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September 2009 | Whats still one of the most important consumer trends out there Transpar-ency Of prices of opinions of standards So letrsquos look at whatrsquos new happening upcoming and important including the inevitable countertrend Therersquos no hiding -)

Think transparency is an established maturing theme You ainrsquot seen nothing yet Sure wersquove been harping on forever about the many ways consumers can research compare and review their way to a more powerful position but every month brings us smart new examples of consumers and brands intent on making opinions quality standards and prices even more transparent

So its time for a fresh look at the latest and greatest in the transparency arena where savvy con-sumers (as well as on-trend brands) can score triumph after triumph Wersquoll look at how reviews are set for even more spectacular growth how price comparison is getting much more sophisticated and how the inner-workings of companies will be exposed in pragmatic new ways We then end this briefing with a countertrend OPENLY OPAQUE that raises the bar even higher

Please note that this Trend Briefing limits itself to consumersrsquo desire for finding the best the cheapest andor the most ethical as opposed to enjoying transparency of all information and knowledge from government (in)action to the boom in personal profiles Somehow we think you will find the below lengthy enough as it is -)

trendwatchingcom is an independent and opinionated consumer trends firmrelying on a global network of hundreds of spotters working hard to deliverinspiration and pangs of anxiety to business professionals in 120+ countries worldwideMore information at wwwtrendwatchingcom

The fortress of one-way communications from a non-trusted source (aka advertising) is crumbling

Some telling findings from the latest twice-yearly Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25000 online consumers from 50 countries

Recommendations by personal acquaintances and opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of adver-tising globally The Nielsen survey shows that 90 of online con-sumers worldwide trust recommendations from people they know while 70 trust consumer opinions posted online

There are many more research studies findings dissertations and so on that confirm the same fact reviewing is the new ad-vertising This shouldnrsquot come as a surprise just as with other trends whatrsquos unfolding now is a lsquoforever needrsquo among consum-ers one thats now being satisfied in a superior and previously unattainable fashion In this case the need is for trusted advice and recommendationsmdashfor feeling in control for knowing the facts for avoiding mistakes and disappointmentsmdashin order to make that perfect purchase Which has become even more pressing as choice-overload continues never before was there so much to choose from in mature consumer societies and thus such a need for reviews

Its a need that is met online by having access to millions of other consumers and their experiences and opinions from giant review portals to real-time channels such as Twitter

In short businesses have to understand and accept that con-sumersrsquo decision making processes which ultimately come down to whether they will buy from you or from someone else have truly shifted to a new powerful peer-to-peer arena

So if thatrsquos the current playing field letrsquos look at the latest devel-opments in the booming world of reviews

16 billion onlinehellip and now get ready for the next billion courtesy of the mobile web

While hundreds of millions of consumer reviews are already zip-ping around cyberspace prepare for a deluge of truly biblical proportions And a deluge of review innovations too Some num-bers

bull 16 billion consumers are now online and the majority of them have been online for years Theyre skilled bar-gain seekers and lsquobest of the bestrsquo hunters theyre avid online networkers and theyre opinionated reviewers and advisors

bull On top of that many more consumers in emerging markets are eager to jump into cyberspace with two thumbs according to a UN report there are now more than four billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide two-thirds of which are in developing countries Even if only a third of those phones get online access in the future the next billion online users are on the horizon

bull And for future contributors and viewers especially those that are born to the web for whom contributing and sharing is a given reviewing will be a way of life forever

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Google Rich Snippets and Netflix aggregation and syndication galore

The reviewing masses will increasingly be enticed to review (and share)

bull Product ratings and reviews provider Bazaarvoicersquos ShoutIT app enables reviewers to have their reviews effortlessly appear on their Facebook Digg or Delicious pages as well while Netflix has hooked up with Face-book to allow users reviews to be shared on their profile pages

bull Members that post a review on Epinions are rewarded with so called Eroyalties credits which are in turn are based on an lsquoIncome Sharersquo program The Income Share pool is a portion of Epinions income and is split among all authors based on how often their reviews were used in making a decision (whether or not the reader actually made a purchase) Reviewers then can redeem their Eroyalties credits in US dollars

Meanwhile big players in the review arena are aggregating white labeling and syndicating like crazy causing existing reviews to pop-up in multiple places A snapshot

bull TripAdvisor which boasts close to 25 million reviews and opinions on more than 490000 hotels and attrac-tions while attracting 25 million+ monthly visitors earlier this year signed syndication deals with VisitBritaincom easyJet Holidays and its sister site Hotelscom Meanwhile travel site Raveable now provides a com-prehensive view of hotels across the United States by aggregating and summarizing more than 35 million re-views of some 55000 US hotels

bull UK based comparison shopping service Shopzilla just teamed up with PowerReviewscom a provider of cus-tomer reviews to add product reviews to its product and price comparison service

bull Bazaarvoice recently signed a deal with UK retailers Debenhams and Asda to include customer reviews on their sites

bull Googlersquos new Rich Snippets program allows the search engine to now display product rating review count and actual review text direct in Google search results

In fact expect this to be the biggest lsquo(R)Evolutionrsquo uni-versal search for products brands services and any-thing else consumers are interested in will turn up ag-gregated relevant reviews almost by default tagged and non-tagged pulled from review sites (niche and mas-sive) from blogs from Twitter from Facebook from YouTube and so on

bull Letrsquos not forget about more compelling formats for re-views a revealing video says more than a 1000 photos and thus the proliferation of videocam phones including Apples new iPhone 3G S which includes video func-tionality geo tagging and direct upload facilities for YouTube and Mobile will be yet another push for video-reviews to take off

bull Reviews are also making their way to the real world aforementioned Bazaarvoice now works with UK retail-ers Argos and Halfords to feature customer reviews in paper catalogs (Argos alone reaches 17 million UK households with its catalogs)

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Images courtesy of TechCrunch and Mashable

More lsquoreal worldrsquo developments (with a virtual twist) expect plenty of augmented reality-meets-reviews examples to pop-up soon Here are two to get you started

bull Local review site Yelp boasts the first iPhone app with augmented reality Users can put their iPhone camera in front of a restaurant with Yelprsquos reviews then overlaying their real-world views (Source Mashable) Meanwhile GraffitiGeo a mobile service that allows users to share brief reviews of restaurants is working on a similar iPhone app More info at TechCrunch

Yes thatrsquos one gross pic but hey anything to get your attention

Important side-effect of the above is that the deluge in postings will also unmask outnumber and thus neutralize fake reviews posted by malicious consumers or desperate brands Which will lead to an even greater trust of recommendations and reviews In the near future consider the discussion on whether to trust re-views to be over

Scale is one thing Scope is another No B2C sector is immune to the review virus Expect every industry every sector every prod-uct to eventually succumb to reviews Tripadvisor style Exam-ples

bull Health | Vimo a comparison-shopping site for health care offers rate-my-doctor and rate-my-dentist func-tionalities A similar review service is offered by ZocDoc

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bull Beauty | On Makeupalleycom members give reviews on everything beauty-related from makeup and skincare to hair dryers and perfume The site includes detailed information about each userrsquos skin tone hair color skin type and eye color at the top of the review so that read-ers can gauge how well the advice will fit their own needs

bull Law amp education | Avvo profiles legal professionals including their experience areas of practice and ratings from clients Ratemyteachers does the same for teach-ers Also check out Yollege

bull Airports | Sleeping In Airports has over 6300 reviews of how airports around the world rate for sleeping in public areas

bull Tech | Fixya is a popular post-sale tech support site where 15 million members help each other with product support questions on 1 million products It has now added product recommendations to its website

bull Recruitment | Glassdoor aims to provide an insiders look at what its really like to work at a company both financially and otherwise The site gathers real-time re-views ratings and salary details about specific jobs in 28000+ companies Also check out Australian LiveSal-ary

bull Restaurants | Dishola eschews general restaurant re-views in favor of dish-specific () advice and information Members can read smart reviews by Dishola editors industry professionals and other members as well as post reviews and photos of their own favorite dishes

bull Printing | Printercom provides information on a wide range of printers and cartridges the site currently fea-tures more than 4500 printers and over 1950 car-tridges

Note a fun entrepreneurial opportunity is to start a review portal (reviewcircuscom) that lets consumers quickly find the right niche review site for their query Just a page listing the various B2C categories and links to related niche review sites Should take you less than a week to get live and could be a great adver-tising cash cow -)

These days hotel room reviews are posted from the room not upon return home

Deluge and connectivity will lead to real-time reviewing of prod-ucts and services

bull First of all as more people are contributing the sheer mass of reviews will in effect lead to daily if not hourly reviews on any topic imaginable Which means more timely and accurate information

bull Secondly as universal online access meets netbooks laptops and phones virtually all equipped with (video) cameras and audio capture were already seeing an increase in on-the-spot reviews from text to full-blown videos Remember someone going through an annoying or pleasant experience but lacking online access has to postpone his or her review which often results to not posting at all

In fact Twitter has established itself as the real-time snapshot of what people are thinkingfeelingexperiencing and yes reviewing around the world Ex-pect numerous services to capitalize on this burgeoning lsquoglobal brain One example SkinniPopcorn provides Twitter feeds of users real time comments about newly released films and the current US box office top ten as well as the ten movies that are currently mentioned most often

As promised last June when we highlighted FOR-EVERISM we will dedicate next months Trend Briefing to NOWISM covering all the business opportunities re-lated to the emerging real-time economy Will land in your inbox or feed early October

You are reading a PDF version of one of our free monthly Trend Briefings More at wwwtrendwatchingcom 13 13 13 13 13 5 15

bull And yes reading reviews on the spot will become uber-popular too of course More on this in Price Pandemo-nium below

Yet another way reviews can be made more attractive and useful and thus more powerful combine them with MAPMANIA Check out the following location-based review sites that let you find the best hotel room restaurant table playground or yes airline seat

bull The KaBOOM Playspace Finder is a user-generated online directory that lets anyone enter search for and rate play spaces Users can add photos and comments for each play space as well as detailed descriptions including available playground equipment or amenities Some 16000 play areas across the USA and Canada are now listed on the Google Maps-based site

bull Homewoodsuites by Hilton Hotels offers guests the option of picking their hotel room Guests can view hotel floor plans and book specific suite types based on their location photographs and descriptions Adding a touch of PERKONOMICS The suite selection tool has (for

now) been reserved for premium Hilton club members who use Hiltons eCheck-in

bull Wagaboos restaurants in Madrid and Barcelona let prospective visitors select the restaurant date and time theyre interested in online then presenting them with a seating map with available (and suggested) tables

bull Still going strong SeatGuru helps passengers select airplane seating in-flight amenities and airline informa-tion based upon the airline and type of aircraft theyrsquore flying The site now features 25000+ user comments and offers more than 650 airline seat maps covering 90+ airlines The service has now also been incorporated into its parent site Expedia

bull TripKick tackles an equally important aspect of travel hotel rooms Coverage of each hotel includes detailed information on which rooms to requestmdashwhich rooms are oversized (rooms ending in 03 and 04 for example) which have great bathrooms or are quieter than others TripKick also points out which floors are better and which to avoid Guests are encouraged to add their own reviews and upload photos of rooms theyve stayed in

BTW were planning to do a Trend Briefing on MAPMANIA in the near future incorporating the latest in augmented reality so please do stay tuned

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Do you know just whose recommendations and ratings yoursquore blindly lapping up

Herersquos what is probably one of the current reviewospherersquos big-gest hurdles (and thus one of its biggest opportunities) and no its not trust its relevance Who are these people whose reviews determine what you read where you stay what you drive where you eat what you watch where you get operated onhellip Which is why for years wersquove brought up TWINSUMERS consumers whose lifestyles mirror yours who think live act consume alike and whose reviews therefore have real relevance Basically the onslaught of recommendations needs some transparency of its own

For those of you who have already worked out and executed a review strategy please focus on making reviews relevant for your visitors and customers by providing profiles backgrounds con-text A nice win for 2010 Some examples of whatrsquos (slowly) building in this field

bull Profiles | bookingcom and TripAdvisor do offer trav-eler profiles and they will at least give you information about the reviewerrsquos age gender travel styles location travel experience personal circumstances and so on but therersquos obviously plenty of room for more extensive profiles if not collaborative filtering Parallel to this ex-pect more people to first lsquocollectrsquo the people they trust

andor admire (Twitter followersfollowing or Facebook friends) and then turn to their lsquoaudiencersquo for advicerecommendations

bull Professionals | Oyster Hotel Reviews employs 13 pro-fessional reporters who independently review hotels paying for their own stays Once a review of a particular hotel has been posted online Oyster invites other travel-ers whove visited the same hotel to add their comments and reviews The site also recently began requiring con-sumers to use Facebook Connect if they want to rant or rave about a hotel Says Oyster The way we see it if yoursquore willing to attach your identity to your commentary yoursquore willing to stand behind what you say No anony-mous mudslinging no PR propaganda

Expect a host of new ventures to spring up and monetize collabo-rative filtering and profile matching in the next 12 months most likely by partnering with the Twitters Facebooks and LinkedIns of this world who are already profile-driven One for you

Do not let bad reviews go unanswered

Surprisingly so far the Review (R)Evolution has been pretty much one-way Quite a few brands still seem to believe that theyrsquove been granted an eternal lsquograce periodrsquo when it comes to dealing with all of the above While brands are no longer unaware of re-views they (to a large degree) still choose to listen not talk back trying to lsquolearnrsquo from the for-all-to-see Review (R)Evolution Which is surprising to say the least since a quick and honest reply or solution can defuse even the most damaging complaint

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In fact therersquos no standing on the sideline when it comes to TRANSPARENCY TRIUMPH and the least any brand should want or demand is the right of reply to get their side of the story in front of the mass audiences that now scan reviews Expect smart companies to increasingly post their apologies and solu-tions preferably directly alongside reviews from unhappy cus-tomers And yes that should include the occasional candid rebut-tal by a company that feels (and can prove) that a particular re-view is unfair or inaccurate

To see the future for Right of Reply check out

bull Tripadvisorrsquos Management Response feature allows representatives of hotels restaurants and attractions to respond to reviews written about their properties

bull Local business review site Yelp allows business owners to manage their own page with detailed information and lets them respond privately to reviewers The latter is also offered by Bazaarvoice which allows owners direct contact with posters of negative reviews HomeAway the vacation rentals marketplace has an owner-response feature too

bull Swedish Fairshopping allows consumers to post public complaints about companies they have done business with The companies mentioned are then given the chance to reply on the site Other users can chime in on the conversation agreeing or disagreeing with the initial complaint

Therersquos also a self-organized lsquoright of replyrsquo for B2C brands al-lowing for reviews on their own site All they have to do is to ask their customers and theyre in business Biggest advantage a guaranteed opportunity to publicly react to bad reviews that would otherwise pop up in less accessible spots And favorable reviews will of course bring the benefit of instant endorsements of whatever it is youre hawking Just one example American Ap-parelrsquos on-site reviews

Who knows one day well-performing lsquodirect brandsrsquo may actu-ally desire and encourage this kind of feedback which in turn will further add to the deluge

Last but not least check out services that monitor the mood out there aggregating online comments reviews and bits of feed-back from consumers about your products or brands And yes here too Twitter is an amazing example of how easy it has become to do some quick checks on what the verdict is on any kind of new product service and everything else worth re-viewing by millions of twitterers Two examples ScoutsLabs and Twitratr

You have no excuse for not knowing and you have no excuse for not replying either -)

Replying to angry mobs is the second best solution

May we humbly remind you that bad reviews are not the problem but a symptom Not listening to (dissatisfied) customers is often at the root of the problem Consumers donrsquot post their bad experiences straightaway Most will notify you or one of your colleagues first Itrsquos mismanagement of complaints and con-flicts that invokes postings Whether itrsquos someone at your help-desk someone in your stores or an account manager therersquos virtually always an opportunity to settle an issue before it goes public And if you really screw up beat customers to the punch by being the first to report failures Let customers know how you fix problems Eventually this will free up resources and energy to actively focus on enabling happy customers to post positive re-views Now thats TRANSPARENCY TRIUMPH -)

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How low can should you go

What else can we say about online price comparison than that full price transparency seems near Show us one consumer who does not spend hours hunting down the lowest fare for her Sydney-Perth trip the best price for that Philips television the cheapest copy of Murakamirsquos latest novel Needless to say that the dire state of the economy is making consumers flock to price comparison sites in greater numbers than ever before

So yes the Shopzillas Pricegrabbers Shoppingcoms Kelk-oos Google Product Searches Bechnas and Roboshoppers of this world will instantly find consumers what has become known as the lsquoInternet Pricersquo Next More niche and more sophis-tication

First like with reviews when therersquos mass therersquos going to be niche Expect plenty of dedicated one-category only price comparison sites to up the ante Fun examples

bull Liftopia lets ski resorts sell discounted lift tickets online Visitors simply choose dates and regions where they want to ski and then scroll through a list of budget-priced lift tickets

bull Medication comparison engine Medtipster finds its us-ers the best prices on prescriptions with the pricing given for specific pharmacies in onersquos neighborhood

bull mySupermarket is a free shopping and comparison website for supermarket shoppers that links the online portals of the UKs four main supermarket chains (Tesco ASDA Sainsburys and Ocado) and compares prices on the fly Also check out Grocio which claims 18000+ registered shoppers (as of August 2009)

bull OpenCarPricecom TrueCar RealCarTipscom and PriceHub offer reader-submitted information about what previous buyers paid and tips on how future shoppers can get the best deals by negotiating

bull BusJunction combs through discount fares on a dozen of the big bus lines that ply the major routes between Washington DC Philadelphia New York City and Bos-ton (as well as further west in hubs like Cleveland Buf-falo Chicago)

bull OurParents is a free eldercare matching service fo-cused on assisting children with aging parents The serv-ice offers descriptions services photos quality ratings price info etc for over 65000 care providers and allows consumers to filter search results by location cost qual-ity distance and special requirements

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bull Treatment Abroad the leading online medical tourism portal has launched a ratings and reviews system for medical tourists to share and rate their experiences of travelling overseas for medical treatment

bull lenspricecom compares eight large online contact lens retailers for the best prices for over 15 of the contact lens brands Findcontactlensescom does the same comparing the prices for 26 brands among 10 online retailers

Next Niche price comparison meets analysis While extensive price advice based on personal profiles assets preferences etcis already widespread (just think insurance and mortgages) expect to see more services really digging into consumers usage patterns then finding the best price Just one example Validas mybillauditcom which lets consum-ers upload their actual cell phone bills generating a detailed re-port (based on usage patterns) on what plan (and which carrier) would save them the most money

Point amp know

Could the iPhone (and Android and others) mean the final break-through for on-the-spot price comparison in the lsquorealrsquo world While mobile price comparison has forever been the promised killer app in a retail world that is still dominated by physical stores it took an iPhone (read a mobile device that finally makes it possible to surf the web on the go without a clunky interface or dial-up speeds that bring back memories of 1995) to unleash this promise

In short expect consumers to start treating real-world stores as showrooms and try-out centers while finding the lowest online price via their web-enabled cell phones Only hard-to-find and

unique objects of desire and impulse buys may escape the feel it - see it - try it offline - then buy it cheaper online routine Which in return means more direct sellers feeling compelled to match the lowest prices found on price comparison sites For your own brand youll have to figure out if thatrsquos going to be a race to the bottom or a clear signal you need to start delivering products and experiences that are hard to price if not pricelesshellip In the meantime keep an eye on

bull Shopsavvy an Android app allows the user to scan almost any barcode using the phonersquos camera and it will then search over 20000 online and local retailers to find the best price Once the best deal has been found users can either purchase online or use the phonersquos built-in Google Maps feature to find their way to the store Which means that even impulse buys arenrsquot lsquosafersquo any-more this may entice even the most buy-ready real-world shoppers to postpone their purchase for a few minutes -) Shopshavvy won the 2008 Google Android Developers contest and has been launched in the US UK The Netherlands Germany Austria Poland and the Czech Republic A version for the iPhone is in the works

bull Californian SnapTell says half a million iPhone and An-droid users have downloaded its application (which unlike Shopsavvy allows users to photograph a product using cameras in their handsets and then upload it to the website for reviews recommendations and best prices) resulting in more than 15 million image queries so far More than one in three buyers click through to an online retailer earning SnapTell commissions

bull SnapTell is owned by Amazoncom who last month also released its own free Android mobile application which allows users to take photos of an item on their phone or scan a barcode and then have Amazon search for the same product online enabling immediate comparison with the physical-retail price If the price is right users can purchase the item securely from their mobile device

You are reading a PDF version of one of our free monthly Trend Briefings More at wwwtrendwatchingcom 13 13 13 13 13 10 15

The lowest (fuel) price finding you

Combine devices that know where you are and what you might be looking for with an alert functionality and you will end up with the best price finding you

Examples

bull The TomTom Fuel Price Service for a yearly subscrip-tion fee of EUR 1495 users select whether to list gas stations by location or price on their device and can request the lowest gas prices on their route within a user-selected radius Travelers can also choose which type of gas they would like tracked regular mid-grade premium or diesel The service is available in the United Kingdom The Netherlands and France

bull Apnoti watches Amazon for price drops You can use it either by dropping in the Amazon product link and your e-mail address or by installing a tool bar that adds the option to watch a price to Amazoncom Similar services are offered by ZingSale Ookong WishRadar Price-Drop

bull While sites like Liligo Expedia and Ctrip all provide fare alerts to help travelers track tickets and hotels that match their preferences and alerts them by email when prices drop Yapta goes the extra mile if the price of an airline ticket drops below what someone has paid Yapta will alert them when they are eligible for a refund from the airline Since launching its initial airfare tracking serv-ice in May 2007 Yapta claims it has alerted over 600000 travelers to more than USD 170 million in poten-tial savings (an average of USD 306 per Yapta user)

More pricing fun if yoursquore in a business with volatile non-transparent and ever-changing pricing expect price-forecasting services to hungrily eye your space A few examples

bull Farecast offers airfare predictions from over 75 US de-parture cities to major domestic destinations as well as for 200 international routes Users can check if fares are increasing or dropping and are provided with recom-mendations on when to buy The website makes its pre-dictions primarily by searching for patterns in ticket prices on airline and travel agent websites and claims a 745 accuracy Farecast also offers rate indicators for hotels in 30 destinations Each of the 5000 hotels on the site has its own Hotel Rate Key with a chart show-ing what theyve charged in the past and what they will (probably) charge over the next 90 days The site capital-

You are reading a PDF version of one of our free monthly Trend Briefings More at wwwtrendwatchingcom 13 13 13 13 13 11 15

izes on vast amounts of data that have been accumu-lated over the last decade Farecast is part of Micro-softs Bing search engine Expect Google to be all over these kinds of services in the very near future toohellip

bull FareComparecom offers historical prices for trips in 77000 markets in the US and Canada It seeks out fares and destinations at a billion combinations per query while keeping track of 500 airlines serving more than 270000 markets around the globe

Those consumers who care will now find out

Corporate transparency doesnrsquot stop at product reviews or price comparison In fact itrsquos going to be crucial for companies to un-derstand that because individualsconsumers are opening up in many ways if not becoming lsquotransparentrsquo especially online they will expect companies to be more transparent too (read to become more human)

And while we will save for another Trend Briefing the many ways in which corporations can now be exposed whenever their be-havior is dismal if not downright despicable we do want to briefly point out how transparency of everything from production processes to ingredients to labor conditions will increasingly influence performance and pricing reviews The lsquowholersquo picture will matter to those consumers who when looking for the best of the best take into account not just price or superior quality but eco health social and ethical concerns too

Some spottings

You are reading a PDF version of one of our free monthly Trend Briefings More at wwwtrendwatchingcom 13 13 13 13 13 12 15

bull GoodGuide is an information clearinghouse for green consumers integrating hundreds of databases that evaluate the life cycles of over 70000 products such as food personal care cleaning products and toys An iPhone application is available too

bull Project Label strives to produce people-powered social nutrition labels Think food nutrition labels but instead of showing the health impact labels will show a companys social and environmental impact

bull In July 2009 Walmart announced plans to develop a worldwide sustainable product index during a meeting with 1500 of its suppliers associates and sustainability leaders The index will establish a single source of data for evaluating the sustainability of products Eventually the goal is to translate the product information in the index into a simple rating for consumers about the sus-tainability of a product

bull Fatburgr puts together the nutritional facts about a vari-ety of fast-food restaurants and chains Some 25 restau-rants are currently listed on Fatburgrmdashincluding McDon-alds Subway and Chilis For each of them the site lists the calories fat carbs and fiber content for each menu item All data is available on the iPhone too

For every trend theres a counter trend Not every trend applies to all consumers and whats more to those it does apply it wonrsquot apply all the time So while TRANSPARENCY TRIUMPH will be a reality for the majority of brands wersquoll also witness a number of brands that will go for a less-than-transparent approach to busi-ness and will get away with hiding with not being open with not having mass conversations with customers Does this contradict everything laid out above No

In the end plenty of consumers will accept (if not welcome) an opaque brand if that brand consistently delivers and surprises

bull A lot of people like to keep things simple Sometimes they just want to get it over with instead of having to review and compare and research for hours on end For many time is still the new currency

bull For some products and services surprise excitement the unexpected is part of the charm Researching and reviewing something to death can make a purchase or experience too safe

bull Related too much information can make one indecisive as therersquos now an unfavorable review or potential disad-vantage to be found for everything And as long as those bad reviews are from reviewers whose background is unknown relying on a trustmark instead may offer peace of mind

bull Last but not least some brands manage to offer unique-ness (both by creating something truly special and by

You are reading a PDF version of one of our free monthly Trend Briefings More at wwwtrendwatchingcom 13 13 13 13 13 13 15

acting as a curators) which is then less prone to stan-dard reviews comparisons

Apple is an example of an opaque brand especially for those Apple customers who just want to be dazzled entertained and want to belong So are brands such as Singapore Airlines Method Four Seasons IKEA and Virgin Atlantic they need less researching and reviewing as existing and potential customers know expect and ultimately trust theyrsquore going to get the best of the best if not something unique Pleasant side effect unique offerings also greatly reduce if not eliminate price-sensitivity

So if you wish to go OPENLY OPAQUE make sure yoursquore the best hard to duplicate curated trusted reliable and so on And yes any other kind of opaqueness means yoursquore toast -)

In the end this is about being triumphant in the business arena

In business it doesnrsquot get scarier and more exciting than TRANSPARENCY TRIUMPH and OPENLY OPAQUE as both trends at their core are about inspiring brands to deliver some-thing superior something that can withstand scrutiny and compe-tition something that gets consumers raving preferably to other consumers Which in a nutshell is what business is all about no

It does mean that in a transparent world for both brands and consumers settling for anything thats sub-par becomes a choice not an accident And yet itrsquos still early days for TRANS-PARENCY TRIUMPH Changes in behavior and in technology all point towards an even more transparent marketplace in the near future which in turn is taking cues from a more transparent soci-ety

So ditch lsquodiscussionsrsquo on whether this will impact your business or not and open up Some tips

bull Come up with a map a list an overview showing who is reviewing you and where and what percentage of your sales and revenues is already influenced by them Sites Top reviewers Channels How to figure that out Well ask your customers how they found you or why they returned who they listened to what site they used to find the lowest price This is field work but worth it

bull Actively respond to bad reviews Either on your own site or through syndication If consumers are going to post about their experiences anyway theres definitely merit in presenting these reviews (all of them) on your own site At least this will make exercising your right of reply easier

You are reading a PDF version of one of our free monthly Trend Briefings More at wwwtrendwatchingcom 13 13 13 13 13 14 15

bull Promote positive reviews by enabling satisfied custom-ers to share their experiences

bull And thats just a few practical things you can do strate-gically you will have to figure out how to become a transparent human brand or an OPENLY OPAQUE human brand Which is obviously of a different magni-tude than dealing with a deluge of reviews or fierce price comparison its ultimately about character about finding your voice about your behavior as a brand that if in tune with the current zeitgeist of openness and generosity automatically turns transparency into a benefit instead of a threat Oh well you get the picture

No rest for the wicked eh Good luck scoring a few TRANSPAR-ENCY TRIUMPHS (or going OPENLY OPAQUE) yourself

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