Customer Reviews
Using Customer Review Keywords to Pick Up Women, Men
Have you ever noticed that if you really want good information about a product, you’re much more likely to find that information in a product review than in the product description itself?
Why aren’t product descriptions more helpful?
Here’s one thought: Men and women may care about different things. Product descriptions may not be speaking to both genders’ needs. In product reviews, men talk about what they care about, and women talk about what they care about. This may be one reason why reviews help increase conversion.
Here’s a real life example. I searched for reviews for gas grills. Although the reviewer’s gender isn’t always obvious, I picked two that had a good chance of being either male or female.
First, an excerpt from a gas grill review by “dickiedo” — I’m guessing that’s a man:
Pros: It is sturdy, attractive and cooks good.
Cons: I wish the control knobs were on the front of the grill.I bought this grill at Home Depot in the morning and that afternoon I grilled the best steaks I have ever cooked using the cooking instructions provided by Weber. The next day I grilled some great tasting hamburgers. Before cooking the burgers I heated the grill and easily brushed off the residue from the steaks leaving the cooking surface clean. I really liked cooking on my Weber charcoal grills, but I am now a firm Weber gas grill fan.
Now, an excerpt from a gas grill review by “juliet166″ — I’m guessing that’s a woman:
Pros: weber quality, even cooking, portability, easy cleanup
Cons: 14oz. propane canisters, lack of warming tray, no side traysI became a weber convert several years ago after purchasing a genesis silver c, and experiencing the exceptional cooking found in weber grills. Due to a divorce and move to a small apt without a deck, I was desperate for a grill that I could easily transport outdoors to use, but would not take up a lot of space inside my apt. Because of the dome shaped lid, it easily fits a small roast, or vertical rib stand. Clean up is easy just by letting the grill run a few minutes and then brushing with a wire brush.
I have not had any issues with the automatic ignition. I have been using my grill for 3 months now, and it always starts on the first or second push.
Here’s what’s interesting about these two reviews: They’re an example of the gender preferences Joseph Carrabis of NextStage Evolution talks about on the iMedia Connection blog, where he insists that women purchase strategically while men purchase immediately:
Men make purchasing decisions based strongly on immediate or present needs.
Women want to know that today’s purchase will meet their immediate needs, mid-term and even their needs long-term needs. Long-term and far-term usability can even be a stronger consideration for the female purchasing persona than immediate need
Notice that in Dickiedo’s testimonial, he’s talking about purchasing the grill that morning and grilling that afternoon — great job of speaking to a guy’s immediate and present need.
In Juliet’s review, she’s commenting that even after 3 months, the grill still starts on the first or second push, meeting a longer-term durability need.
Carrabis discusses another gender difference:
Men are willing to make a purchase once it has been demonstrated that someone else was successful with the same purchase; kind of a, “that worked for Joe, so it’ll probably work for me” mentality.
Women posit things differently. It’s good to know if something worked for Sally; it’s better to know what Sally’s motivations were for her purchase. Success in itself isn’t meaningful unless the conditions leading to success are the same. (So much for women not being cut out for the sciences!) This can be thought of as, “it may have worked for Sally, but Sally bought it for reason A and I’m interested in reason B, so the same purchase might not work for me.”
Juliet shares her background motivation for purchasing the grill. She’s recently divorced and moved to a small apartment without a deck. She wanted something she could transport outdoors but wouldn’t take up a lot of room. Now a woman can compare her motivation to Juliet’s to see if it’s a good match for her situation, for her motivation.
How can manufacturers and e-commerce sites use this information to create better product descriptions that sell more products?
- Talk about both immediate and long-term value. “Take it home this afternoon, grill steaks tonight”; “Our grills start at just the touch of a button now, and for months/years to come.”
- Talk about different motivations for buying the product and successful uses of it. “With our even heating system, grillers of all skills can cook the perfect steak every time”; “If you live in an apartment but still want the that backyard grill experience, this is the grill for you. It’s small and portable, but with a domed lid, so it’s big enough to cook family meals like a small roast or vertical rib stand.”
One more hint. While both Dickiedo and Juliet mentioned “easy cleaning”, Juliet got very specific with what that means (”Let the grill run for a few minutes and brush with a wire brush”). This may also tie-in with women’s need for longer-term value. I know a woman who’s sworn off a famous cookware brand because their products are very sensitive and hard to clean. Remember, she’s not just thinking about cooking dinner tonight, she’s picturing how she’ll use the product for months, even years to come. Make sure you’re talking about what it’s like to use and maintain the product in the future as well as the present.
By using keywords that address the underlying motivations of both men and women, your product descriptions are sure to pick them up before the competition.
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About the Author: Holly Buchanan is co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys. If you’d like to become a customer pickup artist like Holly, join her on June 2nd for FutureNow’s Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar in Manhattan.
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
Over 11 Billion Customer Reviews, and Counting…
How many consumer-generated reviews are out there today? We’re not sure, but it’s staggering to think that one firm has already enabled over 11 billion (with a “B”) customer reviews — and counting!
Bazaarvoice* recently started tracking their networks total “reviews served” and placed a counter on their homepage. If you’ve ever wanted to know how quickly the market’s demand for social commerce reviews is growing, this pretty much says it all.
Just yesterday, their CEO and founder, Brett Hurt, emailed to let me know that they had passed the 10-billionth-review milestone. And amazingly, since I grabbed the image you see here from their homepage about 30 minutes ago, Bazaarvoice has syndicated another five million reviews.
Is there still any doubt that customers want product reviews?
If you want to learn how to harness the word of mouth (that’s already out there) to boost sales and conversion on your e-commerce or brand website, I hope you’ll join me at the Bazaarvoice Social Commerce Summit, May 28-30 in Austin, Texas.
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*Disclosure: Bryan Eisenberg is an advisor to Bazaarvoice.
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Bazaarvoice Social Commerce Summit, Austin
Who: Bryan Eisenberg (FutureNow), Josh Bernoff (Forrester Research), Kelley Mooney (Resource Interactive), Ze Frank (vlogger extraordinaire), Andy Sernovitz (Word of Mouth Marketing Association), Ed Keller (Keller Fay Group), Pinny Gniwisch (Ice.com) and more!
What: From the event website:
Today there’s no denying that power has shifted to the consumer. You’ve heard this message amplified through books, blogs, articles, and events. “User-generated content,” “word of mouth,” “Web 2.0,” and “social networking.” Ok, you get it. However, many exciting marketing tactics classified under these terms don’t always show measurable impact to the P&L. So we decided to pull together a group of 200 retailing and manufacturing executives — authors, researchers, designers and other thought leaders – to separate hype from ROI, once and for all. This is the “get down to brass tacks” learning event. We’re getting together to share how to turn customer conversations into measurable results. We’re getting together to help build your social commerce strategy.
Where: InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel | Austin, TX
When: May 28, 2008 – May 30, 2008
Why: Because the list of guest speakers proves that the people at Bazaarvoice have some very smart friends, and you refuse to let them keep all of that insight to themselves. You’re sick of hearing people say “2.0″-this and “social”-that without any regard for what it will actually do for your business. Besides, it’s in Austin. Who wouldn’t want to go to Austin?
How much? $695 is a bargain for this five-star event. Visit SocialCommerceSummit.com for details.
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70% of Online Shoppers Read Multiple Product Reviews
An e-tailing group study commissioned by PowerReviews has further revealed the necessity for customer-generated product reviews on e-commerce sites.
It seems the majority of online shoppers want to hear what people like them have to say about the product they’re researching. Almost 70% of customers looked at more than 4 reviews before making a purchase.
The study also gives a sense of how long visitors spend reading reviews before their purchase (50% spend over 10 minutes) and found that most people read reviews once they’ve narrowed down their search to 2 or 3 products.
Just having reviews isn’t going to cut it, though. E-tailers must give the would-be customer something more if they want them to come back to their sites — not just to research, but to buy. If more than 50% of customers spend over ten minutes looking at reviews, that shows they’re looking for more than just an overall “star rating.” For instance, one way of boosting your reviews’ credibility is having a “pros and a cons” field for visitors to fill out. This will show visitors that you welcome criticism and are confident in your products, while making the reviews that much more valuable to other visitors.
Here are some tips and a screencast from Bryan to help plan and optimize your review system.
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Written by:Daniel McGuigan
Online Retailers Fail Customer Experience 101
My Company (Future Now) just released its “2007 Retail Customer Experience Survey,” revealing both good and bad news.
Bad news first. In aggregate, online retailers fall far short of offering good or even adequate customer experiences. A pathetic 4 out of 330 sites would get a passing grade in Customer Experience 101. It’s frightening to consider how much money is being left on the table and how many conversion opportunities are missed.
The good news? Companies show improvement over the last survey, though they’re falling short on many basics. These basics, however, can be relatively easily addressed and fixed. Companies committed to improving their customers’ online experiences can prioritize lower-cost and less-complex changes to improve their customer experience scores.
Improving Customer Experience Basics
While it’s easy to stare at the puddle of spilled milk and fight back the tears, there’s little profit in it. It’s a bit painful to get a less-than-stellar grade, but the smart marketer will look at missed opportunities and be sure not to miss them again. Provide an intense customer focus, and you’ll see more customers vote for you with their wallets.
Here are some actions retailers can take in the four key customer areas:
- In product presentations, provide:
- Better and more enticing product descriptions.
- Better-quality product images.
- Multiple images.
- Customer reviews.
- For fulfillment options, offer:
- Product availability.
- Easily visible return policies, shipping policies, and guarantees.
- Customer-friendly and easy-to-read and -understand return/exchange policies.
- Gift options.
- For checkout options, include:
- Multiple payment options (e.g., by check, PayPal, etc.).
- Estimated delivery times, and show in-stock availability for items.
- In-store pickup where physical stores exist.
- A progress indicator in the checkout process.
- Simpler or fewer steps or both in the checkout process.
- Third-party seals and security assurances.
- For customer service options, implement:
- Faster and more accurate replies to customer e-mail inquiries.
- Chat options.
- A visible phone number for questions and problems.
All these are significant factors that customers have come to expect online. Your customers notice little things that can make a huge difference. Companies that lavish attention on improving customer focus will reap more sales and will experience superior customer-retention rates in the long term.
You can continue reading on my column on ClickZ or read the full study on GrokDotCom.
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Can Wal-Mart Revolutionize CPG Once Again With Product Reviews?
Consumer Packaged Goods giant Wal-Mart (WMT) is once again changing the game when it comes to multi-channel e-commerce strategy. The big news this time is that they’re encouraging some 1.3 million employees to review products online. Although they’re clearly trying to beef up their own stockpile of online reviews (after adding the feature in July of this year), is it really any different than getting a recommendation from a salesperson in one of their stores? Or, for that matter, any different than having employees participate on a corporate blog?
Probably not, so long as the employees are told to be transparent about it, and not hype products in which they don’t believe. But what’s especially interesting about a multi-channel behemoth like Wal-Mart is that, given its size, this little feature might just change how CPG (consumer packaged goods) like toothpaste, razors and hair dye products are sold — and how they’re made.
What could Wal-Mart do with its online product reviews? How about placing rating or reviews from actual customers and employees next to actual products on actual shelves? After all, consumers find reviews extremely credible. Wouldn’t a scenario like that actually help drive sales?
(I know, I know… We’ve been blogging a lot about Wal-Mart lately. But there’s good reason for that. We are in the midst of witnessing the evolution from “always the low prices” to “always the voice of the customer.” They’re the world’s biggest living, breathing multi-channel case study.)
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Webinar: 5 Star Reviews: Optimizing Reviews to Maximize Conversion
In just 15 minutes, I’ll guide you through more than a dozen websites to show you the best ways to capitalize on featuring reviews on your website in order to maximize your conversion rate. Watch it now! (See the video player below to view.)
Featured sites include: Amazon, Best Buy, CircuitCity, Trip Advisor, eBags, Burpee, BackCountry, Dell, Wal-Mart, Petco, Radio Shack, SupermediaStore, emitations, GolfSmith, OverStock, and CoffeeForLess.
If you recently purchased something online, has a review influenced your purchase decision?
Reviews on e-commerce sites are becoming a critical feature over the past couple of years. Roy Williams wrote about why this word-of-mouth feature has become so influential (PDF) when it wasn’t as critical 3 or 4 years ago. New research further illustrates its value:
- 77% of online shoppers use reviews and ratings when purchasing (Jupiter Research, August 2006)
- Reviews drive 21% higher purchase satisfaction and 18% higher loyalty (Foresee Results Study, January 2007)
- In a study of 2,000 shoppers – 92% deemed customer reviews as “extremely” or “very” helpful. (eTailing Group)
- 59% of their users considered customer reviews to be more valuable than expert reviews. (Bizrate)
- 63% of consumers indicate they are more likely to purchase from a site if it has product ratings and reviews. (CompUSA & iPerceptions study)
- 86.9% of respondents said they would trust a friend’s recommendation over a review by a critic, while 83.8% said they would trust user reviews over a critic. (MarketSherpa)
- According to the survey, 92.5% of adults said they regularly or occasionally research products online before buying them in a store. (BIGresearch)
- 63% of all word of mouth is positive. Across all of Bazaarvoice clients, 80% of product ratings are 4 or 5 stars out of 5. (Keller Fay)
Whether you enable review functionality from your ecommerce platform, or from a 3rd party hosted solution like Power Reviews and Bazaarvoice, it’s important that you test and optimize for conversion and persuasion by focusing on the following areas:
- Placement for Visibility
- Above the fold
- Size
- Stars or other graphic
- Near point of attention or action
- Review Interaction
- Ease of reading
- Sorting
- Rating Distribution
- Use across the site
- Single Dimension versus Multi Dimension Reviews
- What are the key attributes across different categories
- Can review content influence purchase decision
- Credibility Factors
- Negative and Positive reviews
- Review Approval policy
- Reviewer Characteristics
- What does a review mean
- Number of Reviews
- What questions are you asking
- Qualitative versus quantitative
(If video doesn’t load, click here.)
P.S. Congratulations to Bazaarvoice on closing $8.8 Million in their Series B. Brett Hurt and his team continue to deliver wonderful results and service, and deserve the continued success. (Disclosure: I’m on Bazaarvoice’s advisory board.)
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Digital Camera Shops Miss the Big Picture
“What’s the #1 complaint about point-and-shoot digital cameras?”
That was Bryan Eisenberg’s morning riddle today. It’s a great question, and one I was sure to answer incorrectly — Bryan isn’t known to ask rhetorical questions without punchlines.
Now, before you read my response, close your eyes for a moment and think of three possible answers.
Seriously, stop cheating and humor me… 
Eyes back open? Good. It’s easier to read that way.
I guessed:
- Shoddy image stabilization — With all the hype over new image-steadying technology, I figured the camera marketers were on to something. Besides, how many commercials of parents taking pictures of kids on tire swings can I handle?
- Grainy low-light images — This one was a (fine, I’ll say it) shot in the dark, but it’s one of my biggest complaints about non-SLR [define] digital cameras.
- Poor red eye reduction — The human cornea reflects light differently than other mammals. Lucky us. But why, in 2007, must we endure blinding rapid-flash settings only to look like evil deer in headlights?
Just as I’d suspected, each of my guesses was wrong. It turns out that the biggest complaint among automatic digital camera owners is “shutter delay time” — not “shutter speed,” mind you; rather, the response time between clicking the button and the damn thing actually taking a picture.
Yes! Exactly! That’s my least favorite thing about point-and-shoot digitals, too! So, why didn’t I know that?
Am I backpedaling from my previous answers? Absolutely. Would your customers likely do the same thing? Absolutely. Why isn’t “shutter delay time” addressed by most retailers? Let’s stick with threes:
- Customers don’t have the vocabulary to describe their needs in the terms of manufacturer’s jargon.
- Manufacturers don’t want to admit how bad the shutter delay is on their cameras.
- Retailers aren’t doing their homework on how to help customers buy on their own terms, and in their own language.
After years of hearing “megapixel”-this and “stabilizer”-that, shopping for digital cameras becomes intimidating for people who just want to take good pictures of the people, places and things they love. Some do a good job overall, but miss the big picture when it comes to shutter delay. Others have pretty decent emotional copy, but it ends up sounding generic. And with each boring, overly-technical description, digital camera retailers are flushing money down the drain. Some don’t say anything; they just list technical specs.
Here’s what camera retailers should know if they’re to fix it:
- Surveys are flawed. Had Bryan explicitly asked if “shutter delay time” were the biggest problem with automatic digital cameras, I’d have said yes. Since I was left to my own, limited vocabulary on the subject, I gave three plausible-yet-unsatisfying answers. Such are surveys. Ask people what they really want and you’ll hear plenty about what they think they really want — which can be horribly misleading, if not altogether useless.
- Focus on motivations. What questions would your customers ask if they had the vocabulary? What are their underlying needs? How will they be using the camera? To address motivations, learn how to create real customer personas that transcend demographics and stereotypes.
- Search engines value relevant content. Original, engaging copy is worth whatever you paid for it, and then some. Don’t rely on the manufacturer to sell its products for you. Their perspective is biased, and they don’t know your audience like you do. Grokking customer motivations gives insights into missing persuasion barriers like “shutter delay time”; things the competition isn’t addressing. It’s also how you know you’re buying the right keywords.
For example…
I have no problem geeking out for a week, digging through review sites like CNet until I stumble across a review like this one where, halfway down the page, a graphic (not the video) introduces the concept of shutter delay. But I’m the exception. I’m the gadget-obsessed 18-35 year-old male who knows megapixels alone aren’t the measure of a camera’s worth — and I still guessed wrong about my own biggest concern about digital cameras. So much for demographics!
Meanwhile, other people may not do the research.
What if my step-mom were in the market? She’s owned her current digital camera for three years. It’s in great shape, but she’d buy a new one today if she knew it would take the shot fast enough to capture those rare moments when my 6 year-old nephew looks directly into the lens — that’s what matters to her, not techno-babble like this description of the Canon PowerShot SD800 on Amazon:
[The DIGIC III Image Processor] takes the performance and speed of DIGIC II to even higher levels of processing power including new face detection function, up to 1600 speed ISO, high-ISO noise reduction, lower power consumption, increased speed for SD media cards, and higher resolution image processing for enhanced LCD viewing.
Um… Parle vous Ingles? Any chance she’d know off-hand that ISO refers to light-sensitivity, or that “noise reduction” means it will reduce graininess of poorly lit images, or that “enhanced LCD viewing” means quickly viewing the pictures on the camera’s screen? What was “DIGIC II”? Why would she care?
Luckily for Amazon, customers have always done the selling for them. So, unless you’re Jeff Bezos, it’s good to invest in persuasive copy of your own.
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Free Webinar on the Power of Social Commerce
Elastic Path Software is presenting a has archived their free webinar today — from 9-10am PDT (12p EST, GMT -8) — on the power of customer reviews and social commerce.
. . . the panelists will address a comprehensive list of topics including:
- What is User Generated Content?
- Why does it matter?
- What about the downsides like negative reviews?
- Does it help Manufacturer-to-Consumer companies too?
- How much effort is involved?
- What kind of results can I expect?
- How can I maximize its effectiveness?
- What are my options?
This is a great opportunity for e-tailers seeking to improve the customer experience with reviews. Oh, and it’s their co-founder Jason’s birthday, so be sure to ask some tough questions during Q&A. 
UPDATE — If you missed the webinar, watch it here.
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Study: Customer Reviews Boost Conversion
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 helpful or very helpful “as consumers.”
“Tapping into social commerce can be a great way of gaining a competitive advantage, for example through ratings and reviews,” Linus Gregoriadis, E-consultancy’s head of research, said in a statement. “But apart from the early adopters, this is something a large proportion of online retailers are only just starting to think seriously about.”
Mr. Gregoriadis said one-third of online sellers were concerned about negative reviews — a major barrier to adoption of ratings and reviews — “but retailers are finding that they can improve conversion rates, drive sales and increase customer satisfaction even if customers aren’t necessarily singing their praises all the time.”
Of course, some are better at implementing customer reviews than others, but it’s clear that reviews are becoming an expected part of buying online. The Church of the Customer blog calls this trend “a no-brainer” and we couldn’t agree more.
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Written by:Robert Gorell
