Under Review

Three discussions in one week on the topic of user-generated reviews is a sure sign that publishers are on the bandwagon. But what these discussions helped underscore is that user-generated reviews are largely unexplored territory, meaning unanticipated outcomes in some cases.

One publisher, after pushing a user review feature on his site for well over a year, is finally getting a decent volume of reviews, but they are distributed very unevenly. Some companies have garnered dozens of reviews, while the majority still have none. The publisher was considering a promotion to the companies with no reviews, urging them to encourage their customers to post comments. At the same time, the publisher was aware this might inspire some of these companies to game the system by reviewing themselves or only encouraging their most satisfied customers to post reviews.

Another publisher was having the exact opposite issue: too many reviews for anyone to possibly read, and often wildly contradictory to boot. Was he simply aggregating "gigabytes of garbage" he wondered? Could anyone find value in information that was routinely all over the map?
A third publisher, trying to avoid some of the issues of free-form commentary, has instituted a user rating system. His concern? Virtually every organization in his database was scoring between 7 and 8 on a 1 to 10 scale. Beyond the curiosity of it all was the problem that ratings aren't very useful if everyone has essentially the same rating!

There are no easy answers to these situations, but I would offer this basic guidance: if we institute user ratings, we need to work with and trust what we get. If we view ratings as a value-add to our core dataset, then it's clearly not our problem if not every company in our database has a rating. Similarly, numerous and contradictory comments about a company may not offer a clear answer, but if we help the user to conclude "where there's smoke, there's fire" or "proceed with caution," we've still delivered real value. As to the problem of similar ratings, remember that we are still creating useful differentiation from those companies with no ratings. TripAdvisor is trying some innovative things to summarize user comments to make them more actionable, so it's possible that technology may ultimately allow us to smooth out some of the issues relating to user comments and ratings. In the short-run, however, other than working to try to keep user posts useful and honest, don't get hung up trying to perfect this content, which is inherently messy and imprecise. User-generated content is simply color commentary that enhances what really matters: your underlying database.

A Healthy Partnership Model

One of our Models of Excellence winners, Healthline Networks, has scored a major distribution deal with U.S. News & World Report. Healthline’s health information is now part of the USNews.com site. When users search the USNews.com site for health information, Healthline's Healthfind service will search its database of more than one million medical terms. Search results will include those found within Healthline as well as U.S. News' own library of health-related information.

The initiative includes a number of features to simplify the search process for site visitors. For example, a HealthMaps feature makes it easier for users to conduct their searches--all they need to do is click on topics related to a disease of interest instead of typing keywords into a search box. Navigation links are designed to help expand or streamline searches.

By signing on with U.S. News & World Report, Healthline will undoubtedly get its information into the hands of consumers who have never utilized their services; and by aligning itself with such a powerful and well-known brand as U.S. News, Healthline will be able to further build out its own brand due to this increased exposure.

Both U.S. News and Healthline wanted to create a service that would provide consumers a reliable source of health information. When seeking partnerships for your organization, your due diligence must include confirmation that your soon-to-be partner has the same goals and objectives for an alliance that you do. It's just as important to find a partner that is as established in its market as you are in yours. Only then does your partnership have the potential to become a match made in heaven.

How Does Your Web Site Rate?

Does your Web site make the grade? There's a new service that just might be able to tell you how you're doing online. The Ratings Guy this week announced the launch of the company's Web site ratings and review services. Web sites that make the grade (they have to be tops in providing users high quality, trusted and experienced resources) are presented with The Ratings Guy's Great Site seal, which can be placed on their sites. You can take a look at which sites have earned The Ratings Guy's approval at www.TheRatingsGuy.com. With so much to choose from on the Web, users are increasingly turning to objective rating services like The Ratings Guy for guidance and recommendations.

The Ratings Guy uses a proprietary review methodology to grade Web sites. The sites are tested by independent reviewers on such aspects as transparency, accuracy, timeliness, functionality, trust and usefulness. The company focuses on sites in consumer lifestyle information categories such as health and wellness; travel and leisure; house and home; animals and pets; diet and cuisine; kids; and shopping.

If your business doesn't fall into any of these categories, it's still worth your time to visit The Ratings Guy site to learn about best practices on the Web and get some ideas on how to make your site more engaging to customers. If your site does need work, it's definitely not alone. According to company co-founder John Morrow, less than three percent of Web sites meet The Ratings Guy approval.

AC-U-KWIK Goes Mobile

Penton Media's AC-U-KWIK announced last week that users can now access AC-U-KWIK information directly from their handheld mobile devices with Web access. By using equipment such as PDAs and cell phones, customers can easily view airport data such as airport listings, fixed base operator (FBO), airport phone numbers, fuel prices and Web sites, weather information and a distance calculator on the go.

According to a company statement, this new functionality was launched as a result of customer request. If you’re ever in doubt on what product or service to launch next, certainly take into account the input you receive from senior management. But don't discount the valuable insight your customers can offer. Oftentimes, they use your products and services in ways you never dreamed--but they're using your offerings 'in the trenches', so their feedback is invaluable.

Today's customers want their information wherever, whenever they need it and in real time. Technology enables such functionality and customers know it’s available. By offering AC-U-KWIK on mobile devices, customers can virtually take the information with them--and if you're an AC-U-KWIK customer, you’re definitely not tied to a desktop computer. Now, wherever these customers are, AC-U-KWIK will be top of mind. And isn't that, at the end of the day, what publishers want?

VSS Acquires Advanstar

Equity investor Veronis Suhler Stevenson last week acquired Advanstar Communications for $1.142 billion. (Co-sponsors of the investment are Citigroup Private Equity and New York Life Capital Partners.) Among Advanstar's more prominent properties are the MAGIC Marketplace apparel market trade show and Dealer Expo, a powersports aftermarket trade show. Advanstar's slate of offerings includes 87 international and regional events, 58 publications and directories and 125 electronic publications and Web sites.

Advanstar also offers educational and direct marketing products and services with a customer base that comprises both business professionals and consumers.

The fact that Advanstar is a strong player in a variety of growing vertical markets likely appealed to VSS; and principals at the investment firm undoubtedly have a plan already in place to further increase the presence of Advanstar's slate of products. In announcing the deal, VSS officials suggested that growth will be sparked organically as well as through acquisitions. While the media industry, particular when it comes to magazine titles, has suffered some losses lately (the shutdown of Child magazine late last week is the most recent), expect some healthy gains from the Advanstar properties. VSS apparently sees plenty of potential and possesses the resources necessary to fuel that potential. It certainly won’t be a quiet year for Advanstar.