Barcamp Talk: Growing A Business With Online Reviews
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Transcript of Barcamp Talk: Growing A Business With Online Reviews
Growing A Business With Online Reviews
Filling In The Gaps
1.Online reviews2.???3.Profit
What this presentation covers
Number of years each channel took to reach a market audience of 50 million?
Radio: 38
Television: 13
Internet: 4
Souce: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/briefing/technology/tech.pdf
87% of Australians have purchased something over the Internet. 53% of Australians made a purchase in the last month
Source: ACNielsen Global Online Shopping Habits Study
Source: Consumer survey, JC Williams Group, 2006
91% of survey respondents cited consumer content as the #1 aid to a buying decision
The crowd is building a new channel to drive their buying decisions
Customers can get advice from each other directly
For many businesses, your actions speak louder than your advertising
department
What Determines Reviews?
• Audience • Market• Product
Audience Factors
1.Education level (Selling to experts or businesses)
2.Enthusiasm (Customer word-of-mouth)
Market Factors
1.Long tail or emerging markets (Limited exposure from traditional media)
2.Commoditisation (Ease of comparison)3.Low barriers to entry4.Customer lock-in5.Market maturity (Ability to innovate)6.Lack of incumbents (Brand experience)
Product Factors
1.Product is sold in volume / Service is repeatable (Reviews are reliable)
2.Expense3.Upfront pricing4.Ongoing expenses5.Complementary products6.Information assymetry (Buyers know
more than sellers)
Hints For Small Business
Most Word Of Mouth Is Positive
80% of product ratings on the Bazaarvoice review site are 4 or 5 stars out of 5.
Source: “J Curve,” Bazaarvoice and Keller Fay
Small businesses usually don't have economies of scale, or well-established brands. Differentiated on service? Good word of mouth is a cheap way to grow.
Online reviews magnify word of mouth... 10x, 100x, even 1000x
How Do You Encourage Reviews?
Got a store? Add a point of sale reminder
Track how your customers find you:
Referrer logsCustomer surveys
Take Direct Action
• Contribute to an independent wiki page• Add customer testimonials and case
studies to your site• Track blog mentions and embed them as
an RSS feed• Start you own company blog
How Do Reviews Fit Into Existing Channels?
Channel Independent Expert Comes To You
Based On Customer Experience
Direct Advertising
Indirect Advertising
Professional Reviews
Amateur Reviews
Crowdsourcing Is Powerful
Reviews from fellow consumers have greater influence than those by professionals.
Source: comScore/The Kelsey Group, October 2007
What Makes A Good Customer Reference?
• Customers who are the most similar to you
• Case studies from impressive customers are not as valuable as case studies from happy, but typical customers
The internet lets your customers unionise against you
But they don't strike, they just go your competitors.
Future Of Review Sites?
• Hybrid of professional reviews and moderation atop amateur content?
• May not be entirely advertising supported. Can use referral fees or negotiate pooled funding from businesses
• Niche review sites run by enthusiasts will always have a place
Existing media voices and brands may extend their websites to provide online reviews of their own products, eg David
Jones, Vogue or Microsoft
Example Australian Review Sites
Review Space Site
General Reviews Yabble
Restaurants Eatability
Teachers Rate My Teacher
ISPs Whirlpool
Web Hosting Hosting Jury
Wikis Wiki Matrix
Employers Revyr
Discussion Time
Presented in Sydney, AU on 15 Nov 08 by David SoulOriginally posted on david-soul.com