No one believes your brochures, banner ads or billboards. What people trust are words straight from your customers’ mouths. From keywords, online reviews, and conversations taking place across social media, it’s easier than ever to listen to what your fans, haters and ambassadors are saying. Learn how to identify your different types of customers online; explore ways organizations can incorporate user-generated content into marketing campaigns; and understand the realities in making customer reviews an effective part of your brand’s marketing strategy.

1. LEVERAGING
CUSTOMER
CONVERSATIONS
TO ENHANCE
YOUR CONTENT
MARKETING
Marisa Peacock
the Strategic Peacock

3. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
WHY YOUR CUSTOMERS’ WORDS MATTER
▸ 70% of people rely on customer reviews before making a purchase.
▸ Nearly 81% of the consumers seek out the opinion of others online
before making a purchase are categorized as Millennials.
▸ Millennials say they are more likely to visit user-generated review
sites like Yelp or Angie’s List, while consumers 35 years of age or
older are more likely to rely on independent review sites like
Consumer Reports.
▸ About 72% of millennials say they take their “friends” opinions into
account, while 46% of older consumers trust the opinions offered by
those in their social networks.
source: Mintel, 2015

4. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
WHY YOUR CUSTOMERS’ WORDS MATTER?
▸ Customers often use words that you might not have
thought to use.
▸ The words customers use provide perspectives on how
they are using your products and the considerations that
influenced their decision to purchase.

5. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
WHERE TO LOOK?
▸ There are lots of places to look for the words your customers are
using when they talk about your brand or products, including:
▸ Surveys
▸ Blogs
▸ Review sites
▸ Observations in store
▸ Social media
▸ Point of sale
▸ Customer Service
▸ Online Communities & groups
▸ Email and web forms
▸ Keyword searches

6. REVIEW SITES Yelp
What to look for:
‣ adjectives
‣ locations
‣ products purchased
‣ reasons for shopping

7. REVIEW SITES retailer websites
What to look for:
‣ demographics info — age, gender, location
‣ criteria (small space, large room)
‣ expectations vs. results
‣ reasons for shopping
‣ pain points
‣ surprise delights

8. REVIEW SITES retailer websites

9. REVIEW SITES retailer websites

10. SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook
What to look for:
‣ adjectives
‣ the journey
‣ expectations vs. results
‣ reasons for shopping
‣ community impacts

11. SOCIAL MEDIA Pinterest
What to look for:
‣ the name of the boards
‣ their intent - to buy vs. someday
‣ the words they use - couch vs. sofa
‣ rooms & themes
‣ number of repins
‣ reverse engineer

12. CUSTOMER SERVICE In Store
What to look for:
‣ questions people ask
‣ emotions — excitement, exhaustion, frustration
‣ age, life stage, budget
‣ their intent - to buy vs. someday
‣ the words they use - couch vs. sofa
‣ the journey

13. CUSTOMER SERVICE Phone & Email
What to look for:
‣ questions people ask - price, availability
‣ pain points
‣ emotions — frustration, relief, satisfaction
‣ the words they use - couch vs. sofa

14. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
WHAT WORDS ARE CUSTOMERS USING?
▸ What scenarios or events influenced your customer’s
review?
▸ What qualities stand out?
▸ Look for trends in different locations. Customers in urban
areas will have different standards, than those in suburban
markets.
▸ Different products will appeal to different users — learn
why and then use it to market it to similar target audiences.

15. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
NEGATIVE WORDS
▸ Not all the words your customer use will be positive.
▸ Look for patterns in negative reviews and they’ll tell you
what you need to work on.

16. CASE STUDY:
Charles P. Rogers
‣ in 2015, CPR was featured in an
Apartment Therapy blog article
“Top Ten: Best Platform Beds Under
$2,000”
‣ Comments spoke highly of the CPR
beds recommended
‣ CPR regularly uses this article in
their emails.

17. CASE STUDY

18. CASE STUDY:
Domino’s
‣ Focus groups revealed negative
perspectives about Domino’s pizza
‣ Executives chose to own, not ignore
criticism
‣ Used focus group words in marketing
strategy to demonstrate how and
why they changed
‣ Shared customer reviews in real time,
on website and social media

19. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
HOW TO USE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ WORDS
▸ Leverage customer reviews to build reputation
▸ Feature your best unedited reviews at a prominent spot
on your website.
▸ Add the name and photo of a customer to make the
review even more authentic and credible. (Get
permission from the customers first!)

20. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
HOW TO USE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ WORDS
▸ Share reviews in promotional emails
▸ Include customer feedback in your promotional emails
to encourage customers to make a purchase.
▸ Promote independent blogs that boast your awesome
products — include link back to original source.
▸ Appeal to common themes, experiences, life stages
based on research, audience segmentation.

21. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
HOW TO USE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ WORDS
▸ Share customer reviews on social media
▸ Social media platforms such as Facebook are popular
places for customers to talk about and leave feedback
or reviews for a specific product or business.
▸ Collect and leverage positive customer reviews by
sharing them on your company’s social media pages.
▸ Add a customer picture or video to add credibility to
your business by showing them why people like you.

22. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
HOW TO USE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ WORDS
▸ Always Listen – Hear What Your Customers are Saying
▸ When listening to your customers, take into account
what changes your organization should make from this
feedback, and then follow through.
▸ Empower customer representatives to collect
information that might help marketing initiatives

23. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
HOW TO USE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ WORDS
▸ Always Listen – Hear What
Your Customers are Saying
▸ Create a worksheet reps can
use to record customers’
unique or memorable words
▸ Review on a weekly/monthly
basis

24. HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017
HOW TO USE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ WORDS
▸ Reinvigorate your SEO
▸ Approach SEO from the perspective of your target audience
▸ Invest in targeting that focuses on life events, design
challenges, budget (ex. “best couches for small spaces”,
“must have furniture for your new home/first apartment”,
“best beds under $1000”)
▸ add category tags that correspond to Pinterest boards (ex.
“for the home”, “small spaces”, “lake house”)

25. THANKS!
EMAIL: MARISA@STRATEGICPEACOCK.COM
VISIT: WWW.STRATEGICPEACOCK.COM
FOLLOW: @MARISACP51
The Strategic Peacock
HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION * LAS VEGAS * JANUARY 23, 2017