Tag Archives: customer expectations

Do Shoppers Really Believe Customer Reviews?

26 Sep

As marketers, we have become increasingly knowledgeable about the power of online customer reviewers. And we recognize that many shoppers place more weight on these reviews than on company-sponsored communications.

Let’s look at some research by Trustpilot, a customer review consultant to business.  According to eMarketer:

“In early 2016, Trustpilot surveyed 1,132 Internet users ages 18 and older. In all, 80.7% said reviews were somewhat or very important to their purchase decisions. Few users said reviews did not influence their decisions when deciding on a product to buy. Just 4.7% said reviews were somewhat or very unimportant.  When it comes to when users are most likely to read reviews, roughly half said it’s while they’re on a site, before adding the item to their cart. Nearly a quarter said they were more likely to read reviews earlier in the process: while on a company’s Web site, but prior to actively shopping. Another 18.5% read reviews primarily before visiting a company’s Web site at all.”

Stage of the Buying Process During Which US Internet Users Are Most Likely to Read Reviews, Feb 2016 (% of respondents)
 
Retail Touchpoints wrote this about Trustpilot’s research:

“While the majority of consumers believe online reviews help them along their shopping journey (88%), only a fraction of these customers (18%) actually trust that all the information contained within the reviews is valid, according to Trustpilot. This significant gap reveals that it is critical for businesses to not only incorporate online reviews into the shopping experience, but to deploy them in a way that will build trust and transparency with the consumer. To close the gap between those seeking out trustworthy online reviews and those who believe the reviews are fully authentic, Trustpilot recommends that retailers gain a greater understanding of how shoppers read, write. and believe in online reviews. Half of consumers feel the overall rating of a review or a high-level, easy-to-understand aggregation of a company’s feedback to it are the most important factors when it comes to reading online reviews. Additionally, 20% cited how recently the reviews were posted as the most important factor, while another 20% said the number of reviews posted for a product is more relevant.”

“The report identified several best practices to help businesses create more trustworthy customer feedback strategies, including: ensuring online reviews are easy to find and showcasing them to customers during every step of the shopping experience; giving customers a forum for reviews and inviting them to leave their opinion; responding to negative feedback in real time; asking the customer to update their reviews once the situation is resolved; and analyzing sentiment to continually improve business and products.”

 

Here is further information and advice directly from Trustpilot: an infographic and a YouTube video.

 

 

 

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GoSpaces, a Free Web Site Builder and E-Commerce Platform

23 Sep

Go Spaces (also known as Spaces) is a rather new Web site designer and host. It has a free design package that “Brings your business online. Get access to 15 free business tools. Branded Space. 3% per transaction + gateway  fees.” It also offers a premium package for $4 per month: “Take your business to the next level. Get access to 15 free business tools.Unbranded Space. 2.5% per transaction + gateway fees. Free custom domain name with annual subscription.”

According to Paul Chaney, writing for Small Business Trends, here’s what’s distinctive about GoSpaces:

“GoSpaces is expanding into 38 countries and 20 languages, making it accessible to more than one-third of the world’s population (2.7 billion people) in their native tongue. The platform will be tailored to each country’s needs regarding use of language and will include local payment gateways, full translations on the backend, and soon to come, auto-currency settings that will help international customers see how much products cost in their local currency.”

“Supported languages include Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Turkish, Italian, Thai, Polish, Dutch, Czech, Swedish, Bulgarian, Danish, Finnish and Norwegian, its blog post says. GoSpaces touts the expansion as advantageous based on the fact that most E-commerce platforms are only available in English, even though English speakers make up just five percent of the world’s population.”

“Kasper Christensen, GoSpace’s co-founder, says the platform’s flexibility in language and payment options opens it up to audiences across the globe. He expressed his excitement in this quote. ‘Already we’ve seen creative uses that we never imagined, like tour guides advertising their services, restaurants posting their menus, and bands using it to sell concert tickets. “Now that we’re in 38 countries, I imagine we’ll see even more variety in the Spaces being created by our community.”

 

Click the image to view the firm’s blog.

 

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Americans Don’t Trust Mass Media

20 Sep

Yes, the mass media have been criticized in many quarters for their coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign. But the issue of trust goes far beyond political coverage. It deals more directly with the competition from nontraditional media that has led to (1) more “got you” stories, (2) the quest to be first with a story even if not certain about the facts, (3) the focus on headlines more than content, and much more.

According to a new survey by Gallup:

In 2016, “Americans’ trust and confidence in the mass media ‘to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly’ has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This is down eight percentage points from last year.”

Gallup began asking about media trust in 1972, and on a yearly basis since 1997. Over the history of the entire trend, Americans’ trust and confidence hit its highest point in 1976, at 72%, in the wake of widely lauded examples of investigative journalism regarding Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. After staying in the low to mid-50s through the late 1990s and into the early years of the new century, Americans’ trust in the media has fallen slowly and steadily. It has consistently been below a majority level since 2007.”

 
Click the chart to read more.

 

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Social Media Checklists: Part 2

14 Sep

In this second of two posts on social media checklists [click here to access the first post], the focus is on social media platforms. This comprehensive checklist from Whole Brain Group starts with general tips about using social media. It then gives specific tips relating to several social media platforms.

NOTE: Click on the image for a large version of the checklist.

 

2016 Sensible Social Media Checklist for Businesses
 

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Social Media Checklists: Part 1

13 Sep

In this first of two posts on social media checklists, the focus is on the activities necessary to best use social media. This comprehensive checklist from Sprout Social is divided by time frame — from daily to quarterly.

NOTE: Click on the image to learn more about each activity shown in the checklist.

 


 

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A Fun Infographic on Scheduling Daily Activities

7 Sep

How do we spend our time during the day? Do we plan these activities in advance? Are we obsessive about sticking to a schedule? Do we succeed in completing our activities every day?

Consider these observations from Jennifer Gueringer, writing for the NetCredit blog:

“From breakfast to bedtime, we are creatures of habit. For those of us with a more settled lifestyle, our schedules remain consistent from day to day for weeks on end. Chances are, though, your routine has taken shape without much forethought — or at least without the kind of scientific insight that can help to maximize energy levels, productivity, and happiness. If this is the case, it could be time to rewrite that schedule with more attention to how the time of day affects your body, your colleagues’ moods, and even the outlook for your dog.”

“If you like to ease yourself into the day, your new regime may take a bit of work. Exercising before breakfast has been shown to help with weight loss — and that doesn’t mean you can shove breakfast back to 11 A.M.! No, breakfast is a dish best served within an hour of waking if you want to kick-start your metabolism. If that’s all a bit of a shock to the system, you may want to check in on Twitter before you leave for work. Studies have shown that’s when the happiest tweets hit the press — a perfect post-workout pick-me-up.

 
Take a look at NetCredit’s infographic on “The Peak Time of Day for Everything You Do.” [It’s a little — ok, a lot — rigorous for me. 🙂 ]

Courtesy of: NetCredit

 

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How Big Is Back to School This Year? Big!

6 Sep

For many manufacturers and retailers, back-to-school revenues represent a significant component of their annual revenues. In the United States alone, the National Federation estimates that total 2016 back-to-school revenues will exceed $27 billion.

Take a look at this infographic from Statista to learn more.
 
Infographic: Back to School By The Numbers | Statista
 

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