Bazaar Voice

Samsung answers increase engagement, fill information gaps

• Samsung answers double product views
• Samsung answers, more people ask
• Samsung fills info gaps, gains insights
• Answers create a “ripple effect” of value

Samsung, long known for their innovative products, took their pioneering spirit to their brand management and product marketing strategies as well. Early on, they understood the value of reaching out to their online customer base and in 2007 they created the public persona, “Mr. Samsung,” who started answering product-related questions on CNET. In June 2008 they extended their efforts to include a customer-based forum.

This past spring they again expanded Mr. Samsung’s involvement to include BrandAnswers, an Ask & Answer enhancement that enables brand representatives to answer product-related questions across Bazaarvoice’s Ask & Answer network. Within just a few months, their participation paid off.

What we measured

We sought to understand the impact of Samsung submitted expert answers alongside those submitted by the community. To ensure the best apples-to-apples comparison, we focused our efforts on comparably rated, trafficked, and priced Samsung televisions on a major online retailer’s site. Each TV used in the study carried an average star-rating of 4.4 to 4.7 out of five stars, at least 10,000 visits, and had comparable community-based question and answer volume.

We split the televisions that met that criteria into two groups: those with high BrandAnswers engagement (an average of 15 Samsung answers per product), and those with low BrandAnswers engagement (an average of four Samsung answers per product). We then compared success metrics for the two groups over a three-month test period.

Samsung answers double product views

Group 1 — which contained those products that, by the end of the study, received high Samsung answer counts — started out with fewer product views than Group 2, which contained those products that ultimately received few Samsung answers. As Group 1 collected Samsung answers, the community responded with more product views. In the last month of the testing period, Group 1 received 96% more product views than Group 2, suggesting that Samsung’s involvement fostered an increase in product interest.

Samsung answers, more people ask

Additionally, as Group 1 collected a higher volume of Samsung answers, the community responded with more questions. In the last month of the testing period, Group 1 received 100% more questions. This suggests that Samsung’s brand engagement influenced an increase in their community’s engagement.

Samsung fills info gaps, gains insights

Through their involvement with BrandAnswers, Samsung effectively addressed online knowledge gaps. On the set of products with higher Samsung involvement, we found that 91% of the content Samsung provided in their answers was not already on the site. The most repeated question was, “Can I hang this TV on the wall?” From Samsung’s perspective, the answer may be obvious; however, shoppers are telling them that it’s not clear. Filling these information gaps can help turn shoppers into buyers.

Answers create a “ripple effect” of value

Unlike one-to-one communication vehicles, such as a customer email or phone call, answers provided online help the overall community. When a shopper asks a question, it’s safe to assume that others have the same question. Additionally, having these answers within the purchase path helps drive sales conversion, so just one answer from Samsung can help drive incremental sales beyond the one person who asked the question.