ShopperApprovedDeliversPeaceofMindtoFTDintheWorld
ofOnlineReviews
Nowbusinessisblooming…likearose.
Fordecadeupondecade,floristshavecreatedawe-inspiringbouquetsforjustaboutanyoccasion
humanscouldimagine.Theordercomesin.Floristsperformtheirartisticmagic.Customersare
happy.
Butastheinformationageblossomed,florists—andeveryotherbusinessowner—quickly
realizedthatconsumerscouldfreelysharetheirthoughtsaboutthosebusinesses,bothgoodand
bad.
Todayconsumersareusing—andbelieving—whatotherssayinthosereviews.Infact,afull88
percentofallconsumersreadonlinereviewstodeterminewhetheralocalbusinessisagood
business,accordingBrightLocal,alocalsearchcompany.
ThisisafactnotlostonTimmMcIntyre,theproductmanagerine-commerceforFTD,the
membershipgroupforthousandsoffloristsacrosstheU.S.andCanada.McIntyresaysFTD’sjobis
simple:helpitsmemberssellflowersandgiftsonlineandintheirstores.
“Todothat,Ispendmostofmytimelookingverycloselyateverysinglelinkofthesaleschain,”
McIntyresays.
OnelinkthatbegantostandouttoMcIntyrewastrust.“Thesenderisalwaysworriedthatthe
receiverisgettingagoodexperience,”hesays.“Thesenderneedstrust.Sohowdoessomeonejudge
abusiness’sreputationthatmaybeoperatingacrossthecountry—andthatthey’venever
purchasedfrombefore?Onlinereviews.Today,reviewsformerchantsarejustascommonas
reviewsforproducts.Inourcase,consumerscanseeaphotoofflowerarrangementsonour
members’websitesandthat’sfine.Buttheyalsowanttofeelcomfortableaboutthemerchant,too.”
AsMcIntyrestudiedonlinereviews,healsolearnedthatlocalsitesoftencollectpassivereviews—
whichmeansthosebusinesseshavezerocontroloverwhom,when,orwherereviewsareposted.
ThisiswhenMcIntyrelearnedaboutUtah-basedShopperApproved,theonlyreviewcompanythat
collectsmerchantreviews,productreviews,andlocalreviews.Italsocollectsupto70timesmore
ratingsandreviewsinGoogle,Bing,andYahoothananyotherreviewcompany.
Andeventhoughthecompanystartedin2010,it’salreadysettingthestandardforreviews—and
it’sgarneredahugefollowing.Afull82.7percentof17,579ofitsclients’customerssurveyedsaid
theyweremorelikelytobuyfromawebsitethatdisplayedtheShopperApprovedseal.
McIntyrequicklybecomeafan,too.“Theyworkedquicklyandwithoutushavingtotapalotofour
ownmanpower—andtheactualrollout[inJanuary2016]onlytook15minutes.”
McIntyreadmitshewasskepticalaboutseeingimmediateconversion.“Iwasthinkingjustbecause
youpublishedreviewsdidn’tmeanshopperswouldlookatthem,”hesays.“Butjusthavingthe
reviewshelpedwithconversion.Morereviewshadmoreofaneffectonconvertingshoppersinto
buyers.”
Theotherobviousconcernwasnegativereviews.“We’veallheardthatcustomerswilltellmore
peopleabouttheirbadexperiences,buttheyhadasysteminplaceforbadreviews,”McIntyresays.
CrestaPillsbury,chiefoperatingofficeratShopperApproved,explainsthatbadreviewscanbe
“locked”forupto30days.“Thisallowsthefloristtofixtheproblemandevenpubliclycommenton
thereview,sotheycanexplainthesituationandhowtheyhandledit,”shesays.
Sheaddsthatflorists“oftengethammeredunfairlybynegativepassivereviews,sogivingthemthe
abilitytoactivelyaddressandresolveissueswhentheyarisehelpstoimprovetheirratingsand
providesamoreaccuratepictureoftheirtruereputation.”
ToMcIntyre,evenbadnewsisgoodnewswithShopperApprovedbecausehebelieveswhen
consumersseethatthefloristacknowledgedtheproblemandthenfixedit,itaddsthatmuchmore
credibilityfortheflorist.
“First,iftherearenobadreviews,that’snotcredible,”McIntyresays.“Peoplewillgetsuspicious.
Sure,it’sinournaturetoavoidthenegativereviews.Butwhenconsumersseethatadeliverywas
lateinablizzard,theyunderstandit.Thentheyseethatthefloristcameinandmadeitright.That
meansalot.”
Theresults?McIntyrewouldn’tsharespecificnumbersbutsaid,“Ihandleanalyticsandwesawa
liftinconversionrate,definitely.Andthatliftdidn’trequireanyeffortfrommymembers.Plus,the
liftgotstrongerastheprogrammatured.”
Andasanunexpectedbenefit,headds,“Ourmembersbetterunderstandwhatconsumersexpectto
preventbadexperiences,sothey’remoreproactivetoreducecomplaints.”
Pillsburysaysstudieshaveshownthatcompanieswith5-starratingsseea22-percent-higherclickthroughrateforconversions,onaverage,andcustomersarewillingtospendupto20percentor
morewithmerchantsthatshowbetterreviews.
“It’samazingtoworkwithFTDandgivethempracticaltoolsthathelpthemcontroltheirbrandin
suchanimportantway,”Pillsburysays.
FormoreinformationonShopperApproved,pleasevisit:http://www.shopperapproved.com/