Archive for June, 2006

Customer Centricity, Ratings & Reviews, Word of Mouth

Sam Decker Bass Pro’s David Seifert on Merchandising with Reviews

June 29th, 2006 by Sam Decker Chief Marketing Officer

I recently sat down with David Seifert, director of direct marketing operations at BassPro, to discuss how he and the BassPro merchandising team considered Ratings and Reviews…as well as how they impact the business with the customer voice now and in the future.

 

A concern of many Retailers is around Negative Reviews. How did you convince your peers and management to move forward with reviews despite this concern?

We showed them examples that indicated there aren't normally that many negative reviews. And if there are, they are isolated to small number of items. In fact, I have heard that Amazon initially thought they were going to have issues with negative reviews, but it turned out the resulting conversion rate was overwhelmingly positive. So even if there are some negative reviews, it made sense to put reviews on our site.

What was critical to BassPro and merchants in your choice of ratings/review solution?

They thought it was important the customer reviews were proofed before published. Everyone was open to constructive feedback on products which genuinely help other customers, but it isn't an appropriate forum for competitive comparisons or venting customer service issues. Overcoming that objection was easy with the focus Bazaarvoice has in this area.

What benefits did Merchandisers see coming from ratings and reviews?

They are very interested in the impact to returns. You don't necessarily know why people are returning the product. Reason codes aren't real and not specific. People don't think you'll accept the return, so they'll always choose “defective” or “wrong size”, even though the real reason is they didn't like a feature or shortcoming of the product.

How do you expect your merchandiser to use this data?

Some are extremely interested in this data, and others are just starting to look at it. We've seen buyers who are looking forward to getting the Bazaarvoice reports to determine what are people saying they really like, because you can look at expanding assortment in those categories.

For a couple items that we've seen significant negative reviews for, customers are commenting on the design. So merchandisers can use this data on where they should resource this type of product as well as evaluating our suppliers.

 

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Customer Centricity, Word of Mouth, eCommerce

Brant Barton How to Create a Customer for Life

June 22nd, 2006 by Brant Barton Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer

Several months ago, I wrote a post about Adesso Albums and their use of word-of-mouth.  This month, I have another personal account of a company that recognizes the value of listening and acting on customer feedback. 

And the award goes to . . . Smartbody Nutrition!

I've been a customer of Smartbody's for several months now.  Every 2-3 months, I order a few boxes of Clif Bars, my favorite pre-workout snack, as well as protein powder for smoothies and other healthy snacks.  I became a customer thanks to a Google search and Smartbody's great prices, but I've been a repeat customer because they ship my orders quickly and accurately and always throw in one or two sample size packages of new and different products (I enjoyed a sample of Syntrax Matrix 5.0 protein powder so much that I ordered a 5-pound bag of it soon after!).  

Last weekend I discovered a new product at my local gym, thanks again to a free sample – Nuun Active Hydration tablets.  Drop one of these fruit-flavored tablets in a bottle of water, watch it fizz, and you have yourself an electrolyte replacement drink.  I loved the product, so later that day I checked Smartbody's web site.  Unfortunately, they didn't carry it.  I found other online retailers that did, but I wanted to buy from Smartbody because I order from them regularly anyway.  

So I sent an email to Smartbody Customer Service, suggesting that they carry Nuun.  This was on Saturday.  By Monday at noon, Rob at Smartbody had replied to let me know that they were checking with their distributor.  Having been ignored by the customer service departments of many other companies in the past, Rob's response alone was a reminder that I had made the right decision several months earlier in selecting Smartbody.  By Wednesday (that's yesterday!), Rob had notified me that the product will be added to the site by the end of this week!  They plan to see how the product sells before stocking it regularly (I plan to vote with my dollar!), but the fact that my suggestion was acted upon in 3 business days stunned me.  On the one hand, it's unfortunate that many customers have come to expect so little from the companies they regularly do business with.  On the other hand, as a repeat and very satisifed customer of Smartbody's to begin with, I intuitively felt that they would be able to help me out.  They didn't disappoint. 

So if you've ever wondered how to create a customer for life, follow the Smartbody example and listen to your customers.  Don't just listen though, act on their feedback and suggestions.  If they are willing to take the time to make a suggestion, they care about seeing you improve and will reward you for it. 

Now help me keep Nuun stocked on the Smartbody site for good!  

 

 

Community, Customer Centricity, Marketing Strategy, Ratings & Reviews, User-Generated Content, Word of Mouth

Brant Barton KongTime – 150 Glowing Reviews and Growing

June 14th, 2006 by Brant Barton Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer

I like to share data points about our business as we grow and learn more about what drives consumers to invest their valuable time and energy into sharing their passion for a product, service, or brand, even when their voice is just one in a chorus of consumers singing the very same note.  

Take the KongTime Doggie Day Care in a Box product at PETCO.com as an example.  The first customer review of this product posted over 6 months ago on November 10, 2005, just weeks after PETCO's launch of our solution.  Since then, over 150 happy customers have signed on to reinforce that first reviewer's very positive opinion of the product with their own personal account of buying and using the product.  Currently, the product has an overall rating of 4.6 (out of 5) stars, and 95% of reviewers say they would recommend the product to a friend.  Check out the reviews.  Over and over again, reviewers praise the product's durability, recommend it as a gift for dog friends, and celebrate how fun it is to watch their dog or puppy interact with the product. 

So what keeps reviewers going after the 50th, the 100th, the 150th review?!  Well, we're still trying to figure that out in quantitative (read, high brow!) terms, but the simple formula is a great product PLUS the innate but latent passion consumers have for products that satisfy real needs. 

Everyone has heard the old agage that dissatisfied customers talk more about their experiences than satisified customers, but we're observing a different trend.  Several weeks ago, Sam posted on the "J curve", a graphical representation of the overwhelmingly positive composition of our clients' customer review communities.  Products like KongTime Doggie Day Care in a Box are highly influential in shaping that curve, because positive word of mouth can quickly snowball.  

Instead of allowing your customers to stumble upon great products by chance, follow PETCO's lead and drive customers directly to the products with the most positive customer feedback (check out PETCO.com's Top Rated Products for Dogs as an example).  By doing so, you create a "virtuous cycle" of positive word of mouth that pays dividends in repeat sales and customer satisfaction.  

 

Marketing Strategy, Ratings & Reviews, Research, eCommerce

Sam Decker Shop.org, Sherpa, eTailing Studies Agree: Customer Reviews #1 Merchandising Tactic

June 9th, 2006 by Sam Decker Chief Marketing Officer

Statistics are helpful to make decisions. We have referenced several statistics to help retailers decide whether or not to put ratings and reviews on their site:

  • 63% of users prefer sites with ratings and reviews (eVoc Insights)
  • 48% of shoppers seek reviews before making a purchase decision (eVoc Insights)
  • Conversion of customers buying a single product nearly doubled after the product received a five-star review, going from .44% to 1.04%. (Marketing Experiments / Shopping.com experiment)
  • 59% of users considered customer reviews to be more valuable than expert reviews. (BizRate)
  • Users who contribute product reviews visit a site 9 times more often than average users, and they remain twice as loyal and buy twice as often. (McKinsey)

These are great stats about customer impact, coming from multiple sources, all which seem to concur that ratings and reviews are effective. But for skeptics, it would be helpful if several different sources survey the same question and come up with the same answer.

That just happened. 

After a presentation from Lauren Freedman of e-Tailing Group at this week's Internet Retailer show, we know that Shop.org, MarketingSherpa and the eTailing Group have all surveyed retailers and come out with essentially the same result — Ratings and Reviews are the most effective merchandising strategy:

96% of retailers rate customer ratings and reviews very or somewhat effective
Shop.org 2005 Annual Study

94% of retailers rate customer ratings and reviews very or somewhat effective
MarketingSherpa Ecommerce Benchmark study, March, 2006

92% of retailers rate customer ratings and reviews very or somewhat effective
JC Williams/e-tailing group Survey; 2006 

 

Of course we like the fact that retailers are rating ratings and reviews with 5 stars!

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Ratings & Reviews, Research, User-Generated Content

Sam Decker Bad Reviews Makes for More Business

June 7th, 2006 by Sam Decker Chief Marketing Officer

This is not a client, but interesting story…

Bad Customer Reviews Makes for More Business for Villarenters.com

RUTLAND, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 7, 2006–"The housekeeper punched me in the face"

"The place was dirty"

"The owner kept arriving at the property unannounced"

"Although there were 4 beds there wasn't room for 4 eggs in the frying pan"

Every day self catering rental specialists Villarenters.com validate the reviews from renters returning from their holiday, these are checked against the booking and approved for publication providing they are not personal.

Managing Director Tim Coulton says "Many of our owners didn't like the open approach at first but as they have a right of reply it has become both a true reflection of their property and an opportunity for them to improve it – renters visiting our site see the bad reviews and then feel they can really trust the good ones and book a property with confidence."

"We are different from most sites that private owners advertise with in that we provide our owners with an online bookings system – this means we know who is staying at a property"

The Villarenters reviews, combined with an index score that reflects the owners performance, ensures renters really can trust that a property is 'luxury' and that they will have a great holiday if other renters have said the same…they can see also from owners replies that minor issues and irritations have been fixed.

So check out the thousands of privately owned properties on www.villarenters.com web site : look for the customer ratings (over 50% of properties have a review) and although you may have to scramble your eggs to fit in the pan – you can make sure you won't get punched in the face!

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Books, New at Bazaarvoice

Brett Hurt Five Updates: BusinessWeek articles, Red Herring 100, and Ed Keller

June 6th, 2006 by Brett Hurt Founder and CEO

So, I am supposed to be on vacation tonight after traveling 13 hours to Maui to celebrate my 10-year anniversary with my wife, Debra. But I am having trouble sleeping (it is 3:15am CT, 10:15pm Maui time) after reading some exciting articles. And both wife and child are asleep…

First, a friend of mine that works at Yahoo! sent me a BusinessWeek article put out yesterday, Web 2.0 Has Corporate America Spinning. If you have read "The Cluetrain Manifesto", this article will lead you to believe that companies are finally hopping on the train. It continues to amaze me how visionary that book really was. If it wasn't for the tech market bubble bursting right after it came out, more people would cite it today.

As usual, BusinessWeek has an insightful and practical view on the subject, instead of the typical hype-laden fluff. Here are a few of my favorite excerpts:

  • Companies are starting to take a page from MySpace, Facebook, and other social-networking services. The reason: As appealing as that social aspect is for teens and anyone else who wants to stay in closer touch with friends, it's even more useful in business. After all, businesses in one sense are social networks formed to make or sell something. [Comment: Why reporters don't mention "The Cluetrain Manifesto" when they write sentences like this boggles my mind.]
  • But the payoff can be substantial, if hard to quantify. Genial Microsoft (MSFT) blogger Robert Scoble, for instance, is credited by many Redmond watchers with doing more to improve the company's image than millions of dollars in public relations. In no small part that's because he has shown a willingness to criticize his company at times. [Side note: I am speaking with Robert Scoble at the Supernova conferencein San Francisco in two weeks.]
  • But the upside can be a brand to which people feel a stronger emotional tie. Says Forrester Research analyst Chris Charron: "In the end, the brand is owned not just by the people who create it, but by the people who use it."
  • All that's going to require more than slick technology. Executives, long used to ruling from the top of the corporate hierarchy, will have to learn a new skill: humility. "Companies that are extremely hierarchical have trouble adapting," says Tim O'Reilly, CEO of tech book publisher O'Reilly Media, which runs the annual Web 2.0 Conference "They'll be outperformed by companies that don't work that way." Ultimately, taking full advantage of Web 2.0 may require — get ready — Management 2.0.

Second, Netflix was profiled in BusinessWeek's June 5th issue for their "top 100 hot growth companies" feature story.  This reminded me of my blog post back in February. The subtitle of the BusinessWeek article is "the mail-order movie house that clobbered Blockbuster." If that doesn't sum it up in a few words, I'm not sure what would. Read my blog post to get a different perspective on why this is happening and what it has to do with word of mouth.

Third, I was happy to see Ed Keller's new company, Keller Fay Group, prominently mentioned in the same June 5th issue of BusinessWeek on page 12. Keller Fay is producing some really groundbreaking research.  Sam Decker blogged about some of it earlier this month, highlighting research that 62% of word of mouth is positive. Ed is answering questions that have been perplexing us for some time.

Fourth, congratulations to Ed Keller (and Bazaarvoice) on him joining our Board of Directors (as our first independent member) as well as WOMMA's Board of Directors (in their first elected Board).  Ed has the perfect profile for our Board as well as WOMMA's. He has fantastic operational experience (as the former CEO of Roper) and deep industry experience (27+ years in marketing research, including co-authoring "The Influentials", a truly amazing book that helped launch the recent word-of-mouth movement). I feel flattered that Ed joined our Board and look forward to working with him for years to come.

And fifth, congratulations to Chris Pacitti of Austin Ventures. Throughout my entrepreneurial career, I have had the fortune of working with some truly great venture capitalists. It is an amazing achievement for two of the companies that Chris serves on the board of, Bazaarvoice and Pluck, to be the only Texas-based companies in North America to be selected for Red Herring's Top 100 list.  We are very fortunate to be working with him. With Chris and Ed on our Board, we have a very powerful combination of resources.

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