The Science of "Talk Value"

Heidi Cohen hits the hammer on the nail with a very good piece entitled "Customer Feedback, or What I Learned on My Summer Vacation."  Drawing from travel insights from a recent trip to Italy, Cohen notes:

It's important marketers determine when aspects of their offerings cause customers to comment online, to enhance features that cause delight, and to fix those that are negative.

Her piece offers a series of succinct and useful tips for both capturing and then analyzing consumer feedback.  In my view, this is what the new marketing is all about.  Feedback isn't simply an exercise that makes consumers feel more important and empowered (which in turn can nurture or cement loyalty); equally important,  the feedback process of gathering opinion (whether directly from consumers or indirectly via CGM) can significantly sensitize the brand decision making process.  As I've noted before in previous articles and posts, brands in search of favorable CGM (which essentially amounts to free or low-cost advertising) need to understand the triggers of "talk value."  In the wireless industry, screwups with billing tend to unleash high volumes of negative CGM across boards and blogs; in the hotel industry, by contrast, small (and inexpensive) acts of kindness like putting a piece of chocolate on the pillow can results in suprising levels of positive buzz.  The good news is that there's enough evidence in the CGM space -- billions and billions of consumer comments -- to begin measuring and understanding the relationship between experience and expression.  Gathering feedback is a good place to start.  Are you listening?

Comments

[Brokerblogger]

As a consumer advocate and a marketer, I firmly believe that independent, unbiased in any way, third party, consumer generated feedback sources are the only kind the consumer should trust.

Inviting customer input, setting up a "reviews" process on your site, or setting up an online customer research panel is OK, but I believe the most Open, Honest, Upfront, and Good ("O'HUG" Communication) kind of quality feedback you can get are from sites like TripAdvisor (in the Travel field). They are not biased and allow digital photos (worth a thousand words) to be shown to other prospective consumers. See example:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g56584-d73254-r4983606-Best_Western_Executive_Inn-Round_Rock_Texas.html