The Impact of User Generated Content from Product Reviews

Posted on July 1, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized |

There’s been a change in the way buying decisions are made, a change in the way that sales are completed.  The impact of word of mouth has always been significant, but today marketers are starting to see how they can connect that to bottom lines sales numbers. 

In any transaction two spheres exist, the awareness of the product or services and the purchase of the product or service.  These used to be separate spheres.  Consumers would become informed about a product, educated about its benefits and features, and the make a choice.  Consumers stayed in this space while determining whether to make a purchase.  Once the decision was made they could move into the purchase sphere.  Retail outlets and salespeople dominated this sphere for a long time.  Comparison-shopping took hours or days, special offers came along when a store needed to move old merchandise, and the consumer never really had control.

Advances in technology have closed the gap between these spheres and even created an overlap in many cases.  Consumers study products on line and call to make purchases or purchase on line.  In some circumstances the call center or website can adapt on the fly to offer special deals, cross sales, or up sells but the consumer now dominates the space.  Comparison-shopping is offered on line for products and services alike, matching pricing offers is commonplace, and loyalty clubs are everywhere.   Web 2.0 has allowed consumers to gain insight from consumer feedback.  Product reviews have exploded on the web, in emails, and catalogs because they can drive sales.  Social networking has made information more readily available; connecting with people you trust promotes viral marketing.  Getting opinions from people you trust make buying decisions easy.

Surveys show that 30% of shoppers will leave/post reviews but 70% of consumers will look to those reviews when shopping.  The web-savvy consumer has a tremendous voice on line.  Studies also show that reviews are generally positive, people enjoy leaving feedback if they think it will help someone else make a good choice.  As a general rule negative feedback is posted less frequently.  Integrating reviews into a customer experience provides considerable lift when done right.  It has to be easy to access, relevant to the purchase, authentic, and honest advice.  Marketers have to consider how the content they offer will make the consumer feel, and more importantly how it can make the consumer feel better about their purchase.

Reviews can attract customers in search applications, both paid and natural, decreasing support costs and increasing loyalty and lifetime value.   Reviews can also be linked to social networking sites for further exposure.  In blogs, RSS, emails, store displays, mobile marketing and catalogs, the power of user-generated content, specifically via reviews , will push the envelope of your marketing efforts.

About the author

Justin Jackson is an Account Executive with Donnelley Marketing with over 10 years of experience in consultative sales in the multi-channel arena.  Email any questions to Justin.Jackson@Donnelleymarketing.com or check out the website: www.workone2one.com.  Sign up for a free e-newsletter and you can be entered into a drawing for a free business profile.

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