NB: This is a guest article by by Anthony Rawlins, CEO of Digital Visitor, a social media and marketing agency for travel and tourism organisations globally.
Whatever product or service you’re selling; online customer reviews have real bottom-line benefit – increasing conversion, lowering return rates and boosting SEO efforts.
But while the positives are clear for businesses, what do customers get for taking the time to leave their feedback, why on earth are travellers seemingly so eager to leave reviews about businesses?
And by understanding these motives, how can you encourage them to keep doing so?
Altruism
It may sound surprising, but a large number of reviewers are motivated by the desire to help others.
They consider what information they themselves would want to see when making a buying decision, and post this so other shoppers can make an informed choice.
It makes them feel like a valued member of the online community, and is the same phenomenon that prompts people to post offers and competitions on online deal sites.
This trend helps everyone involved in the process – businesses gain from the content added, reviewers gain by feeling good, and other customers gain from honest and unbiased information.
What you can do:
- Start appealing to your customers’ altruistic side by asking for their help. Tell them that you value their feedback and that it’s important to both you and your other customers. And remember to say thank you!
Rewards
Brands today are asking more and more of their customers – asking them to like their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, sign up to their newsletter, tell their friends about them, post a review etc. etc. etc.
All these different requests have the ultimate same goal (to help drive sales), but they acknowledge the power of the individual in extending audience reach – using customers as part of an unofficial marketing team.
The result is that consumers are now becoming savvy to this, and with numerous brands seeking to make them a brand ambassador, they often expect – and require – some sort of reward for their efforts.
What you can do:
- Offering online reviewers an exclusive discount code, early access to a sale, freebie or entry into a competition can help encourage submissions, but also show your customers that you value their help and are willing to say thank you in a real and tangible way.
Influencing
Some reviewers are prompted by a desire to help brands improve their products. They might ask for a clothing retailer to make an item in a different colour, or for a transport supplier to add a new route.
In doing so, they not only provide companies with essential customer insight, but have an opportunity to help steer a brand’s product and service portfolio towards one that best meets their individual needs.
What you can do:
- Tell your customers that their feedback will be listened to and considered – and follow through on this promise, updating them on any changes you do make. If they feel they have a real chance to influence change, they are more likely to respond.
Complaint
When you add review functionality to your site, with it should come an understanding that not every review will be a glowing one. The good usually far outweighs the bad, but the odd unhappy camper will take to the keyboard to make public their dissatisfaction.
You may be nervous about negative reviews, but a site full of five-star reviews will ring alarm bells. Nobody expects everything you do to be absolutely, unwavering perfect – and the occasional bad review will show balance.
It’s also worth remembering that what one person rates poorly (e.g. a closely-fitting garment, or quiet hotel bar), another may see as a positive; and your customers are smart enough to spot unfair comments or posts from those with unrealistic expectations – and will often spring up in your defence.
What you can do:
- Have a clear process for customers to complain in place – be it a dedicated phone number, email or Twitter account, and encourage unhappy customers to use this. Offensive or inappropriate reviews (e.g. a tirade against store staff on a product review) can be deleted, but contacting the reviewer telling them why you have done so will help prevent further actions, and also open communication for you to resolve any issues.
Loyalty
In today’s competitive marketplace, brand loyalty can be hard-won and easily lost.
But brands that deliver consistently great products or services, or have a reputation for superior customer service, can build up a loyal legion of fans who want to shout about them – which includes leaving glowing reviews.
Talking about the brands we love, makes us feel closer to them and affiliates us to whatever they represent – be it the pioneering spirit of technology, the glamour of high fashion, or the freedom of travel.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a global giant or small start-up – if you’re doing a good job, you will start building a fan base. Foster these people and you will reap the rewards.
What you can do:
- Bring your reviewers closer to your brand by shouting about them. Hold a ‘reviewer of the month’ competition, where the winner is publicised on your website and social channels. Consider calling or emailing them personally saying how much you appreciate their efforts, or treat them with a gift voucher or discount code. More tips.
Fame
An especially heart-warming, vitriolic or comedic customer review has the opportunity to go viral. Part of the joy of social networking is the sharing of content that catches our eye.
From cat videos to customer service mistakes, we love to share the unusual and the amusing – and that includes off-the-wall reviews.
Amazon is famous for its bizarre reviews of cult items, as the product pages for David Hasslehoff’s musical efforts clearly show.
While these unusual reviews may not have you seeing pound signs, consider that their entertainment factor means they are more likely to be shared – and the more they are shared, the more extended your brand reach.
Also consider that with every view, traffic is being sent to your site – and while people are there, they may be tempted to look around.
What you can do?
- Encourage people to say whatever they want – explaining that you value honesty and opinion above all else, or think about a competition to find the most amusing or inventive review. Although a word of warning – make sure your review solution includes a moderation option and a swear-word filter.
NB: This is a guest article by by Anthony Rawlins, CEO of Digital Visitor, a social media and marketing agency for travel and tourism organisations globally.
NB2: Kicks ass and brain images via Shutterstock.
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About Special Nodes
When you put the words “travel” and “review” in the headline, any reader will automatically think “Trip Advisor” … and they have been VERY clear about their policy to “reward” for reviews. I am disappointed in Tnooz’s content on this.
@melanie – huh?
tell us more about this policy to reward reviewers which TA has been very clear about?
I thought exactly the same thing that Melanie did. TripAdvisor prohibits hotels from rewarding guests for reviews.
@teresa – i suspect DV would say, though suspect he’ll chime in later, there are other review sites.
well, apparently there are.
If you are someone (owner, manager, marketing person), who uses the site as part of your marketing plan, then you actually TALK to people that work there, take seminars, and review white papers on how to increase engagement, obtain the level of “excellence”, etc.
It’s pretty clear through these vehicles, that you cannot REWARD for REVIEWS and they reserve the right to take action if they find out.
I guess my most recent source of this information is from the HSMAI social media lunch seminar in Boston in February. It’s possible I actually found out about it during the Tnooz/Trip Advisor webinar last summer, but I don’t have the time to watch the whole thing again.
Hi Melanie,
sorry, I think you’ve got a mixed message from the post. I do not think that the OP is suggesting that you incentivise people to review their properties on TA or other web properties.
It appears to me that he is giving generic advice on the reasoning behind leaving a review. As he is also talking about the SEO benefits, he DOES NOT mean through TA, it is in including the UGC on your site (only).
Thanks
Martin
Hi Melanie
There are a number of suggestions and you have correctly pointed out that not all are viable for all channels. Whilst some readers may only consider Trip Advisor in the ‘Travel’ and ‘Reviews’ space, since their launch over 12 years ago, many companies and solutions are now available to capture reviews
Thanks to advancing technology, the most important movement in this space is the development of solutions to capture reviews on your own website. This way, you get the search benefit, you get social traffic (when shared effectively) you get the uplift in browsing time and you get the direct increase in sales rather than paying a commission elsewhere.
I recommend reviewing some of these solutions and as this is something particularly close to my heart why not visit our website http://www.digitalvisitor.com to be convinced about the power of capturing your own reviews.
Therefore, from this point of view, when asking returning customers to add experiences / reviews / photos and videos to your website – yes, I believe offering a small incentive will encourage greater upload, enhance loyalty for your brand and ultimately, serve your business better.
I love debating these topics so please do email me at Anthony@digitalvisitor.com for a through debate, or better, we could chat sometime?
Thanks,
Anthony
Hi Anthony,
My clients do use reviews on their site. Depending on the client, we apply different solutions, even going as far as using text from the guest review book (B&B’s are reluctant to eliminate them) on a testimonials page.
My point was merely to say it’s against TA policy, and on another platform the suggestion is a GREAT solution. For example, I think reward for review works well on Facebook. It’s a space people are more likely to share photos and need as much encouragement to post.
Excellent article. It clearly reinforces the theory put forward some time ago by one of the best thinkers in social media – Brian Solis – that it is not primarily about technology but sociology when it comes to social web engagement. Technology has only provided the tools to express opinions, provide reviews, etc. and their ease of use is what has driven the adoption rates we have been seeing.
Viewed this way, also makes it clear that social media are rather ineffective when used as a blunt direct marketing instrument which, however, is all too often the case.
As pointed out in the article, there are a number of reasons why people leave reviews, and ‘rewards’ is just one of them. Whilst Tripadvisor have strict rules on rewards, this doesnt mean you can’t ask your customers to submit reviews because of the simple fact that it will help others when planning their holiday. For some, this is one of the main reasons why they do in fact leave reviews. Many travel companies actually gather reviews on their own website, and this is where you can certainly consider offering a reward.
While I certainly agree that reviewers are motivated by rewards, I have to take exception with the recommendation that travel providers offer rewards to individuals authoring reviews.
Rewarding reviewers is asking for trouble and should be discouraged. The activity fundamentally undermines the credibility and veracity of user-generated reviews.
TripAdvisor is explicitly clear on its policies prohibiting travel providers from offering incentives related to reviews.
TA appropriately uses a broad definition for incentives: “Incentives are any rewards or preferential treatment offered to guests in exchange for writing reviews.”
There is a recent blog post (April 12, 2012) and a 2-page PDF on the topic:
Blog: http://tripadvisor4biz.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/encourage-reviews-the-right-way-without-incentives/
PDF: http://cdn.tripadvisor.com/pdfs/email/Incentives_USEnglish.pdf
Yes, very true, some reviewers “expect – and require – some sort of reward for their efforts” and it certainly is something a travel provider can do, as suggested by the author.
It is also unquestionably a black-hat tactic that should be openly discouraged. A bad recommendation to suggest to Tnooz readers.
It is also standard across many industries that people are incentivised to add reviews, retail is an example, so why should travel be any different.
Engaging with customers can certainly be difficult and has always been the case. I remember being sat on a coach on the way back from many holidays with a rep trying to get me to fill in feedback forms, how did they try to get me to do this, by saying that I would be entered into a draw to win a free trip next year.
Lots of social media activity, actually marketing in general, is driven by incentives to help gather content, competitions, refer to a friend, like me know to receive exclusive offers and much more.
My belief is that incentivising people is not an issue however editing out negative reviews or adding fake reviews certainly is, both positive and negative.
But, you know, Simon, the travel industry is ooooh so different from any other
Indeed it is Joe, but doesn’t mean that we can’t cherry pick some of the nice ideas from other industries to make ours even better
We work in the best industry in the world and I think that it is great to be able to give our customers the opportunity to shout about their experiences and tell all their friends, its a great way to keep them loyal and help promote us.
I’m totally with you, Simon.
I had tongue firmly in cheek when I wrote that
In my 40 years in this greatest industry – which is like the song Hotel California, where you can check out but never leave! – I have long advocated that we look outside it regularly for innovative ideas that can be applied in travel, despite what the “exceptionalists” keep saying.
The ever ubiquitous, and often reviled Trip Advisor….once again…rears it’s ugly head! As member from nearly it’s inception, circa 2003 – it has been a thorn / blessing in my side. Regardless of of what anyone says about this company, the fact remains that people as a whole believe just about anything they read on this “perfect site”.
I am not surprised that they chose a different path since breaking out on their own from Expedia. They continually have become so anti-business oriented, a business’s reputation referred to as the ‘popularity index’ is a bit of a sham in my very humble opinion. If one follows the rules and asks guests to ( if they would be so kind) write a review, most are more than happy to do so. But regardless of all of the money making ploys of TA working with Vista Print to have “free” guest reminder cards placed in visible places around a property, or the rather tacky follow-up letters that TA sends to us to PUSH past guests into leaving comments, is an embarrassment, that i personally is insulting the the guest that shelled out good money to be taken care of in a fine manner.
American Express did a study of this years ago. If people are very happy they tell 5-10 people. If they had a horrible experience….they tell 20!
If people do not leave reviews, even though they are very pleased they ,tell friends. They don’t have time to go through the process of joining TA and then writing a review. They do not know that you will fall in the popularity index, if they do not take the trouble to do so.
It has nothing to do with how busy you may be and happy your guests are. I hold a pretty solid # 3 place in the B&B category….that somehow is mixed with hostels and hotels that TA does not seem to understand that they are different. . In the last 3 months I have had repeat guests that of course or happy to report the new things happening at my establishment! If people forget…..it should be Trip Advisor’s responsibility to remind past guests to leave an honest judgement. I have left suggestions as to how a property owner would alert TA to this, to no avail. It would be so much better as a company helping one of their listed properties.I never ask a second time…and as I mentioned before – people get busy and forget, unless they were extremely disappointed.
The new TA , now it’s own entity -needs to move forward and re-work their algorithms.
It’s one of those cases of can’t stand them and yet, can’t survive without them. They are the Media darlings of “everything travel”. Their spin-off from Expedia took them into the wrong direction. I hope they can get back on track.
In my manifesto …….it it seems to have become,…Trip Advisor’s motto should read: “Your only as good as your last review!” (and don’t forget the radio buttons below that you think the owner can not see!) And as of today they wield that a lot of power with pride, that is not deserved. Competition is good. WHO will step up to the plate, and be our next hero. Please don’t say Flip Key. Good tidings to all!
Is anyone still awake?
James Dickinson
A great post Anthony. Altruism is often overlooked in favour of rewards in the race for reviews.
Whilst the Trip Advisor warning bell went off in my head I agree that there are instances when rewarding may be appropriate on certain platforms, only if carefully and tactfully managed. I certainly don’t advocate discounts as reward though.
One of my clients has just received a level of ‘excellence’ from TA without offering any review rewards apart from thanks and appreciation. It all comes down to a great product backed by good communication and dedication to building an online community.
Anyone who pays for an upgraded listing that shows the businesses phone number and website (an that is all it does) for $300. 00 a year gets one of those, as does FlipKey, TA’s little nest egg. That is some expensive paper, that fits in no standard frame. A small in-effective and cheap looking piece of paper that someone might notice wherever you have slightly hidden it.I have discovered that those “awards can also be put on a website for free and look more impressive than next to the picture of my grandmother.
Yes, I am guilty of doing everything TA put my way….and it does nothing more than the free site I signed up for in 2003. This was a sounding board Anthony and perfectly designed that way. And to remind one in this business to say “Thank you?” And Ms. Amoroso, your first sentence sound like you are well versed in such behavior. If I had all of my published reviews on TA instead of other sites, I would be #1. I am just saying that it should not have to be this way. I am willing to bet TA will not be as important to most of the world in a very short time if they do not get their act together.
While offering a reward might motivate some travelers to write a review, wouldn’t it discourage travelers who would have offered a review for altruistic reasons? Which review is more likely to persuade perspective travelers? Rewarded or altrusitic?