Businesses of all sizes are starting to wake up to the potential rewards – and risks – of what’s called “user generated content”. In simplest terms, user generated content is web site content that your site makes possible through online features like Ratings & Review sections and online forums where your customers and affiliates can share information and build communities based on your product or service.
In the age of Web 2.0, the very definition of content is changing dramatically: you no longer have unilateral control over what is being said (positive or negative) about your business and its offerings. While your core web site may still have content sections that you control and update, there is an entire series of conversations happening (both online and offline) that have the potential to be both harmful and beneficial. Many business owners wrestle with the question of how to enter this new frontier of dialogue, what investment to make in it, and whether active participation (as opposed to facilitation) is the right move.
As a business owner new to the user generated content arena, what do you stand to gain if you start playing a more active role in encouraging content contributions?
- Easing the Burden: If you stand behind your product or service, facilitating an online community can pay some real dividends. Whether your market is consumers or other businesses, when you help solve problems and make a positive impact, your customers will be motivated to share the experience. In many cases, these motivated users will be inclined to answer support related questions and help other users maximize their investment in your solution. This contribution has a monetary value, and in some cases it will help to reduce your customer support and servicing costs.
- Creating Evangelists: Providing the platform for customers and affiliates to evangelize is a vital part of your referrals business. When you make that happen under the official banner of your web site, you send a very powerful message through the voice of your customers: you stand behind your products and services and the customer experience speaks for itself. This voice is far more valuable than posting a customer success story or testimonial on your web site, which customers know is heavily edited and scripted.
- Faith in Numbers: Enabling Ratings & Reviews capability on your web site is a progressive step that also sends a positive message: you trust that your user community will be fair in assessing your products and services, and you will let those numbers speak for themselves. Prospects put serious stock in numeric evaluations, and while a potential risk to your reputation, it’s a wise move if you believe in the quality of your offering.
- Engaging in Dialogue: The way you engage with user generated content is also key. Responding to possible negative reviews or comments in a constructive manner is vital; becoming censorious or defensive will definitely backfire, so do everything you can to treat all feedback (both positive and negative) as a necessary step toward continuous improvement. Customers will take notice of the way you engage and how you act on it – don’t miss the opportunity to demonstrate you’re listening and responding in concrete ways.
- Enabling Repeat Purchase: Remember, your content contributors are your most likely targets for a repeat purchase opportunity. Even if they are initially critical, that’s an opportunity to turn around a customer experience that will be ripe for cross-sell or up-sell potential. Your endorsers, on the other hand, should feed right into any planned marketing campaigns or customer appreciation promotions you might be planning.
Sure, your business partners and peers will alert you to the pitfalls of making customer conversations so public and accessible. But remember: if you don’t enable the conversation on your own web site, it’s going to take place somewhere else, such as a third-party review web site that publishes customer ratings. Enabling user generated content on your own site is a bold step, but it’s one that can pay off in both the short and long term.