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August 07, 2007
The customer review effect
Some new numbers on what retailers in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe say happened after putting customer-created reviews on their websites:
- 77% reported site traffic increases
- 56% reported improved conversion rates
- 42% reported higher average order values
Personally, I don't buy anything or visit any new merchant today without first locating a number of customer-generated reviews for it. Making it easy for customers to review your products on your site is now pretty much a no-brainer.
Other blogs that reference The customer review effect:
» Study: Customer Reviews Boost Conversion from Conversion Rate Marketing Blog - GrokDotCom by Future Now, Inc
eMarketer reports on a new study by e-consultancy and Bazaarvoice, suggesting that customer reviews boost conversion, traffic, and average order value in a big way.
Nearly all survey respondents thought ratings and reviews were either extremely helpfu... [Read More]
» Customer Review Sites Are Great -But Beware of Shams from Rock Research Blog
Research suggests that having a customer review site will increase websales. It stands to reason that this would be the case. I know that whenever I am about to make a purchase plugging into Google [product name] review is... [Read More]
» Customer Reviews on Retail Sites = Better Results from the Web Chef's e-Bytes
Church of the Customer blogger Ben McConnell references e-Marketer compiled data on social commerce showing that sites with customer review mechanisms demonstrated higher traffic (77%), conversion (56%) and order sizes (42%). For more on this topic see... [Read More]
Ben,
I completely agree and am right there with you. Before buying anything substantial these days, my wife and I will google the product/service and find forums, comment threads, and review sites on it first. Heck, our honeymoon would not have been as great had it not been almost completely planned out ahead of time with the trusty aid and community consensus of Tripadvisor and RealTravel. Now that we're buying a house, the first thing we did was sign up for Angie's List.
Here's the recommendation I give for others who want to give it a try, but can't find a site with reviews on a particular product or service.
1. Go to Google (or Google Blogsearch)
2. Type in the product/service and the words "I like".
3. Repeat the same search with other similar variations: "I hate", "I love", "I didn't like", "I liked", etc.
It's not foolproof, but connecting emotion to the search is the quickest and easiest way to find honest sentiment and opinion.
...Michael
----
Michael E. Rubin
Arment Dietrich, Inc.
Call me -- 312-787-7249 x212
Tell a friend -- fight destructive spin! http:///www.spinsucks.com
See what I’m up to -- http://twitter.com/merubin
See a picture of an orangutan -- http://tinyurl.com/yosceb
It absolutely makes sense that sales would go hand-in-hand with the ability to read customer reviews. I just bought an HDTV last month and I must have searched hundreds of reviews on the Circuit City and Cnet websites before making a decision.
Shouldn't we take this with a grain of salt? Bazaarvoice sells products to enable customer ratings. I still believe that customers appreciate customer reviews, but this is hardly an unbiased source for research on the topic.
I have unique and easily confirmed experience with customer-created reviews of dentists, otherwise known as a Patient-Driven Referral System (PDRS). I am a dentist with a general practice in Fort Worth, Texas. For two years, I have participated in DR. Oogle (doctoroogle.com), a website collection of customer reviews, both good and bad, for dentists across the nation. As far as attracting new customers, the website has always paid for itself. I sense this is nuclear-powered marketing of the future because while more and more customers are finding me through the site, my colleagues report that paid ads are becoming less effective. These days PDRS referrals account for almost half of my new patients, and the rate is increasing. The best part is, customers are sold on my care before they even meet me.
Insurers do not care that their clients detest choosing dentists from provider lists of strangers’ names. A person’s mouth is a sensitive area. Allowing intrusion into this very personal space is not like dropping the car off for a muffler. Many customers desire someone they can trust, and will pay a premium for the personal service I obviously provide. In the US, one can charge what the market will bear unless one is restrained by a contract with managed care. God bless America.
Since I strive to provide people with the same eye-to-eye personal attention that I also value in healthcare providers, life is wonderful and getting better all the time. There is a downside, though. If I fail to satisfy someone, I too can suffer a bad review. But then that can occur whether I participate or not. Such is Internet transparency and accountability. Virtually all dentists in the nation are ignoring it as long as possible. I prefer to meet it head on and play to win. Darrell Pruitt DDS
Stephanie Miller of Return Path wrote a good post on the Email Experience Council's blog about how email marketers can capitalize on product reviews:
http://blog.emailexperience.org/2007/08/email_invites_and_succors_cust.html
I track the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 of the top online retailers through my blog, RetailEmail.Blogspot (http://retailemail.blogspot.com), and I regularly see them leverage and promote their product reviews in their emails. Backcountry has a cool feature in their monthly newsletter where they plug a customer review of the month. That's a nice way to promote excellent reviews.
Ben,
I think this is such an important thing for retailers to do even beyond the sales results showcased in this report. Mainly because it goes along way in terms of building a strong friendship between the brand and the retailer.
Giving customers a voice that can be heard goes along way in nurturing a friendship. All good relationships are built on reciprocity. If a customer is extremely happy, ambivalent, disappointed or frustrated they're likely going to share it with someone, whether that be via a blog post or verbally to other people. When the retailer gives them the opportunity to review the product on their site, it tells them that they care about their opinion and their experience and want to use it to inform other customers.
It also makes it a bit easier on the consumer. They feel more informed and prepared. Even if they do go out and do their own research, they at least have a starting point coming away from the retailer's site.
Very interesting post. I have been talking about the importance of feedback and then I run across your post. I'll point my readers to your blog and reference this post.
I work for Bazaarvoice, the company listed in the first comment. I can attest that the value for these retailers are seeing is amazing. For more information on the topic, Bazaarvoice hosts a blog at http://www.bazaarblog.com
