maybe you won't be surprised by the result. But it illustrates something key about how Google manages its search results -- and the importance of linking. Here it is. File it under "old, but good aRatings Systems: Its a J-Curve for Some. : : Bazaarblog reviews their own data when it comes to "reviews" for their own products and services, and they find a J-curve distribution of data. A small amount of reviews are negative, and the overwhelming majority are positive. Interesting. What implicDaily Color Scheme : : Designing and don' t what kind of color scheme you want to use? Check this out: a daily mix and mashup of color combinations that you may not have thought of -- based on websites that exist and that are popular today. Ex: del.icio.us or google analytics [...] [...] Social Networking Grows Up: Xanga Gets Fined By the FTC : : You know you’ve made it when you get slapped with a fine by the FTC. Xanga allowed thousands of under age children (<13) to register; of course, it doesn’t really address the issue that most 13 year olds will find away around any age authentication.Chinese Invade Italy — A Global Fight for Suits, Jackets and Textiles : : Globalization in reverse? Chinese have descended in a small town in Italy, and have started producing textiles IN Italy. Typical xenophobia abounds, but this is a fascinating, intimate article about a very strange twist on a very familiar topic. Not WeGooglebombing … from the source. : : Yes, if you look up “failure”, or “miserable failure”, maybe you won’t be surprised by the result. But it illustrates something key about how Google manages its search results — and the importance of linking. Here it is. File it under “old, but good aRatings Systems: Its a J-Curve for Some. : : Bazaarblog reviews their own data when it comes to “reviews” for their own products and services, and they find a J-curve distribution of data. A small amount of reviews are negative, and the overwhelming majority are positive. Interesting. What implicDaily Color Scheme : : Designing and don’ t what kind of color scheme you want to use? Check this out: a daily mix and mashup of color combinations that you may not have thought of — based on websites that exist and that are popular today. Ex: del.icio.us or google analytics [...]

]]>