Allan Helleskov Kleiner, Site Manager, TELMORE

This post was guest-written by Allan Helleskov Kleiner, Site Manager, TELMORE.

Remember back in the old days, before industrialisation in the late 18^th century? Probably not, but if a person needed a new pair of shoes he went to the shoemaker – or perhaps back then a clog maker. He met him face-to-face; the producer met the customer. The customer was able to ask questions and get help from the product manufacturer himself.

Industrialisation changed that. Products began to be mass-produced. The producers were out of sight. People still had to go to a shop to find a pair of shoes, but they had no social interaction with the producer. Instead, consumers had to trust the sales person – they had no other choice.

We’re now in the 21^st century. An increasing number of consumers are shopping online, buying products without ever meeting a sales person. There is no social interaction, which means no one to ask for help.

Will shoppers trust a website?

Many e-commerce websites use words like “splendid,” “extraordinary,” “beautiful,” “bargain,” and all kinds of appealing marketing words to describe their products and services. But do shoppers trust these descriptions? Probably not. Numerous studies have shown as much: people don’t trust ads, people trust other people. But there are no people on a website.

The solution for an e-commerce site seeking to achieve a higher degree of credibility is social commerce. Social commerce is customer interaction that drives real business results. In TELMORE’s case, social commerce puts user-generated content in the purchase path, bringing value to our customers – and credibility to TELMORE.

Social interaction online

Let me illustrate with an example. A person is browsing the web for a new mobile phone. An Internet search brings him to TELMORE, where he finds the HTC Hero, which costs 1799 DKK ($326US/242 €). But who is TELMORE, and can he trust us? User ratings show that this is a popular, well-received phone. And perhaps more importantly, the reviews show that customers – real people like the shopper in our example – have bought from our website before and had a good experience.

The shopper’s natural initial hesitation is subdued, and he clicks on the phone to see more. On the next page he finds all ratings and reviews made by other vistors.

On this specific phone there are 46 reviews made by other customers – not by TELMORE. These ratings and reviews give TELMORE credibility, because they show that we are not afraid to give the power to our customers. We let them tell the truth about the phone and our brand, and as mentioned above, people trust other people. The words of our customers give the shopper the information he needs to confidently purchase the phone.

At TELMORE we have literally thousands upon thousands of reviews. Although we don’t meet our customers face-to-face as people did years ago, we still communicate with them. We have a blog, a popular Facebook fanpage, a Twitter account, and a customer support staff to answer calls. In addition, we have ratings and reviews, which give us a valuable advantage. Not only are our cutsomers communicating with us online, but they are able to communicate with other customers and shoppers. Instead of talking to the clog maker, our visitors are able to talk to each other.

This is how the visitors interact on our site, and it’s just one example of social commerce. I personally surf the internet for product information, blogs, and naturally ratings and reviews. The doctor does take his own medicine.

How is your business using social commerce? Do ratings and reviews influence you?

This blog post was guest written by Rebecca Dutta, International Community Manager

I asked Lubna Seago, Customer Experience Manager at Wickes, to share their 2009 review strategy with us.

Why are Customer reviews important to Wickes?

Customer reviews have had a huge impact since we implemented them on our site last year. They are now established as an economical and effective way to build a lasting, meaningful, and profitable relationship with our customers.
Opportunities and advantages in implementing our online product review functionality have been identified as follows:

• A growth of customer trust in the website.
• Increased confidence in the integrity of the Wickes brand.
• The rapid establishment of a customer community.
• A reliable and useful customer information resource, which can be analysed to reveal a number of underlying trends in consumer behaviour.
• A source of original material for adverts and marketing campaigns.
• A unique way of identifying under-performing products (and product areas) which may be in need of development.

You are currently running a fantastic multi-channel campaign focusing on the pride Wickes take in delivering quality products.  How does your new review tagline ‘It’s got your name on it’ tie in with your new campaign?

At Wickes, we are proud enough of every single one of our products and services to 'put our name on it'. Wickes is 95% own brand so we are using 'It's Got Our Name On It' as a strap line to communicate this key message:

"Pride in our products = Quality + Value"

‘Serious’ DIY’ers and tradesmen share a desire for a job well done. In the case of the ‘serious’ DIY’er, it is a matter of personal pride and satisfaction; in the case of the tradesmen, it is a commercial imperative – winning positive word-of-mouth recommendation from their clients is the key to gaining new business and running a successful enterprise.

We are using customer reviews to assert this message with the campaign 'It's Got Your Name On It'.

The main aim is to let our customers feel that they have a fundamental connection with Wickes, no matter what their level of DIY expertise. They are free to share their thoughts on any product/project, and ‘put their name on it’, safe in the knowledge that we both take pride in a job well done.

How do you think reviews will help Wickes maintain a reputation for quality in 2009?

With the customer review system now firmly established on our website, our customers are playing a vital role in ensuring that Wickes continues to provide the best products and service possible.

We study each review, take into account what the customer is saying and use this information to identify opportunities to improve the customer shopping experience. For example, we have been able to:

• Create a ‘Top Rated Products’ section on our homepage, making it easier for customers to browse these popular items.
• Update and improve individual products’ ‘features and benefits’ listed on the website.
• Contact customers directly to deal with their issues and concerns.
• Add quotes from reviews onto marketing materials e.g. brochures, catalogues.

The overwhelmingly positive customer reviews that we receive each day are a testament to the Wickes brand values of market leading quality, unbeatable prices, and expert advice

And our customers are not only writing about how good they think we are, they are also proving it by making repeat purchases, and recommending Wickes to their friends.

All of which bodes well for the future, as we continue to search for ways and means of achieving excellence in every aspect of our customer shopping experience, both online and in-store.

As a Community Manager at Bazaarvoice, it really excites me to see my client making an extra effort to reap the full benefits of user generated content. Wickes (www.wickes.co.uk) are an excellent example of how best to use review content to offer a high level of customer care.

We recently ran a study of online consumers that found that 78% have more trust/respect for brands that feature product reviews. And we compared this for US and UK customers. Note the UK is slightly lower, and our hypothesis is that reviews are not as prevelant there (yet!).

So, in addition to solutions like buySafe who sponsored the study above, also consider the fact that if you have reviews on your site your prospects and customers will have more trust in your brand!