CUSTOMER REVIEWS on an e-commerce website can increase sales by a minimum of 20 per cent, according to the chief executive of a new web-based review service for businesses.
Conor O'Neill, chief executive of LouderVoice, says he has already signed up Klipsch, the high-end audio equipment maker; Roomex, the discount hotel booking service; and wine distributor Bubble Brothers for the service. Bubble Brothers include a collar on their wine bottles that has a number to which customers can text their thoughts on the wine. The reviews then feature on the Bubble Brothers website.
"It's a great marketing tool for them because it immediately differentiates their wines on the shelf," says Mr O'Neill. LouderVoice also operates a consumer review site at loudervoice.com, where registered users can publish reviews of products or services and embed them in their own blog.
Reviews can also be submitted by text message and the service integrates with "micro-blogging" services such as Twitter, Jaiku or Pownce. The business service reviews can now be embedded on e-commerce pages to help guide future purchases, or content sites can encourage readers to share their thoughts on movies, books, music or even news stories.
A degree of integration is still required but O'Neill says a version of the white label service will be made available for smaller businesses which will simply require the addition of a line of code to a web page.
