Doing the waggle dance – how Bazaarvoice break down the need for we marketers to 'pollenate'

Today’s consumer is presented with more retailers, products, options, advertising, promotions and ways to buy than ever before. So now they are finding products the way a honey bee finds nectar. It’s called the honey bee waggle dance. First the ‘scout bees’ go out to find sources of nectar. Each comes back and it communicates the strength of the nectar source by the strength of its waggle dance, literally shaking its body more vigorously if it found the mother load of nectar. The strength of that waggle dance determines how many bees will follow it to the source.
 Word of mouth has always been the leading form of marketing. But now, with the growth of web accessibility, web commerce, and tools to share opinions, word-of-mouth is critical for customers and marketers alike. If a brand surveys customers after an online purchase and asks how they found the site or why they chose a product, it’s likely the majority will reference something like ‘advice from a friend’

On the web, word-of-mouth takes the form of user-generated content or customer-created content (choose your term). Essentially, a small percentage of online consumers are giving waggle dances for the rest of us in the form of online product reviews. Shoppers desperate to find authentic, credible and relevant sources of product advice follow these dances to make their purchase. Analyst firm Forrester found that 77% of online shoppers in the US seek out ratings and reviews before making a purchase. 97% of consumers said they trusted recommendations from peers. In addition, a study by Edelman Public Relations (US-based) found that ‘trust in someone like me’ has tripled in three years, from 20% to 68%. Why are people turning to the advice of strangers?
 Figleaves (www.figleaves.co.uk), an online retailer of lingerie, recently launched ratings and reviews on their site. Online Merchandising Director, Catherine Hewison, explained why: “Shoppers will be able to make the best choice about what is right for them, and we’ll be able to apply this wisdom towards our own marketing and merchandising efforts in both our US and UK markets.”

Early Learning Centre, a multi-channel store for children’s products, will soon launch ratings and reviews using the Bazaarvoice platform.

“Due to the increase in social networking and the focus on user-generated content, it’s become increasingly important to effectively engage with our customers and give them a way of contributing towards the site. Adding a ratings and review function is an ideal way of enabling this,” said Matthew Legge, e-Commerce Manager at Early Learning Centre. “Peer reviews are so much more effective than the brand reviewing its own products – Mums value and trust what other Mums think.”

Connecting customers to each other to drive results is the foundation for social commerce. Bazaarvoice has worked with many brands to drive immediate results but, over time, they see a social commerce strategy leading their company towards a more customer-centric culture.

The steps to this ‘social commerce evolution’, and the resulting benefits, look something like this:

Get to know your influencers: According to the book, The Influentials, approximately 10-15% of a brand’s customers are ‘influencers’; meaning they have a psychographic profile to share their opinion with others. The profile of an online reviewer spans across multiple demographic segments, but in the main they are the most loyal and frequent purchasers. According to a study by management consulting firm McKinsey, users who post reviews revisit the site nine times more than users who don’t participate, and are twice as loyal. With a ratings and reviews system integrated with a site’s 'My Account' login, brands can invite and identify their most valuable customers to share their voice; further cementing the relationship between brand and consumer. From there, companies can launch new relationship campaigns such as discounts or early bird notifications.

Accelerate customer purchase decisions: Once authentic reviews from a brand’s most influential customers are visible online, shoppers then have the credible and relevant content they need to make a purchase. With ratings and reviews next to a product, customers get what they need to accelerate a purchase decision. Bazaarvoice clients have seen anywhere from 16% to double conversion rate on products and categories that have reviews. With ‘top rated’ product merchandising, navigation and sorting, brands can create a new purchase path delivering up to 60% higher conversion than other purchase paths.

Attract user-content-seeking customers: One of the key benefits of product reviews is that they attract new customers through natural search optimisation. Search engines, and the shoppers who use them, feed on this authentic content, and an increasing percentage of shoppers are searching for phrases and keywords that match review text. Bazaarvoice has analysed web analytics for several clients and found that more detailed searches, such as 'Puma shoe reviews', are growing faster than generic searches such as 'football shoes'. Brands can also use ‘top rated products’ merchandising in emails, RSS feeds, and other online marketing to improve the impact of these vehicles. Golfsmith, a US Bazaarvoice client, saw 46% higher revenue per email featuring top rated products.

Market and advertise with customer voice: Now that you have the voice of your customer as a digital marketing asset, it’s time to take it offline. Brands can also feature top rated products and quotes from customers in catalogues and advertising to boost their impact.



Improve products and assortment: I once attended an online retailer industry conference where the Director of eCommerce for Gap suggested he saw their job to be a ‘trusted editor of fashion’. The best retailers are the trusted editors of products for their customers. What they choose to put in catalogues, online and in stores is a key part of their brand and shopping experience. Product ratings and reviews help retailers choose the right products to buy, promote and merchandise. Moreover, brands can help suppliers improve products they carry.

Power your partnerships: Many online marketers short change the impact and opportunity for reviews, limiting their usefulness to the product page. However, they can use the rich data from product ratings to improve their site search and web site navigation (top rated products), integrate with a web analytics platform, improve personalisation and cross-sell algorithms and integrate into email for automated campaigns. One Bazaarvoice client saw a 49% higher conversion and 60% higher average order value when featuring the 'top rated products' navigation filter to each category, through an integration with their search partner.

Develop a customer-centric culture: The final step of evolution in a user-generated marketing strategy is a change of the culture. Ultimately, brands need to integrate the voice of their customer into their day to day activities, so that employees pay closer attention to what customers are saying about products. As the results from user-generated marketing become clear, they will start to look at the reports and leverage the data in many of the ways described above. Once that happens, a higher level of customer-centricity will be achieved than could ever be reached with research reports and focus groups.

Over the past few years, several factors have conspired against marketers to remove them from the driver’s seat. Customers have more control, more choices, more information and more access to opinions of others. At Bazaarvoice we have a Latin motto for the new marketing strategy of today and tomorrow: Aquiro, Sermo, Dilato. Translation: acquire the conversation and amplify it. With the right tools and strategy, brands can enable their ‘scout bee’ customers to do their waggle dance on their web sites, for the rest of their shoppers.

Giving good word of mouth
Digging up some notes from a session at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association conference in the US a few months ago… George Silverman, author of The Secrets of Word of Mouth Marketing, had these things to say:

• 90% of marketing spent on brand choice. Should be on decision acceleration.
• Get strategic about word of mouth. Don't get lost in tactics. Don't let the sideshows run the circus.

Buzz is noise. So what if you don't break through the clutter, you need a message. Does the WOM break through the blocks?

How to spot the integration bluffers

• Everything looks the same – regardless of role and media
• No clear role, outcome and measure for each tactic
• Can’t tell you a story as to how the consumer is going to experience the brand over time
• No talk of 'test and refine'
• Has not had the 'if we fail, we want to fail fast' talk with you
• Each bit stands alone – can work exclusively – without other bits being tailored to the programme
• Do lots of things – but can’t articulate how they all help...

DO WE KNOW WHAT INTEGRATION REALLY MEANS?
Integrated marketing is rapidly becoming as much of a buzz in the business-to-business world as it is in consumer communications. However, it seems that the same buzz is bringing with it the age-old problem – a misinterpretation of what integration really means.

What integration isn’t about is slapping the same creative on a brochure, a piece of direct mail and a print ad. It is about devising a strong central theme and deftly weaving it through the most appropriate channels.

One of the most important channels is the media. For too long PR has been seen as the black sheep of the marketing mix – wheeled in at the last minute and expected to bring someone else’s idea to life. True integration can only be achieved by changing this dynamic and bringing your PR team right in at the start of the campaign development process.

It is only through doing this that they can advise on strategic and creative direction which will allow an idea to have the greatest PR potential. It’s time for PR to sit at the same table as the rest of the mix so that all disciplines are fully involved in every aspect of the campaign’s key objectives and target positioning.

In essence, PR shouldn't be seen as an accompaniment to a great campaign, it should be seen as a key cog in the marketing machinery. The most effective campaigns are based on understanding the mix of disciplines and media needed to make a great idea deliver on a brief's objectives. That simply can't happen if one of the disciplines isn't invited to the table.

Reaching potential clients through an effective B2B marketing campaign can only be achieved through a comprehensive, consistent and full-circle campaign that incorporates each channel in the right way and at the right time. It will only be accomplished through an approach that treats PR as a key ingredient, not as the icing on the cake. Companies that stick to the ‘advertising-first’ rule are likely to see themselves coming in last when it comes to beating competition.