More and more people, especially women, do online research before making a purchase. Whether it's a big ticket item like a car or a computer or a small item like a book or toy, for some reason, we care about what THEY think. Who is THEY? THEY are the anonymous people who comment on customer ratings and review sections of various brand or ecommerce websites. A new article in Practical Ecommerce, reinforces what we know, word of mouth is stronger than ever and especially when it comes to customer reviews.
Former Forrester Research exec and SV Moms/BlogHer blogger goddess, Charlene Li's new book Groundswell reinforces this point by noting that 76% of customers use online reviews before making a purchase. Smart companies are using customer reviews as a way to engage their customers and keep them coming back to read or review products themselves. Become a trusted destination, like Amazon, and you become a 'go to' location for pre-purchase research and potentially for the sale itself.
Let's face it. Customers today EXPECT to be able to rate or review products and interact in real time with companies via a brand's or its retailer's website or company blog. Some forward thinking companies like The Home Depot, Whole Foods and Zappo's are even taking advantage of using Twitter for customer support, to answer questions and to run promotions. Ann from HP, did some great scavenger hunt-type promotions at BlogHer'08 using Twitter.
If you're not offering customer interaction on your site, you're missing out and THEY may wonder, 'What are you afraid of?'
