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Get Them Talking: How Growing
Participation Chains Will Grow Sales
November 17, 2009
By Sam Decker (@samdecker)and Ze Frank (@zefrank)The Participation Chain
As part of a consumer research study, likely to take the next step of allowing the residents of Dallas, Texas, received a phone cookie seller to visit their homes. Once the call asking if they would let a Hunger Relief salesperson was at their doorstep, they were Committee representative come to their almost certain to purchase. homes and sell them cookies, with the proceeds to be used to buy meals for the This powerful analog interaction can needy. Only 18 percent agreed. But, when the be replicated online in what we call a caller started by asking, "How are you "participation chain" - a way of cultivating feeling this evening?" and waited for a reply, user involvement so that each action builds 32 percent - nearly double the earlier number upon the one before, building value along - agreed to a visit from the cookie seller. the way. After an initial act of participation, Even more astounding was the fact that marketers can then lead the person to another once someone followed up by paying a act, and to another, and so on. The chain visit, nearly everyone (89 percent) made a of user engagement not only increases that cookie purchase. person's relationship with your brand, and potentially leads to a purchase, but may Daniel J. Howard, the researcher at Southern also leave behind a "trail" of content which Methodist University who conducted the can lead other site visitors to increase their study, called this the "foot-in-the-mouth own engagement. In 2007, Forrester's Brian effect," because, in this case, the salesperson Haven concluded that "engagement" was didn't even need to get a foot in the door. marketing's new key metric, but engagement Once people had expressed themselves in is not a binary thing. It needs to be cultivated even the most banal way, saying "good" by leading users along a participation chain.or "fine" or the like, they were much more
2Participation Creates Engagement Value
90% of UK shoppers surveyed said they There were nearly 116 million US user-wish they could communicate directly with generated content consumers in 2008, along businesses - using live chat, forums or call- with 82.5 million content creators. Both me-back facilities - via their websites; one in numbers are set to climb significantly by 2013. three require it from the UK businesses they (eMarketer, February 2009)currently use. (1&1, October 2007) See more stats at www.bazaarvoice.com/stats.
Stats
Here are two generally accepted principles: "The Ikea Effect," noting that his research has found that labor undertaken in association 1. In traditional recency, frequency, monetary with a brand - such as self-assembly of Ikea (RFM) models, direct marketers know that furniture - increases people's affection for the the person most likely to respond to an result of that labor. "When people construct offer is someone who has responded to products themselves, from bookshelves to a previous offer. Build-a-Bears, they come to overvalue their (often poorly made) creations," Norton writes.2. Researchers know that someone who has participated in a survey, usability Online, those who labor to contribute content study, or focus group is likely to change - reviews, answers, stories, wishlists, etc. the way they think or behave as a result - have, in effect, invested themselves in of that experience. something. Their contributions could be for the sake of others. A study by Keller Fay and We can combine these two principles into a Bazaarvoice revealed 90% of people who simple truth: time and money are two sides write product reviews do so to help others, of the same coin. In general, the more time and 80% do so to help the brand. Regardless a customer spends with you - assuming a of whether the investment is for others or for positive experience - the more likely they the brand, when someone participates within are to spend money with you (or take some a platform or web site, they increase their related action). A Harvard Business Review connection to that brand or platform.article by Michael I. Norton refers to this as
3John Lazarchic, PETCO's VP of e-commerce, says having reviews on his site has led to increased levels of engagement and loyalty. "Customers who write reviews a... [download for more]
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