Customer Lobby
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Business ratings and reviews |
| Founded | September 2007 |
| Headquarters | Berkeley, California |
| Products | CustomerLobby.com |
| Website | www.CustomerLobby.com |
Customer Lobby is a web-based client to proactively invite end-customers for reviews, verify their authenticity before publishing, and correspond with consumers to manage negative reviews.[1][2] Customer Lobby is among the customer reviews companies that conduct call-based reviews as a component of its service.
Products and services
In response to the significant impact that online reviews may have on a business,[3][4][5][6][7] Customer Lobby's core product incorporates a set of tools that enable service businesses to acquire, manage, and publish reviews. Reviews are a popular type of user-generated content that web users may tend to research before making offline purchase decisions.[8][9] Due to the relative difficulty for service-based business to obtain online reviews, businesses may use Customer Lobby to proactively reach out to their clients for reviews via email. In addition, provided by Customer Lobby is Customer Call, whereby businesses obtain phone-based reviews from target customers in order to guarantee regular and updated reviews. Other popular features include; featured reviews, private feedback, and the ability for businesses to respond to reviews publicly.
Customer Lobby generates revenue from membership fees. Memberships are on a month-to-month basis. Consequently, clients' reviews pages are free from advertising and competitive offers.
Review Process
To proliferate authentic reviews of businesses, the review process has three stages: Acquisition, Management, and Publication. Reviews accrue from three sources: First, businesses can proactively invite their clients via email to submit a review. Second, businesses may choose to have Customer Lobby solicit a client for a review. Finally, a client may submit an unsolicited review of the company directly from the Internet.
Once submitted, a review enters a queue for verification. Hitherto, verification of authentic reviews has been the principle pathology in user-generated content.[10][11] Businesses have a 10-day period to preview reviews before they are published online. They may publish valid reviews immediately. In the instances of invalid reviews (e.g. reviews from non-clients, competitors, or disgruntled ex-employees), the business can use the web tools to challenge the review. In this event, Customer Lobby contacts the reviewer to indicate proof of service transaction. Non-compliant reviews are terminated after 10-days. In the instances of a valid, but challenging review, businesses may use the opportunity to contact the reviewer in question to resolve the issue and retain them for future business. If resolved, the reviewer may withdraw the original review. Published reviews may also be challenged by online visitors who can flag the reviews invalid. As an independent entity, Customer Lobby contacts the reviewer for proof of service. The goal of these processes is to; maximize consumer satisfaction, business-consumer relations, and business reputation management potential.
After a review has been verified or 10 days have lapsed, the review publishes in two locations. First, each review publishes as an independent web page that indexes in organic search results. The result has visible stars that indicate the overall review rating next to the heading of the listing. Second, the review is aggregated with the business' other reviews and linked to the business' website. As opposed to a self-published testimonial, the reviews are hosted by a 3rd party in the effort to confer independent credibility.[12][13][14]
References
- ↑ Alsever, Jennifer (2009-09-28). "Even Bad Reviews Boost Sales". CNN Money. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
- ↑ Fowler, Geoffrey and Joseph De Avila (2009-10-05). "On the Internet, Everyone's a Critic But They're Not Very Critical". Wall Street Journal: Technology. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ↑ Werbler, Carolyn (2008-06-08). "Online Consumer Reviews Significantly Impact Consumer Purchasing Decisions". Opinion Research Corporation. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ↑ Lipsman, Andrew (2007-11-29). "Online Consumer-Generated Reviews Have Significant Impact on Offline Purchase behavior". comScore, Press Release. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
- ↑ Alt, Brian (2004-11-29). "Customer Ratings Tested". Marketing Experiments Journal. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- ↑ Holland, Anne (2007-05-21). "Adding Customer Reviews Increases Conversions". Marketing Sherpa. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ↑ Eisenberg, Brian (2007-10-12). "How to Use Customer Reviews to Increase Conversions". ClickZ, iPerception. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ↑ Grannis, Kathy and Ellen Davis (2007-03-12). "RAMA Research Finds Magazines, Television and Newspapers Prompt Online Product Searches". BIGresearch. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ↑ Marketing, Sherpa (2007-06-03). "Exclusive: Dramatic New Data on How User Reviews Influence Purchasing Decisions". Marketing Sherpa Press Release: Goldstar Events Inc. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ↑ Miller, Claire Cain (2009-07-14). "Company Settles Case of Reviews It Faked". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
- ↑ Davis, Wendy (2009-01-21). "Yelp Reviews Spawn At Least Five Lawsuits". MediaPost News. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
- ↑ DeBare, Ilana (2006-09-29). "Amateur reviews changing approach of small businesses". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- ↑ Voight, Joan (2007-07-02). "Getting a Handle on Customer Reviews". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ↑ Walker, Josh (2009-01-12). "Don't Fear Online Customer Reviews". Business Week. Retrieved 2009-08-31.