0:00 Good morning, everyone, or good afternoon, wherever you are in. Joining me today are Mariana Rodriguez, marketing director Europe at Beko Europe, and, Tatiana Pinto, UGC marketing manager Europe. 0:14 Thank you for being here today. So we are wrapping up this, Buzzard Voice Summit with an international note since you are based in Milan. 0:25 And I'm really thrilled that, you're going to share how you implemented a powerful UGC, strategy across more than sixty markets in Europe to boost conversion and drive, retail sales. 0:39 So your impact is not only on your brand's, PDPs, but also in retail. So, welcome. So, Mariana, could you please, introduce yourself and maybe present Biko Europe in a few words to kick off? 0:55 Sure. And thanks, Karima. Thanks for inviting us. It's it's very good to be here. Good morning, everyone. Good afternoon for the European ones. I'm Mariana Rodriguez. 1:04 I'm the marketing director for Beko Europe. I'll take also the chance to say a few words about our company, which was formed actually last year from the joint between, Wurko and Arcelic in Europe. 1:18 We manage a portfolio of over seventeen brands, thirty markets, and we are the leading, manufacturer of home appliance in Europe right now. 1:27 So we have a a big challenge ahead of us, and, again, happy to be here. Thank you, Marina. And indeed, very big challenge with this, marriage. 1:37 And, what about you, Tatiana? Can you maybe tell us, a bit about your role within the company? Yes. Of course. Thank you, Karima. 1:46 Thank you for having us, and, good morning or good afternoon depending where you're watching us from. My name is Tatiana. I'm part of the the teams Mariana's team. 1:56 And right now, I lead the all the UGC strategy for Europe, so making sure, that, for all our brands is aligned in terms of brand strategy with also, our UGC and how we can effectively use both and take the the most out of it. 2:12 This, of course, involves leading and collaborating with different teams within the the brand in both the markets. Thank you, Tatiana. 2:21 Back to you, Mariana. Just to set the scene, how would you how would you define the changing buying habits of consumers in your market? 2:30 And what's, are the major evolutions that you have seen in the last few years? Yeah. Well, I think all of us, independent of the industry, we we saw a lot in the last five years right after COVID. 2:43 But if I have to probably name two today, I would say is the energy efficiency, and they'll comment in a minute, and the omnichannel, know the change on how consumers are purchasing our our category. 2:56 So starting with the first one, I think in terms of energy efficiency, it was already important, of course. But in the last years, it's really becoming one of the number one drivers of purchase. 3:07 It is actually already the number one drive purchasing Germany and Netherlands, number two in Poland, and even number three in Italy and France. Meaning that if in the past was something that consumers would consider important or nice to have, now they start already the purchase, consider, okay, is this an efficient in terms of, energy consumption? 3:27 Yes or no? And then they go to the second and the third point. So it's coming even before price. And that gives an idea, you know, how important it is is becoming, you know, in terms of communication and how we talk about it. 3:39 The second one, omnichannel, I think probably, you know, that was a a buzzword, you know, during the day to day. But we are really seeing that in the reality. You know? 3:49 So consumers are less afraid of buying appliance online. So despite the numbers in Europe not being still very, very high, it's increasing year over year. 3:59 And then with this omnichannel, even if a consumer is buying online, he's still going to the store to touch the product. Right? So all things combined, having that same brand, that same look and feel, that same experience, you know, across no matter which touch point you are, has become imperative for our business in the last years. 4:19 Yeah. Thank you. And, well, that's a very, sharp analysis and you understood that changes were happening. 4:27 So how did you adapt to these changes at Pico Europe? Yeah. I would say we are still adapting. Right? I think it's a long run here. 4:36 What we like to say is that we are we would like to shift this industry, you know, from the cold metal to a lifestyle, brands. 4:45 And that's the work actually that me and my team would been carrying the past years. How we create more connection, you know, between consumers and the appliance. If you look also these with other trends that are going on also, kitchen's more opening, the houses with the products really, you know, more exposed. 5:01 We know that the relationship with the oven, the relationship with other appliance, it's becoming a little bit more personal. Aesthetics is playing a bigger role. And, and we think it's a great moment for us, you know, to really do this shape. 5:13 So it's no longer anymore about the boring white washing machine, you know, and the cheapest one you find. But it can also be about, okay, which type of brand you wanna portray in your kitchen and and how could you buy that. 5:25 You know? And then as part of this transformation, I think the most remarkable things we did in the past years was to launch our direct to consumer channel, which is allowing us to have a better experience for consumers now in terms of warranties, installation, free delivery. 5:42 And then, of course, we create the role of UGC in our organization, which shows, I think, the intentions we have and the transformation we wanna go through, you know. 5:51 Yeah. I really love that. Like, you are selling, a lifestyle, an experience, and not just products. So, yeah. And this really echoes actually, the full funnel approach that we've presented, yesterday. 6:06 So I really like, the idea that you really adapted to, the way you communicate. And, Tatiana, can you provide maybe an overview of how your UGC strategy has developed, to drive more consumer engagement and influence also the purchasing decisions across the customer journey? 6:28 Yeah. Of course. So in our industry I mean, not only in our industry, but specifically to ours, you know, the consumers are making quite an investment. 6:37 So they really rely on the experience of other buyers before they make a commitment in the sense of learning more about quality, the durability, the performance of the appliance. 6:48 But not only that, they're also looking to actually know how the appliance looks in their home. Like Mariana said, nowadays, it's also something very visible in your kitchen or maybe in your laundry room. 7:00 So that's why for us, UGC particular rating reviews is really, really, really important during the decision making process. And, if you think about two ways, there's two two main, type of consumers we have we have here. 7:13 Either the ones that are doing a kitchen renovation or, for instance, the ones that something breaks and they need to really buy a machine. So this means that for these typologies, we have we have to accelerate the lower funnel. 7:25 And what I mean by this, if you think about it, our, we have some data that showcases that in the process of actually buying a washing machine, the consumers between the when they actually start looking at it and when they purchase it, passes an average of eight days with sixty percent of the consumers actually taking five days, which is, like, when you really need it, you you need to, you know, you need to take action. 7:49 It's not that you have maybe one month or something to look for it. So it's really important that we are visible and we are there not only in our websites but also in our retailer websites to help the consumer make make their purchase. 8:03 That said, we started this particular journey with rating reviews back in twenty twenty and we've been investing more and more especially starting twenty twenty four. 8:12 And right now we have sixteen of our countries with, four different brands participating in our programs and, more than twenty websites as well, both d two c and on d two c. 8:21 And, of course, our, as I mentioned, our main objective is to improve, the conversion and also to, help our brand loyalty. 8:31 Yeah. Thank you for detailing the history of your program, and I had the pleasure to see, this strategy unfold in a very powerful manner. 8:41 And, the way you actually, were able to, leverage, certain solutions or functionalities depending on the specificity of the market, was quite impressive. 8:54 So, the objectives are clear. Can you maybe, detail a bit, the key initiatives or innovations that you have introduced to boost the program and meet these strategic objectives? 9:07 Yeah. Yeah. Of course. As I mentioned, we always aim to, target the consumer and to influence them at the right stage either if they need to buy it right away or if they are still in the, let's say, the researching phase. 9:20 And to actually achieve these, we've designed three main streams for our UGC programs. The first one, we've launched what we call the customer review excellence program. 9:31 Then we have the second imperative that is more about how can we leverage those reviews in the sense of, okay, we got these great reviews, we have ambassadors, we have people that are talking and telling really good things about us. 9:44 How's how can we leverage that in other marketing touch points such as social media, banners, email marketing, wherever you can think of. 9:53 And the third imperative is something that goes a little bit beyond the rating reviews. It has to do with the what we call the social galleries. 10:01 That is basically how we can utilize the content that our consumers are posting across social media, either Facebook, either Instagram. 10:11 And, it has been quite interesting because we we launched this initially in Google friends as a pilot, and they sought really, really good result just for you to have an idea. 10:20 In the last six months of, twenty twenty four, twelve percent of those who visit the the website actually click on these galleries, and they see uplift, in terms of the bundles, so when you buy two together. 10:34 For those who don't know why the social galleries is basically taking, images or videos from people that posted on social media that, of course, we have the rights to use. 10:42 And then we create beautiful galleries that are engaging and showcase real customer, images. And it's really interesting because you can tag those and especially for the bundle. 10:53 So if you see oven and the microwave together or if you see a washing machine and a dryer together, it's much it's easier for you to see how they are paired together and more likely that you buy them together. 11:04 So these also really help the conversion on our d two c websites. And because we had such a good, good results in in the Weibo friends, now we've launched it as well in the, UK. 11:16 So in Hotpoint UK. Thank you, Tatiana. Yeah. Exactly. Bringing to the PDP, lifestyle, as you mentioned, Mariana, before is really, the the kind of UGC that the consumers expect from the brands. 11:32 So, Mariana, as content creation shifts to include more voices, both branded and UGC, how important is it for your brands to maintain a central narrative? 11:44 And, can you maybe tell us what's your approach to achieving this balance? Yeah. I think it it is a challenge, but at the same time, I think we need to start being a little bit more flexible. 11:55 You know? So in our case, I think we of course, we do the basics of, yeah, you have personas, you have the values of the brand, then the, you know, the tone of voice, guidelines, etcetera. 12:05 So you try to preserve that as as much as you can. But the other thing we've been trying to do, and, I'm really, let's say, a fan of that approach is establishing a percentage of, your content and of, your execution that you're gonna allow a little bit more freedom. 12:21 Now it can be a five percent or ten percent or fifteen depending on your business, but I think take a little bit more risk. Right? And, I think if, I mean, if there are creators connected today, if they would be hearing us, I think that's all they wanna hear, know that they could have a little bit more freedom. 12:36 So I think the brands needs to do give us sort of a frame, a framework. But at the end of the day, you know, allowing this mix of, following our guidelines, but give some freedom, I think it can make brand much more interesting, much more empathetic, and authentic, you know. 12:51 So that's kind of the recipe when trying is a little bit try and error, but, I think it brings more positives than negatives, you know. Yeah. I totally agree. 13:01 And, the blend is not only in the content, it is also in the shopping experience. Right? And, Marina, as consumers blend in store and online experiences, what targeted strategies can home appliance, retailers or brands adapt to boost, UGC initiatives and create a seamless customer journey across all touch points? 13:28 Yeah. It's a big one. I think, again, I was mentioning the beginning that, seven out of ten I did I think I didn't mention the number, but seven seven out of ten consumers, they go on the shop floor at least to touch the product. 13:42 No? So, yes, they are buying more online, but you need to feel. You wanna turn that knob in the washing machine. You wanna open and close the door of a oven. 13:51 Feel a little bit the hinge of the craftsmanship, and be sure you're not making a mistake in that purchase. So you can imagine that it it becomes even more important that no matter if you are in store online, in our own online shop or in the retailer, you have that same experience, that same look and feel. 14:09 UGC can definitely help that. Right? Either you are syndicating pictures or you're syndicating rates and reviews or it's the content created by by someone else. 14:19 But putting all that content together, you know, and being sure that it's in the right touch point, that's been our daily challenge. So I think it starts with the creation, but syndication distribution, it's assuming also very, very big role in the organization. 14:34 We even had a point in that, we appointed someone in the team that was a syndication leader, you know, just to be sure that, yes, the content will be definitely delivering the right, touch point. 14:45 Mhmm. Yeah. And you said, Gina, maybe if you could share your so your vision on that, touch points and the customer journey across all of these touch points. 14:55 Yeah. Yeah. Of course. This is this is why, also, we we launched and is linked with the first pillar that I mentioned before, so the customer review excellence program. 15:07 And it's it's tailored exactly to, you know, kind of cover what Mariana just mentioned here. Not only the syndication part and making sure that we are present with rating reviews and content in our own channels, either if they are d two c or not d two c, but also in the retailers. 15:22 So what is, in a nutshell, the aim of this program, obviously, is to collect more reviews and to improve our average rating across Europe. 15:31 And so how how do you do this? First of all, even we we try to do a European strategy, but then, of course, we also try to localize it to each, country specific needs. 15:43 One of the thing this thing about this program is always about about, best sharing practices. So for us, it's really important to ensure that if a country already went through a certain problem, we can leverage that and help other countries. 15:58 So for us, this is a focal point. But let's say the also something when I joined and I started with this was ensure that we have balanced reviews. 16:07 And what I mean by this is someone that really does dislike our product, for sure they will leave a review they didn't like it. What we try to achieve is how can we consume how can we convince those consumers that like the product that even might leave you a four or five star, but maybe though they don't have the time or maybe they don't wanna take the time to leave a review. 16:29 Something of that. And that's why, for instance, we've seen great results, with the initiative that we call the, incentivized program. So here, what we aim to do, it depends on the country, but I'm going to give you the example of the Italy because they were the the first ones to implement. 16:44 So and they they saw, again, really good results once they implemented, and they have more homogeneous kind of reviews. So they were offering a ten year voucher, for a restaurant app, for those who left a review. 16:57 But regarding if you are leaving a one or five stars, you will be, let's say, a small reward to the consumer because they actually lost time to to, you know, to give, to give their feedback, which for us is really important. 17:09 Then, of course, we adapt that depending on the country. Other countries, they follow suite with similar initiatives was, WIPO France as well WIPO Spain, but we have other countries that did the different one like, Czech Republic or Slovakia. 17:22 They decided to do with physical products with accessories, like, with the w pro that we have for Hippo. So this is, like, one one of the initiatives that we we try to implement in some of the countries to ensure that we have, you know, disconnection and that we improve our rating. 17:36 Then, of course, we do more tailored one like product sampling where we have, a new product launches and sort of, in kind of these these kind of activities. 17:46 And just to give you also an idea how successful this has been, we actually, like, in under a year and keep in mind that we are, like, European levels. 17:54 We are sixteen countries and more than three brands, and more than twenty websites. We went across from four twenty two and twenty twenty three to four thirty four average rating twenty twenty four. 18:06 So if you if you take a look, this is more than zero point one, which is, like, a lot. It might not seem, but, like, already, we're making that step and being closer to the four point five. 18:15 It's really exciting, and this is a place that we want to be in the future for all our websites and brands. Yeah. Thank you, Tatiana. And this is what I was saying about how powerful your strategy was to really adapt, depending on the specificity, the maturity of the different markets. 18:32 So that's actually a huge win, what you shared. So UGC is not only displayed to inspire and obviously convert, but it's also a precious, source of voice of the customer. 18:46 And it can be exploited within different business departments to learn more about your customers and, obviously, better serve them. 18:55 So, Tatiana, can you tell us what specific strategies, do we implement to leverage, UGC for better business outcomes? 19:04 Yeah. Yeah. Of course. So first and foremost, we ensure that, we reply to all one and two stars, and to make sure that, consumers that are dissatisfied, they they are replied to and that, customer care is actually following up on their problem. 19:21 And also, we use feedback that sometimes we read through our reviews to pass on, this kind of feedback for our research and development. That said, another quite interesting way that we use the rating reviews is also to shift our communication strategy. 19:36 Let me give you a concrete example. A couple years back, we launched a dishwasher that allowed that we advertised that allowed a very big pizza plate. 19:47 After the launch, we've come to realize via the reviews that people were complaining saying, like, you know, we bought this dishwasher because it was advertised that it could fit a a large piece of plates, etcetera, etcetera. 19:57 And we and we saw by the reviews that people didn't know that they actually had to pull the lever up on the the the top part of the dishwasher, so on the top one, to actually feed the pizza plate. 20:08 So what we did there, at one site, we noticed that is that, we ensure via our communication strategy that, either through the the guides and manuals, either via email marketing, also with how to videos that we start producing, then the consumer know knew how to use this feature and it was properly used. 20:25 So we we managed to do that via the reviews that we write. So that's a concrete example on how, how we are, using the reviews for, business purposes. 20:37 Yeah. Very concrete example. So sometimes you just have to explain a little bit better, but you wouldn't have this kind of feedback if it was not for the reviews, obviously. 20:47 So, this session is almost coming to an end. And, Marina, as a closing remark, since this has been one of the hot topics, since we launched Vibe last year, but obviously during the summit this year, Could you please tell us what are your key suggestions to create the right mix of content between, UGC creators, the influencers, and just us real users? 21:14 Yeah. I think I mean, you need to think that since the beginning. Also, sampling, using your product, coming even our case, it's not easy to ship a washing machine. 21:24 You know, imagine or you wanna put a oven in a in a house of a creator of influencers. Not easy, but we make that effort because we know how important it is, you know, to start with a mix that is not only coming from your from you, from the brand. 21:37 So I think sampling, Tatiana said some very creative ideas today. Now what is that carrot you can give now for to get a review or to get a nice content for your product? 21:47 But don't give up because it really makes the difference, makes my brands more authentic. And I would say take risks like I said. You know? It gives a much more interesting mix at the end of the day. 21:58 Yeah. Totally agree. You need to test and take risk and, improve. Thank you so much both. It was a really a great session, very interesting insights. 22:08 I love, the acronym CREP, for the program you so much for everyone to who watched the session. Thank you so much. 22:17 We have dropped some, a case study and also an interview about deals, on the doc session. Thank you so much. 22:26 You can just go and watch them after that session. Enjoy the rest of the summit with the thank you, video.
