Tancer - Everyones a critic: winning customers in a review-driven world

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First published by Portfolio / Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2014

Copyright 2014 by William Tancer

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eBook ISBN 978-1-101-62148-6

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In Loving Memory
Lori Minden Tancer
19682014

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The Review RevolutionWhen Everything Is Reviewable

On Saturday, May 4, a reviewer by the name of Mexico78 made an appointment to see English Kim at noon. The arrangement was simple: thirty minutes for eighty British pounds. Unfortunately the visit didnt go as planned. As Mexico78 recalled in his online review:

I walked to the building. A bit chill & no jacket. Kim buzzed me in. She greeted me at the door & was shown into the room. Pricing discussed & cash exchanged. I was asked to get readywhich I did. Kim came back & gave me a 10 back as Id accidentally over paid. What a lovely & honest gesture. Both ready we hoped onto the bed. I apologized about the cold hands & at that point my nose got moist. Kim jumps up, grabs her clothes, [she] says that she wont do snot. Before I could even dab my nose, my cash was on the bed and the front door was being unlocked. I was still undressed.

I dont have a cold. I am obviously embarrassed by my sudden moist nose. Im clean, polite and I dont have any special requirements. Ive never been asked to leave anywhere. Excuse the pun, but nose very much out of joint.

In & out in less than 5 mins. With my cash back in my pocket. I wasnt rude. I didnt do anything on the naughty list. Rubbish really.

Recommended: NO

Would You Return: NO

Today everything is reviewable: this book that youre reading right now, what you had for lunch yesterday, the caf that you frequent most mornings, your dry cleaner, your doctor, your dentist, your blender, your professor, your favorite music, your date (or escort if youre Mexico78), even you.

As the individual who calls himself Mexico78 walks down the street in a London suburb to meet a prostitute hes never met before, by researching her on Punterlink, a UK-based review site for escorts, he enters what could be a very compromising situation armed with online opinions from other johns (also known as punters in the UK). Before he leaves the safety of his hotel room, based on the postings of others, he knows what her flat looks like, whether its clean, how safe the area is, her appearance, whether shes friendly, and the quality of her services.

Punterlink demonstrates why online reviews have become so valued by consumers; they provide information that allows parties to build some level of trust before entering a transaction. In the case of Mexico78, his pursuit of a London prostitute is fraught with risks, from contracting a sexually transmitted disease to getting arrested, robbed, or worse. As consumers continue to post their experiences and opinions online, the resulting trust built by the exchange of information facilitates more transactions.

Interestingly, according to Punterlinks stats page, johns are very positive reviewers. With a scale ranging from 60 (for the best) to 10 (for the worst), the average rating for all escorts on the site was 56.62. When geography is compared, ratings in eastern Europe were the most critical; Asian and American escorts were rated highest.

Punterlink is but one of thousands of examples of online review sites on every conceivable topic. The proliferation of review sites has largely been a huge boon to consumers, who benefit from access to more complete information about products or services.

Consumers arent the only ones who can benefit from reviews. Businesses have the opportunity to get in front of their prospective customers at the point when theyre making purchase decisions. For example, English Kim has a whole new channel to learn about and acquire new customers. By reviewing their online review history, she can quickly gather information on clients like Mexico78, such as what other prostitutes theyve visited, and how theyve rated them. She might also study her reviews in aggregate for consistent areas of complaints or compliments. She might even check out her rivals reviews to discover if shes pricing her services competitively.

Given the opportunity to be in front of a prospective customer at the right place and time, you would expect that online reviews would be the number one priority on every marketers list. Yet compared with traditional and online marketing channels, little attention is paid to this critical forum.

One possible explanation for this market inefficiency is that, as businesses, weve become myopic in our focus on social media, building out and updating our Facebook pages, broadcasting messages via Twitter, and posting images to Pinterest. An exhaustive number of conferences are held across the country in every conceivable industry to discuss the latest social strategies. While social media has undoubtedly changed the way most companies market, the social channel is best suited for building brand awareness. Very rarely does a social interaction such as a Facebook page like, or a tweet, lead directly to purchase activity. In fact, studies show that less than 1 percent of online transactions can be traced to links from social media sites.

Another potential explanation for the lack of attention paid to online consumer opinions is that the online review ecosystem can be complex and noisy. While consumer narratives and star ratings increase the information flow between businesses and consumers, they dont necessarily provide perfect information. Online opinions, while providing means to increase trust between parties, can also contain inaccuracies, differing opinions, or omissions; in this case, English Kims dislike for runny noses.

The importance of consumer opinions in consumers decisions of what to buy continues to grow. According to a survey of U.S. consumers, close to 80 percent of the population consult online reviews before they make purchase decisions. Despite the growing importance of online reviews to revenue, many business owners choose to ignore this channel, creating a massive market inefficiency. If business owners are willing to navigate the complexity of this space, that inefficiency can be converted to a significant gain.