reviews - the cross section of commerce and community 🤝

Letter from Liz - Edition 3

When was the last time you got a truly negative review?

Yesterday?
Today?

Weeks ago?

The initial pang of pain that comes with a less than awesome customer reaction can be a real gut wallop. Forget losing your breath. I find that my harshest critics leave a bruise, causing me to bend over in metapsychological pain days later. 

And yet, yet, there’s something to learn everywhere in our business.

After all: the bad ones hurt because there are so many good ones, right?

Customer reviews as content is something I’m deeply interested in as a cross section of commerce and community. They represent this dynamic cross section of user generated content and how to content. Even when the review is bad!

Here’s some context: 

• An American Express survey found that it takes about 40 positive reviews to cancel out 1 negative review entirely.
• A Boston University study claims that a 4 star review is often the “most trusted” amongst a sea of 5 star reviews
• And the proliferation of social shopping suggests that a tag from the right person is on a piece of content is more valuable than being featured in a major news outlet

These unexpected realities mean that I wasn’t that surprised to read recently that “purchase probability peaks when a product’s average star rating is between 4.2 and 4.5 (it varies a bit by product category). If the average star rating surpasses 4.5, the likelihood of purchase actually drops.”

All of this adds up to a big and important truth: you gotta ask for the feedback. Even if it’s a little scary. Even if it’s asking for just a photo reaction. Or a quick Google review. Or a tag on social. Together, this content creates a cohesive story that… sells. 

For Denver-based startup Last Gameboard user reviews were a driving force in securing beta users and growing their presale waitlist to an impressive 12,000+ people! In the newest episode of A2C, co-founder and CEO Shail Mehta explains how they enlisted the gaming community and influencers to test the product and share their experiences to increase discoverability. Watch our full conversation here.

Feedback can come in many formats, but one we’ve been gravitating towards lately is short form video. If you haven’t had a chance to see some of our TikTok testimonials, check them out here:

• See The Way I See x soona
• Everwoof x soona

Here’s the part where we walk the talk. If you have feedback to share with us we’d love to see it via a quick Google review. A comment on social. Or even just a reply to this email. 

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@lizgiorgi 

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