Singapore – A recent survey by SEO software firm Bright Local showed that 91% of people read online reviews before buying products from local businesses. Delving deeper, up to 84% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
This means that people are becoming more proactive with their product research – and relying on website-based reviews to make purchase decisions.
Product reviews are a dime a dozen, but finding a good one can be challenging. Nicolo Robba, Co-Founder of Superble, shares 3 major issues with existing product review websites that he aims to solve with his social discovery platform, Superble.
1. 10% of product reviews are about the product, while 90% are about the transaction, says Robba
The problem with product reviews is that they’re often focused on detailing transactions rather than the product itself. This can be quite the headache if consumers are looking for information on the quality of a product. Robba first noticed this problem when he was the VP Commercial Program Manager of the Lazada Group, working to revamp product reviews on Lazada’s ecommerce website.
While a product review may talk about how a piece of luggage comes in a nice colour and the packaging is great – it doesn’t go much further. Is the luggage roomy enough for winter essentials? And which items can fit in the compartments?
According to Nicolo, product discovery starts from the experiences of the users. “You are much more interested in a pair of running shoes if you know that they helped your friend to run a marathon, or in a nice dog collar if you know that it saved the life of your friend’s dog. What’s great is that product vendors can also use this feedback to improve their marketing strategies and product development, which results in better products for customers,” says Robba.
2. There is little economic incentive for users to create good content
When done right, product recommendations sparks conversations and creates trust between brands and customers. Although consumers may be regular social media and Internet users, they require compelling incentive to share their opinions – what’s in it for them?
Nicolo highlights a common pain point for content creators, “as a blogger, it’s hard to make money off your content unless you succeed to build an audience of millions of people who correspond to the buying persona of specific businesses that want to promote their brand. This takes an incredible amount of time and constant effort in creating original content that appeals to the masses”
Superble provides a monetizable distribution platform for everyday product reviewers. “After 3 months, Superble has grown a user base of 2,000 subscribers who have uploaded more than 4,000 products and 150 articles concentrated on topics such as beauty, fitness, pets and travel. The content has generated very positive reviews from more than 2,000 active members and 100,000 buyers who visited the website and the Android application,” says Robba.
“Superble will be the first platform to allow bloggers and influencers to monetize instantly on their content, by sharing insightful recommendations and by answering other users’ questions. Our growing community acts as a social springboard for your content, providing a boost in both readership and revenue”.
All a user needs to do is to give product recommendations or write articles featuring the products you like and the system generates automatically relevant links to the affiliated websites. On Superble’s platform, you can win points as soon as someone else buys a product that you recommended or featured in one of your articles. “On the platform, 1000 points gives you SGD $100. Some of our bloggers generated 1500 points in the first 30 days,” says Robba, which means users can earn up to SGD $150 per month on providing recommendations for products they buy.
In this way, Robba hopes to give a monetary incentive to product reviewers as well as an avenue for exposure.
3. Quality products aren’t getting the publicity they deserve.
Another challenge with product reviews is the difficulty in gauging trustworthiness. Reviews can easily be construed as marketing copy, especially when they’re paid for by the product manufacturer – which lowers the credibility of their brand image.
Nicolo explains that Superble combats this with its value-ranking system, which puts most-liked products at the top of users’ recommendation lists. As a result, it puts the power of ranking reviews in the hands of smart buyers who Robba believes can see through marketing copy.
Superble plans to expand to other markets after receiving angel investment
After an angel investment of US $250,000, the startup plans to raise funds in the next 6 months to further expand outside of Singapore and quickly scale into bigger English-speaking markets. It’s also signed an exclusive partnership with Lazada which will allow it to tap into the e-commerce giant’s database of bloggers, influencers and brands.
“We work closely with affiliates such as Amazon and Lazada to tap into their network of top brands to offer discounts to users. While retailers get to experience positive sales growth, users get to purchase popular products at lower prices,” says Robba.
Andrea Baronchelli, former CMO of Lazada Singapore, says “Genuine product recommendations and reviews have always been a big focus for Lazada, as they help our customers to find the right products on our platform. Superble shares the same vision and through bringing in additional reviews, helps shoppers with their decision making through the purchasing funnel”.
Q&A feature Wendajia (“ask everyone”) is one of the most popular features of Mobile Taobao, which serves 369 million users monthly in China. It allows shoppers to pose questions about products to the Taobao community.
The platform receives as many as 1 million questions and over 2 million people answering queries daily. According to Nicolo, this is the sort of communication channel Superble hopes to build between users, influencers, and brands.
Superble considers its own competitors websites like ProductHunt, Influester and, more broadly, Quora. These platforms offer reviews and answers generated by the community, the same way Superble offers product recommendations and product related stories. However, Superble goes beyond the simple reviews and offers a broader angle to the discovery of products.
About Superble
Superble is a social publishing platform that wants to solve the headache of searching for a good product review. It allows you to discover new products through reviews and recommendations – and monetize written content while you’re at it. The company is in the process of expanding to the US after its initial launch in the Singapore and south-east Asia region.
Media Contact
Company Name: Superble
Contact Person: Nicolo R.
Email: nicolo.r@superble.com
Phone: +65 8355 4422
Country: Singapore
Website: https://superble.com