FirstpublishedinSeptember2009|Think'transparency'isanestablished,maturingthemeYouain’tseennothingyet.Sure,we’vebeenharpingonforeveraboutthemanywaysconsumerscanresearch,compareandreviewtheirwaytoamorepowerfulposition,buteverymonthbringsussmartnewexamplesofconsumersandbrandsintentonmakingopinions,qualitystandardsandpricesevenmoretransparent.
So,it'stimeforafreshlookatthelatestandgreatestinthetransparencyarena*,wheresavvyconsumers(aswellason-trendbrands)canscoretriumphaftertriumph.We’lllookathowreviewsaresetforevenmorespectaculargrowth,howpricecomparisonisgettingmuchmoresophisticated,andhowtheinner-workingsofcompanieswillbeexposedinpragmaticnewways.Wethenendthisbriefingwithacountertrend,OPENLYOPAQUE,thatraisesthebarevenhigher.
*PleasenotethatthisTrendBriefinglimitsitselftoconsumers’desireforfindingthebest,thecheapestand/orthemostethical,asopposedtoenjoyingtransparencyofallinformationandknowledge,fromgovernment(in)actiontotheboominpersonalprofiles.Somehow,wethinkyouwillfindthebelowlengthyenoughasitis;-)
Thefortressofone-waycommunicationsfromanon-trustedsource(akaadvertising)iscrumbling!
"Recommendationsbypersonalacquaintancesandopinionspostedbyconsumersonlinearethemosttrustedformsofadvertisingglobally.TheNielsensurveyshowsthat90%ofonlineconsumersworldwidetrustrecommendationsfrompeopletheyknow,while70%trustconsumeropinionspostedonline."
Therearemanymoreresearchstudies,findings,dissertations,andsoonthatconfirmthesamefact:reviewingisthenewadvertising.Thisshouldn’tcomeasasurprise:justaswithothertrends,what’sunfoldingnowisa‘foreverneed’amongconsumers,onethat'snowbeingsatisfiedinasuperiorandpreviouslyunattainablefashion.Inthiscase,theneedisfortrustedadviceandrecommendations—forfeelingincontrol,forknowingthefacts,foravoidingmistakesanddisappointments—inordertomakethatperfectpurchase.Whichhasbecomeevenmorepressingaschoice-overloadcontinues:neverbeforewastheresomuchtochoosefrom,inmatureconsumersocieties,andthussuchaneedforreviews.It'saneedthatismetonlinebyhavingaccesstomillionsofotherconsumersandtheirexperiencesandopinions,fromgiantreviewportalstoreal-timechannelssuchasTwitter.Inshort,businesseshavetounderstandandacceptthatconsumers’decisionmakingprocesses,whichultimatelycomedowntowhethertheywillbuyfromyouorfromsomeoneelse,havetrulyshiftedtoanew,powerfulpeer-to-peerarena.
Soifthat’sthecurrentplayingfield,let’slookatthelatestdevelopmentsintheboomingworldofreviews:
1.6billiononline…andnowgetreadyforthenextbillion,courtesyofthemobileweb
Whilehundredsofmillionsofconsumerreviewsarealreadyzippingaroundcyberspace,prepareforadelugeoftrulybiblicalproportions.Andadelugeofreviewinnovations,too.Somenumbers:
GoogleRichSnippetsandNetflix:aggregationandsyndicationgalore.
Thereviewingmasseswillincreasinglybeenticedtoreview(andshare):
Meanwhile,bigplayersinthereviewarenaareaggregating,whitelabelingandsyndicatinglikecrazy,causingexistingreviewstopop-upinmultipleplaces.Asnapshot:
ImagescourtesyofTechCrunchandMashable.
Yes,that’sonegrosspic,buthey,anythingtogetyourattention!
Importantside-effectoftheaboveisthatthedelugeinpostingswillalsounmask,outnumberandthusneutralizefakereviewspostedbymaliciousconsumersordesperatebrands.Whichwillleadtoanevengreatertrustofrecommendationsandreviews.Inthenearfuture,considerthediscussiononwhethertotrustreviewstobeover.
Scaleisonething.Scopeisanother.NoB2Csectorisimmunetothereviewvirus.Expecteveryindustry,everysector,everyproducttoeventuallysuccumbtoreviews,Tripadvisorstyle.Examples:
Note:afunentrepreneurialopportunityistostartareviewportal(reviewcircus.com)thatletsconsumersquicklyfindtherightnichereviewsitefortheirquery.JustapagelistingthevariousB2Ccategories,andlinkstorelatednichereviewsites.Shouldtakeyoulessthanaweektogetlive,andcouldbeagreatadvertisingcashcow;-)
Thesedays,hotelroomreviewsarepostedfromtheroom,notuponreturnhome.
Delugeandconnectivitywillleadtoreal-timereviewingofproductsandservices:
BTW,we'replanningtodoaTrendBriefingonMAPMANIAinthenearfuture,incorporatingthelatestinaugmentedreality,sopleasedostaytuned.
Doyouknowjustwhoserecommendationsandratingsyou’reblindlylappingup
Forthoseofyouwhohavealreadyworkedoutandexecutedareviewstrategy:pleasefocusonmakingreviewsrelevantforyourvisitorsandcustomersbyprovidingprofiles,backgrounds,context.Anicewinfor2010Someexamplesofwhat’s(slowly)buildinginthisfield:
Expectahostofnewventurestospringupandmonetizecollaborativefilteringandprofilematchinginthenext12months,mostlikelybypartneringwiththeTwitters,FacebooksandLinkedInsofthisworld,whoarealreadyprofile-driven.Oneforyou
Donotletbadreviewsgounanswered!
Surprisingly,sofartheReview(R)Evolutionhasbeenprettymuchone-way.Quiteafewbrandsstillseemtobelievethatthey’vebeengrantedaneternal‘graceperiod’whenitcomestodealingwithalloftheabove.Whilebrandsarenolongerunawareofreviews,they(toalargedegree)stillchoosetolisten,nottalkback,tryingto‘learn’fromthefor-all-to-seeReview(R)Evolution.Whichissurprising,tosaytheleast,sinceaquickandhonestreplyorsolutioncandefuseeventhemostdamagingcomplaint.
Infact,there’snostandingonthesidelinewhenitcomestoTRANSPARENCYTRIUMPH,andtheleastanybrandshouldwantordemandistherightofreply:togettheirsideofthestoryinfrontofthemassaudiencesthatnowscanreviews.Expectsmartcompaniestoincreasinglyposttheirapologiesandsolutions,preferablydirectlyalongsidereviewsfromunhappycustomers.Andyes,thatshouldincludetheoccasionalcandidrebuttalbyacompanythatfeels(andcanprove)thataparticularreviewisunfairorinaccurate.
ToseethefutureforRightofReply,checkout:
Replyingtoangrymobsisthesecondbestsolution.
Maywehumblyremindyouthatbadreviewsarenottheproblem,butasymptomNotlisteningto(dissatisfied)customersisoftenattherootoftheproblem.Consumersdon’tposttheirbadexperiencesstraightaway.Mostwillnotifyyouoroneofyourcolleaguesfirst.It’smismanagementofcomplaintsandconflictsthatinvokespostings.Whetherit’ssomeoneatyourhelpdesk,someoneinyourstores,oranaccountmanager;there’svirtuallyalwaysanopportunitytosettleanissuebeforeitgoespublic.Andifyoureallyscrewup,beatcustomerstothepunchbybeingthefirsttoreportfailures.Letcustomersknowhowyoufixproblems.Eventually,thiswillfreeupresourcesandenergytoactivelyfocusonenablinghappycustomerstopostpositivereviews.Nowthat'sTRANSPARENCYTRIUMPH;-)
Howlowcan/shouldyougo
WhatelsecanwesayaboutonlinepricecomparisonthanthatfullpricetransparencyseemsnearShowusoneconsumerwhodoesnotspendhourshuntingdownthelowestfareforherSydney-Perthtrip,thebestpriceforthatPhilipstelevision,thecheapestcopyofMurakami’slatestnovelNeedlesstosaythatthedirestateoftheeconomyismakingconsumersflocktopricecomparisonsitesingreaternumbersthaneverbefore.
First,likewithreviews,whenthere’smass,there’sgoingtobeniche.Expectplentyofdedicated,one-categoryonlypricecomparisonsitestouptheante.Funexamples:
Point&know
CouldtheiPhone(andAndroid,andothers)meanthefinalbreakthroughforon-the-spotpricecomparisoninthe‘real’worldWhilemobilepricecomparisonhasforeverbeenthepromisedkillerappinaretailworldthatisstilldominatedbyphysicalstores,ittookaniPhone(read:amobiledevicethatfinallymakesitpossibletosurfthewebonthego,withoutaclunkyinterfaceordial-upspeedsthatbringbackmemoriesof1995)tounleashthispromise.
Inshort,expectconsumerstostarttreatingreal-worldstoresasshowroomsandtry-outcenters,whilefindingthelowestonlinepriceviatheirweb-enabledcellphones.Onlyhard-to-findanduniqueobjectsofdesireandimpulsebuysmayescapethe"feelit-seeit-tryitoffline-thenbuyitcheaperonline"routine.Whichinreturnmeansmoredirectsellersfeelingcompelledtomatchthelowestpricesfoundonpricecomparisonsites.Foryourownbrand,you'llhavetofigureoutifthat’sgoingtobearacetothebottom,oraclearsignalyouneedtostartdeliveringproductsandexperiencesthatarehardtoprice,ifnotpriceless…Inthemeantime,keepaneyeon:
Thelowest(fuel)pricefindingyou
Combinedevicesthatknowwhereyouareandwhatyoumightbelookingforwithanalertfunctionality,andyouwillendupwiththebestpricefindingyou.