Comments on: The winner: video customer reviews

By: Jim Zaccaria

Jim Zaccaria — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:31:45 +0000

Thanks Ken! YOU are one of the few, (if not the only one) to put out the straight ’scoop’. I’m looking forward to our meeting! Personally, I’ve made it my Business to record customer reviews (and more) for my clients. The ‘cheapest’ way to do this, Mark is to post the videos to Google and others who will host them for freee. [you can see some of what I've done if you look me up there] Of course to have a quality end product you’ll need to be able to edit what you capture before posting, keeping in mind that you’re not going after a highly polished ‘Pro’ look, but more of a ‘down-home’ realism. Give a holler if you’d like an assist in any way. Jim

By: Mark Matheson

Mark Matheson — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:29:56 +0000

Interesting observation from Sari (above).
As much as I hate to say it, I believe that even with the law of large numbers at play we are all suckers for the articulate and the handsome.
If someone is stuttering all over the place, scruffy and unkempt, what is the likelihood that we will take them seriously? (Be honest now.) When looking at video case studies we are “interviewing” the person to all intents and purposes; and we all know about the first X seconds of an interview, don’t we?
Don’t get me wrong … I would rather have a video testimonial in preference to some faceless, voiceless “JoJo from Idaho” customer testimony that only knows how to speak in high-pitched superlatives. But it’s still worth remembering our own natural biases and not be viewing video testimonials as some panacea to increased conversion rates.
Mark

By: Sari Grove

Sari Grove — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:57:05 +0000

funny thing, related to demographic issues on the internet…I wonder if the “who” of the customer review becomes more significant with a video feed…I put my husband’s age & gender instead of my own on a video site …initial security issues I guess…when I felt safer I tried to change it back, but was not able…months later I checked the traffic…apparently using a male profile was worth ten times the traffic I usually get…does this mean that men have more credibility on the net ? or just that there are more men out there watching videos online? So to topic- what kind of a customer review on video is most potent ? (male female, rich poor, good looking ugly, well dressed shabby, young old…?)

By: Ed Osworth

Ed Osworth — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:13:15 +0000

Right on target as usual Ken.
I like to look at my own behavior when I read Ken. I buy MOSTLY online and I buy a lot cause I buy for clients. Where do I buy.
#1 Amazon (first large site with reviews)
#2 NewEgg (customer reviews – yes)
various other sites in the distance – eBay (yep – reviews), eBags (yep – reviews).
I believe I see a pattern here.
I trust sites that trust the public enough to let them give feedback.
Something of note. A tiny percentage of bad reviews actually gives more credibility to the good ones. It proves to me the site publishes both sides and we all know the guy who will claim the product is defective when he never read the instructions

By: Tony Ostian

Tony Ostian — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:43:37 +0000

Insightful. Invaluable. Cutting edge. Keep these money-making strategies coming, Ken. I look forward to seeing you guys August 25th in Chicago.

By: John Michailidis

John Michailidis — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:55:24 +0000

I can personally vouch for the power of posting written customer reviews and I can only imagine the impact those same reviews would have were they video reviews.
I launched my latest book on Amazon.com in March without an advertising budget. That first month we sold only 15 books, but then an amazing thing started to happen — people who bought the book started to post reviews and comments — really, really great reviews and comments. We are now selling a couple of “cases” of books per month after only a few months and the trend line is headed up — all without an advertising budget, strictly by word of mouth.
I attribute it all to the customer reviews and comments.

By: Mark Hutchinson

Mark Hutchinson — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:03:17 +0000

Hi There….
I have been looking at adding video testimonials to complement the existing text ones on our site. What’s the best/cheapest was of doing this?
Regards
Mark Hutchinson
http://www.sharptechnology.co.uk

By: James Wilson

James Wilson — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 11:39:54 +0000

This is an excellent idea. I never thought of suggesting prospects and existing customers post a video.
Do we just say ‘Go to YouTube and post a comment? Or is there some other method you recommend?
James Wilson
Wilson Productions
wilprovideo.com
Japanese Language Services
japaneselv.com

By: Uwe Hiltmann (Germany)

Uwe Hiltmann (Germany) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 09:28:22 +0000

Hello,
I am interested in the source of the studies you’ve mentioned above (“Now the studies are coming in and guess what? About 80% of consumers put more faith in advertisers who present customer reviews than those that don’t.”)
I am working on a book about “The Power of Testimonials” here in Germany and so I am searching for proof (for example studies).
Thank you in advance and greetings from Germany
UHI

By: Pam Dodd

Pam Dodd — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 08:40:17 +0000

I buy 99% of my books, clothing, and shoes online and rely heavily on customer reviews to influence my purchase decision, especially for shoes. No one has ever steered me wrong!
What influences me the most in people’s reviews is their impressions of the specifics of the product and their sincerity. I’m looking for personality as well as information when I read (or watch) testimonals. If it’s flippant, superficial, or sounds canned, I’m out of there.