Womo

Word of Mouth
Type of site
 review site
Available in English
Owner Word Of Mouth Online Pty. Ltd.
Website wordofmouth.com.au
Alexa rank 28,084 (August 2014)[1]
Registration available
Launched 2007
Current status active

Word of Mouth (previously WOMO - Word Of Mouth Online) is an Australian based business review site containing crowd-sourced reviews of local businesses.[2][3][4] The site is entirely based on user-generated content and as of 2013, it was ranked as top Australian business review website with 400k reviews for business based in Australia.[5]

History

Word of Mouth was founded in 2007 as WOMOW Pty Ltd by Fiona Adler and Brad Bond in 2007.[6][7] They conceived the initial idea for Word of Mouth by Fiona's frustrations in locating good local tradespeople in the Melbourne.[8] Initially the site was focused on businesses in Melbourne, later in 2008 it expanded to the whole of Australia. The website is solely build on user-generated confined content, the business listing is induced when members first review a business on the website.[9]

In 2011, the 'W' was dropped from the acronym and launched as womo.com.au.

The company was bought by Oneflare Pty Ltd in early 2015 and have since relocated to Sydney working in the offices with Oneflare. It's referred as the Yelp of Australia. As of December 2015, Word of mouth has 480,000 reviews for local businesses operating in Australia.[10]

In 2016 it underwent a brand refresh and was re-launched as Word of Mouth

Features

Word of Mouth's website, wordofmouth.com.au, is a crowd-sourced local business review and social networking site.[11][12] The site has pages devoted to individual locations, such as hotels or professional services, where website users can submit a review on their products or services. Word of Mouth developed a TrustFactor methodology which incorporates how much the website know about the individual and how much history and contributions they have with the site. Each review on the site is weighted by the member's TrustFactor. Reviews from members with a high TrustFactor counting for more than reviews from those with a low TrustFactor. It helps in evaluating and weighing the overall review for business from more trusted members. Some reviews from new members are not live until they gain reputation by reviewing other businesses.[13]

It also runs point based rewards program based on their reviews, referrals and other actions. The gained points are exhibited on a leadership board and are later claimed for shopping vouchers.[14]

Revenue

Word of Mouth's revenues come from businesses upgrading their listing to join a premium program called the Happy Customers Program. This provides tools for businesses to encourage customer reviews and showcase their reviews through physical and digital collateral. It also allows businesses to display additional information on their page and are given priority placement with sponsored tags in the search results.

Criticism

Word of Mouth has been criticized by consumers as being too lenient on businesses and sometimes not publishing negative reviews, and regularly upsets businesses that object to their negative reviews. Typically if a business complains then WOMO will remove bad reviews. They also allow fake reviews from obviously fake reviewers. [15] The founders, however, state that they maintain a system to ensure that the truth is heard in a way that does not incite litigation.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Womo.com.au Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  2. ↑ Kate Jones (October 2, 2013 Read later). "Fight back against fake online reviews". The Age. Retrieved 21 August 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ↑ "Opportunity for aspiring startup founders to disrupt failing industries". Startup Daily. November 13, 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Our biggest hang up". The Sydney Morning Herald. June 10, 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Best And Worst Online Reviewed Industries". Yahoo News. November 12, 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Manage your business reputation online". News.com.au. September 5, 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  7. ↑ Yolanda Redrup (August 18, 2014). "3D cameras, motion sensors, gaming: gym exercise goes seriously techie". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  8. ↑ JACKIE SINNERTON (May 21, 2013). "New survey by business review site reveals what makes customers lose their cool". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  9. ↑ Matthew White (March 18, 2014). "Avoid fines: The right way to get reviews". MSN. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "ACCC cracks down on fake reviews, sues Electrodry". The Sydney Morning Herald. July 2, 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Avoid fines: The right way to get reviews". Businesses.com.au. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "What to do after a negative online review". Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "What is WOMO?". Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "Instant Marquees Win 2012 WoMo Service Award". Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  15. ↑ http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2061481
  16. ↑ http://blog.wordofmouth.com.au/fake-reviews-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
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