Collecting Marketing Intelligence on the Internet
Online customer review boards, discussion forums, chat rooms, and blogs can distribute one customer’s experiences or evaluation to other potential buyers and, of course, to marketers seeking information. Here are five places to find competitors’ product strengths and weaknesses online
Independent customer goods and service review forums. Independent forums include Web sites such as
Epinions.com, RateItAll.com, ConsumerReview.com, and Bizrate.com. Bizrate.com collects millions of consumer reviews of stores and products each year from two sources: its 1.3 million volunteer members and feedback from stores that allow Bizrate.com to collect it directly from customers as they buy.
Distributor or sales agent feedback sites. Feedback sites offer positive and negative product or service reviews, but the stores or distributors have built the sites themselves. Amazon.com offers an interactive feedback opportunity through which buyers, readers, editors, and others can review all products on the site, especially books. Elance.com is an online professional services provider that allows contractors to describe their experience and level of satisfaction with subcontractors.
• Combo sites offering customer reviews and expert opinions. Combination sites are concentrated in financial
services and high-tech products that require professional knowledge. ZDNet.com offers customer and expert evaluations of technology products based on ease of use, features, and stability
• Customer complaint sites. Customer complaint forums are designed mainly for dissatisfied customers.
PlanetFeedback.com allows customers to voice unfavorable experiences with specific companies.
• Public blogs. Tens of millions of blogs and social networks offer personal opinions, reviews, ratings, and recommendations on virtually any topic—and their numbers continue to grow. Nielsen’s BuzzMetrics analyzes blogs and social networks for insights into consumer sentiment and threats to the brand that may emerge online
Of course, companies can use many of these sources to monitor their own customers, products, services,
and brands. Customer-service forums linked on a company’s home page are a very useful tool. Customers often respond faster and provide better answers to other customers than a company could.
Online customer review boards, discussion forums, chat rooms, and blogs can distribute one customer’s experiences or evaluation to other potential buyers and, of course, to marketers seeking information. Here are five places to find competitors’ product strengths and weaknesses online
Independent customer goods and service review forums. Independent forums include Web sites such as
Epinions.com, RateItAll.com, ConsumerReview.com, and Bizrate.com. Bizrate.com collects millions of consumer reviews of stores and products each year from two sources: its 1.3 million volunteer members and feedback from stores that allow Bizrate.com to collect it directly from customers as they buy.
Distributor or sales agent feedback sites. Feedback sites offer positive and negative product or service reviews, but the stores or distributors have built the sites themselves. Amazon.com offers an interactive feedback opportunity through which buyers, readers, editors, and others can review all products on the site, especially books. Elance.com is an online professional services provider that allows contractors to describe their experience and level of satisfaction with subcontractors.
• Combo sites offering customer reviews and expert opinions. Combination sites are concentrated in financial
services and high-tech products that require professional knowledge. ZDNet.com offers customer and expert evaluations of technology products based on ease of use, features, and stability
• Customer complaint sites. Customer complaint forums are designed mainly for dissatisfied customers.
PlanetFeedback.com allows customers to voice unfavorable experiences with specific companies.
• Public blogs. Tens of millions of blogs and social networks offer personal opinions, reviews, ratings, and recommendations on virtually any topic—and their numbers continue to grow. Nielsen’s BuzzMetrics analyzes blogs and social networks for insights into consumer sentiment and threats to the brand that may emerge online
Of course, companies can use many of these sources to monitor their own customers, products, services,
and brands. Customer-service forums linked on a company’s home page are a very useful tool. Customers often respond faster and provide better answers to other customers than a company could.
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