Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent.

Transcription

1 Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent.

2 Interacting with shoppers at the point of purchase has historically been difficult for brands who primarily sell through retail partners. Today, connecting with shoppers where they make buying decisions on retail sites is not only possible, but becoming essential for brands. By answering shopper questions and responding to feedback right where shoppers buy, brands can encourage purchases, resolve issues, and build a positive, helpful brand image that fosters loyalty and attracts new customers. Consumer conversations fill information gaps that could halt purchases It s impossible to predict every bit of information every shopper will need before they re comfortable buying a product. These gaps in information, if left unfilled, can lose sales. Over half (56%) of consumers will leave a retail site if they have questions about a product and the merchant doesn t provide assistance. 1 For every question you re getting, there are ten people asking that question but just aren t going to go through the hassle of writing it down, or assume it s going to take a long time [to get an answer], or are going to go somewhere else. - Sten Hallock, Senior Manager Online Marketing, Samsung 1 Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent

3 Connections gives us the ability to engage directly with our customers, which helps us avoid being caught flat-footed on potential incorrect usage of our products and proactively address low-star reviews. The insights we gain are critical not only to our ability to manage our brand reputation and protect customer loyalty, but also preserve our position as a preferred vendor with our retail partners. - Ray Mazur, Chief Information Officer, Homax Group Product owner feedback drives sales For some consumers, the specific information they need before buying is opinions from other consumers. Shoppers who read reviews show 98% higher conversion and 7% higher average order value (AOV). 2 In some cases, shoppers simply won t buy without reading reviews from other consumers. After all, customer reviews are 12 times more trusted than product descriptions from manufacturers. 3 Retailers can never have too many reviews, and manufacturers can never display customer opinions in too many places. Both parties benefit when brands syndicate reviews from the brand site to their product pages on retail sites. When Rubbermaid elected to syndicate reviews to their retail channels, the brand increased its product review count across the Bazaarvoice network by tenfold making those influential opinions available to more shoppers in more places. Syndicating reviews this way will impact both online and in-store sales. Before buying in any channel, 84% percent of consumers research online. 4 Once in the store, 84% of shoppers use their smartphone to enhance their in-aisle shopping and 74% of them say reading consumer reviews is an important use of their mobile device in-aisle % higher conversion rate for shoppers who read both reviews and Q&A Consumer Q&A reveals information gaps in product descriptions Often, consumers have questions specific to their needs and use case that aren t answered in product copy. Sometimes they re looking for objective, fact-based answers: Can I connect this tablet to my TV using an HDMI cable? Shoppers have asked questions on one in every four products that have questions enabled in the Bazaarvoice network (24%) meaning they didn t immediately find the information they were looking for in the brand s or retailer s product description. 2 In a study, Samsung found that 91% of the content Samsung reps provided in their answers was not already on the site proof that Q&A reveals gaps in product copy. 6 In other cases, shoppers are looking for subjective, opinion-based answers from other consumers: Are these heels comfortable? Is this board game fun for adults? And if one shopper has a question, you can bet others do too. Both these objective and subjective information gaps get filled when product pages offer Q&A, where shoppers can ask questions of both fellow consumers or brand representatives. And once those gaps are filled, shoppers buy more. Shoppers who interact with Q&A on product pages show 98% higher conversion and 7% higher AOV. 2 And when combined with consumer opinions, the numbers get even better: Shoppers who read both reviews and Q&A show 178% higher conversion. 2 Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent

4 Responding to feedback retains current customers and attracts new ones Eighty-two percent of reviews are rated four stars or higher. 2 Sometimes, though, bad feedback just happens; there are nearly 23 million reviews in the Bazaarvoice network rated three stars or fewer. Left unresolved, consumers poor experiences can of course be detrimental; 86% of consumers may stop doing business with a company because of a bad customer experience. 7 But with the right plan in place, brands can turn negative feedback into a positive experience for both the reviewer and other shoppers. Responding to feedback can turn a poor experience into a delightful one Solving the problem is of course one way to remedy bad feedback. Up to 70% of dissatisfied customers will do business with a company again if their complaint is resolved, and up to 95% will come back if it s resolved quickly. 8 Saving those relationships can mean huge gains for businesses: a 5% increase in consumer retention can increase a company s profitability by 75%. 9 In other cases, all it might take to turn the consumer s experience around is a response. Among 2012 holiday shoppers who posted a negative review on social media or a review site, 68% received a retailer response. Of those customers: 34% deleted the original negative review. 33% turned around and posted a positive one. 18% became loyal customers and bought more. 11 A canned response is the equivalent to no response at all. If you do that, then you ve just undermined all that opportunity to build a relationship. - Sten Hallock, Senior Manager Online Marketing, Samsung 3 Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent

5 The best way to contain a mess is to handle it at its source. If something is gaining legs, get in the conversation and help calm it down. Often just a few words from you will be enough to soothe the hype and get the conversation back on track. - Lisa Barone, Outspoken Media Cultivating a responsive brand image attracts new buyers Responding to negative feedback is as much about saving relationships with potential future customers as it is about the current customer. Nearly all (97%) review readers find the content they read to be accurate 11 meaning businesses must manage their reputation in the context of poor feedback. When they do, potential customers take it as a sign that the brand cares about their experience beyond the sale. Seeing a brand response to a review makes 41% of consumers think the brand really cares about consumers. Thirty-five percent also think the brand has great customer service, and 22% think it s a trustworthy brand. 12 Together, these positive associations make shoppers more likely to buy. After reading a poor review, shopper intent to purchase more than doubles if they see a brand response beneath the review, versus seeing the negative review by itself. Product appeal also doubles, and one third of the negative impact of the review is eliminated. 12 Whenever possible, strive to solve the customer s problem or answer their question within the response. Shoppers expect brand responses to reviews to include customer service, rather than simply directing the reviewer to another point of contact. In an A/B test, brand responses that encouraged the reviewer to contact customer service had less of a positive effect on intent to purchase than responses that solved the problem. 12 Responses let brands correct misconceptions and showcase improvements Some poor experiences are the result of product misuse. Responding to reviews lets brands correct these misunderstandings. In an A/B test, brand responses on two different products explained that the reviewer was misusing the product, and gave detailed instructions for making it work. For both products, shoppers who saw the brand response were nearly three times as likely to purchase as those who didn t, and the percentage of consumers unlikely to purchase was cut in half. 12 Responses also let brands thank consumers for improvement suggestions, and even let them know when product changes are made based on feedback. In an A/B test, brand responses on two different products informed reviewers that the product had been improved based on feedback. For both products, shoppers who saw the responses were twice as likely to purchase as those who didn t % of review readers find the content they read to be accurate 4 Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent

6 Brand participation in Q&A drives more contribution and sales To capture consumers where they re actively making decisions, brands must build a responsive presence where they re most influenced on retailer websites, which influence shopping decisions for 56% of shoppers. More shoppers rely on retail sites than on brand or manufacturer sites (which influence decisions for 30% of shoppers) or social networks (24%). 13 And that influence is growing: minutes spent by Americans on retail sites is up 104% across all devices since 2010, and up 385% on smartphones specifically. 14 Yet, about one in four shopper questions, roughly 602,000, go unanswered across the Bazaarvoice network. 2 That s 602,000 sales potentially left on the table not to mention the countless others shoppers with the same question. To remedy those unanswered questions and provide expert answers at the critical point of purchase, brands should partner with retailers to answer questions on retail sites. Badging answers with the brand logo not only adds credibility, but also associates reps helpfulness with the brand. 5 Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent

7 It s an opportunity to talk to a customer that has said, I want to buy your product, but I can t today because Fill in the blank. This is your opportunity to address that. It s not just about the online sales. - Simon Rodrigue, GM, Walmart Canada Shoppers value brands answers, and buy confidently At late stages in the buying process, shopper questions can get detailed and technical especially in high-consideration purchases. Can I control this smart TV with my voice using my Xbox Kinect? Can this drill penetrate concrete? For these questions about specific product capabilities, answers from brand reps can have even more credibility than those from product owners. On one major retailer s site, shoppers voted answers from brand reps 85% more helpful than those from other consumers. 15 And that credibility and helpfulness leads to sales. Brand reps can suggest other products in their answers, steering consumers away from dissatisfying brand experiences by making sure they buy the right product for their needs. They can also recommend additional products or accessories that let the shoppers use a product for their specified use case creating upsell opportunities. Brand answers increase consumer interest and submissions Seeing that brand reps are present to answer questions encourages more consumers to ask theirs consumers who may otherwise have left the site in search of missing information. On one major retailer site, shopper question volume increased by 170% when suppliers answered shoppers questions via trained brand reps. 15 And according to Samsung, question volume on its products where brand reps answered questions was double that of products with no answers from brand reps. 6 Consumers also visit product pages more often when brand reps are present. In an A/B test, Samsung product pages that included answers from brand reps got 96% more views than those without Samsung answers % increase in shopper question volume when suppliers answer shoppers questions via trained brand reps Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent

8 Make your voice heard Never before have brands been able to engage shoppers at the point of purchase like they can today. The conversations already happening on retailer sites are a chance for brands to help shoppers make confident purchases, boost sales, solve dissatisfaction, and foster a helpful brand image that attracts new consumers. connections@bazaarvoice.com Bazaarvoice, Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent

9 Sources 1. Warrick, Cara. Shopping Assistance for e-commerce Questions. WebProNews. October Bazaarvoice data. Q2, emarketer. February PricewaterhouseCoopers Six Stats on In-Aisle Mobile. White Horse. January Bazaarvoice. Samsung answers increase engagement, fill information gaps Harris Interactive. 8. TARP Worldwide Bain and Co. 10. Harris Interactive study on retail consumers Chatmeter.com. 12. Wakefield Research and Bazaarvoice. US consumer survey. February Ipsos OTX and Google Comscore. State of Retail Bazaarvoice client data. 8 Consumer connections: How responsive brands drive sales and purchase intent