Reviews are a very emotional topic. Many companies are still afraid of losing customers due to bad reviews. But doesn’t this actually show a lack of confidence in the company’s own products and capabilities?
That’s exactly correct. Many founders have a very strong emotional connection to their products and company and any sort of negative feedback can easily be taken to heart – and that’s completely understandable. Likewise, it’s natural to want to ensure that no consumer is ever exposed to anything negative whatsoever related to your brand. Especially, if you proactively requested and brought that feedback into the public.
In almost every case, these concerns are vastly overestimated and the majority of consumers are more than happy with their experiences and are happy to give feedback to that effect. This is obviously going to have a major impact on the trust which potential customers gain from your brand. But even more vital is how you respond to any negative feedback which you receive – is it empathetic? Do you show that you truly care about resolving these issues? Negative feedback is actually a great opportunity to show the world that it’s firstly the exception to the rule, but if a customer does happen to have a negative experience that you are proactively there to resolve the issue and make it right. We’re all human at the end of the day and make mistakes. It’s how we respond to this that truly makes the difference. However, I would also suggest that negative feedback is a golden opportunity to truly bring your company forward.
As strange as it sounds, you should be thanking customers for this as you have the opportunity to find out where something has broken down in your processes and can now fix it for future customers. But what I think many founders actually overlook is the chance to pick up the phone and call that customer and have a short, personal conversation with them to apologise, let them know that they’ve been heard and gain the opportunity to resolve the issue. When was the last time you ever got a phone call from a store which you purchased from?
My guess is never… The bar is so low to deliver such an amazing service, that the experience has a good chance to turn them into an advocate of the brand.
User-generated content is becoming increasingly important, especially in the social media environment, because it offers brands the opportunity to show their own product in “real world” scenarios. Why are the US and APAC regions already much further ahead than Europe in this respect?
I believe it comes initially to the nature of Europeans being generally more reserved than our friends across the pond. It’s naturally harder to get customers to engage in this way, but I do believe that this is rapidly changing, especially amongst younger generations. We see that these demographics are much more comfortable putting themselves ‘out there’ on social media which is a great opportunity for brands to ride the trend for their own brand, as well.
What were your personal challenges when you came to Europe?
Aside from having to learn a completely new language and having to deal with the Ausländerbehörde?!
Professionally, I would say it was starting a career in a region which I had very little awareness of in terms of the day-to-day general knowledge that you gain just from living here. One of my very first jobs in Germany was for a price comparison vendor, and I remember going to London for a pitch with Marks & Spencer. My manager at the time was based in London, and I met him around the corner from their office and I made the comment, “I didn’t realize that Marks & Spencer also do supermarkets!” as I had only ever experienced their website, which is very department store oriented. Let’s just say that my manager was not too impressed at all. The same occurred with Argos, which I thought was very similar to Saturn or MediaMarkt in terms of having a large showrooms of products! Aside from that, I would say my very first job did not exactly get off to the best possible start.
I was fortunate enough to be able to confirm an internship with Quelle before I even moved to Germany, which I was really excited about – getting a foot in the door of one of the largest eCommerce companies. Unfortunately, my very first day just happened to be the day that Quelle announced their insolvency. Let’s just say that I wasn’t there for very long!
The e-commerce industry is moving incredibly fast – what do you think are the top 3 trends for the coming years?
Without a doubt, the massive shift we have seen in consumer spending habits due to COVID-19 is going to have lasting effects, and I think this really sets the tone for what’s upcoming in the coming years.
Firstly, local delivery is an undoubtable trend. With companies like Gorillas, Flink and Getir disrupting the groceries sector, there is a clear demand for on-demand goods. Whilst we can debate the viability of their business models, the demand is clearly there from consumers. When coupled with decreasing footfall in local stores, it’s a clear trend which needs to be considered and leaves an opening for companies like Postmates from the United States to provide that last-mile logistics for local retailers at scale.
Secondly, there is clearly a new wave of eCommerce SaaS platforms which are making their way to Europe that really focus on connecting with each other. Data no longer belongs in siloes, but needs to connect with other data sources to make the best use of it. It’s the age-old principle of 1+1 = 3. So the question which retailers need to ask themselves is no longer just “which platforms help me achieve my goals?” but also “which platforms integrate seamlessly with the rest of my tech stack?”
Lastly, and as self-serving as this sounds, I really do honestly believe that customer feedback and reviews are making a resurgence in E-Commerce. Where there has been relatively little innovation in the area for the past years, retailers are really taking note of how fundamental it can be to their entire marketing strategies, and are revisiting their existing solutions and evaluating whether it is meeting the demands of 2021.
In many ways, the review industry hadn’t changed much over the past decade – stuck on the two elements of a Trust-Symbol or ranking on Google for branded search terms. But there is a real trend for retailers to own the brand experience and leverage their review strategy to drive revenue across their marketing channels and customer retention.
Shane Forster
REVIEWS.io
