Bazaarvoice Conversation Index Volume 4

The
Conversation
Index

Volume 4

#BVINDEX4

The Conversation Index

Volume 4
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THE CONVERSATION INDEX VOLUME 4

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Signal strength: Consumers are talking
about your brand. Are you tuned in?
First-person, real-time input from consumers casts a new light on how they truly interact with products, services, and
brands. When brands let consumers talk back and share their opinions online, rich data rises above the noise. And
when you tune into this data, you’ll find actionable insights that improve sales, brand loyalty, and your products.

Each quarter, The Conversation Index turns millions of consumer conversations into a strong data signal. We plow
through this massive data set to uncover unique perspectives, surprising trends, and real sentiment — all based
directly on first-person consumer contributions.

Here’s what we heard from millions of consumer conversations with brands.

Let’s tune in.

Erin Nelson (@erinclaire)
Chief Marketing Officer, Bazaarvoice

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Get your digital copy
TheConversationIndex.com
TheConversationIndex.co.uk
TheConversationIndex.de

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Table of Contents
Millennials, Generation X, Boomers: Who’s happiest?................................................................................... 10
The sentiment graph adds depth to social, interest graphs............................................................................. 16
A closer look at data uncovers consumer sentiment....................................................................................... 18
Language reveals consumer needs for healthy choices................................................................................... 20
Sentiment of older products impacts new releases — and vice-versa................................................................ 23
The methodology behind The Conversation Index Volume 4........................................................................... 27
Want more?............................................................................................................................................. 28
Contributors............................................................................................................................................. 31
Contact us............................................................................................................................................... 32
About Bazaarvoice .................................................................................................................................... 34

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Signal strength: Highlights from Vol. 4
Boomers vs. Millennials: Who’s happiest? Overall sentiment, by generation, varies by product
category and country. Boomers create the most content, and they’re generally the most positive.

The sentiment graph helps uncover — and predict — consumer behavior. Most brands market to
consumers based on their social graph or interest graph. The sentiment graph takes a deeper look
into social data to get to core of what consumers value most.

Trending use of specific language reveals consumer interest. In consumer-packaged goods,
mentions of “healthy,” “allergies,” and “organic” correlate to consumer sentiment and overall
trends — even for these lower-consideration products.

New releases impact sentiment for previous versions. When a new version of a product comes
out, sentiment for the previous version decreases. This creates a unique opportunity for brands to
re-market earlier versions and further differentiate the new one — so all versions win.

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Millennials, Generation Boomers contribute the most online
When we look at consumers aged 18 to 65, Baby Boomers

X, Boomers: Who’s still make up the largest age group at 42 percent. Millennials
and Gen X make up 34 and 24 percent of the population,

happiest? respectively. As the largest generational group, Boomers also
contribute 45 percent of the total online product opinions,
falling exactly in line with the population.
Every generation contributes to the global conversation
around brands, products, and services. Boomers beam, Gen X less positive
Previous and ongoing research into overall trends in sentiment,
To take a look at how points of view differ by generation, we
based on seven years of data and millions of consumer opinions,
pulled age group data from January to March, across nearly six
has consistently shown that consumers are primarily positive
million consumer-contributed online opinions. We know that
when they review products online. Overall, 82 percent of all
not all countries refer to their generations in the same ways
consumer opinions are positive. On a five-star scale, a highly-
— for example, in Western Europe, Millennials are most often
positive review is a four- or five-star review. And this sentiment
referred to as Gen Y. France and Germany don’t use the term
stands as we look across the generations.
“Gen X,” and the term “Baby Boomers” may not mean much
to Australia. Boomers are slightly more positive than the other generations,
assigning three percent more five-star ratings to products.
We define the generational groups as:
Gen X give one percent more one-star product ratings, the
• Millennials: Ages 18 to 34 lowest rating possible — the most of the three generations.
• Gen X: Ages 35 to 46 Millennials are decidedly middle-of-the-road, creating the
• Baby Boomers: Ages 47 to 65 highest percentage (seven percent) of three-star reviews, but
the fewest one-star (very negative) and five-star (very positive)
product ratings.

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USER-GENERATED CONTENT VOLUME For the most part, consumer-generated
MILLENNIALS GEN X BOOMERS
GENERATION
content aligns with the percentage of
members of each generation, with Baby
INNER RING:
Boomers leading the pack. Breakdown of population by generation

OUTER RING:
Consumer feedback by generation

AUSTRALIA CANADA GERMANY MEXICO

-13%
-6% -14% 0%
35% 32% 29% 30%
41% 46% +12% +1% 47%
+4% 45%
+6%

24% 25%
24% 22% +7%

+2% -1%
+2%

NEW ZEALAND UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES GLOBAL
(EXCEPT IRELAND)

-11%
-7% -3%
+1%
+2% 33% 33% 0% 34% 34%
42% 43% 44% +3% 42%
+7%

25% 24% 22% 24%
+4%
+5%
-1% 0%

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New Zealand Millennials most positive worldwide
In New Zealand, Millennials are the happiest with their product
choices. When they assign ratings to products or services they
buy, they give 92 percent of these purchases a four- or five-star

New Zealand rating. Worldwide, an average of 82 percent of all product
ratings are positive, so Kiwis beat the trend significantly.
Millennials are Millennials very positive in France and Germany
the most positive In Germany, Millennials contribute two percent more four-
and five-star reviews, and two percent fewer one- and two-star
worldwide reviews compared to Generation X. German Millennials rate 85
percent of products very positively.

In fact, in France, Generation X is the least positive, with only
73 percent of products receiving four- or five-star ratings. In
comparison, French Boomers rate 87 percent of products
very positively, and Millennials rate 83 percent of products
very positively.

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Australian Millennials stay positive, too Let social data reveal who’s really using your
In Australia, Millennials have more positive sentiment products: You may think your core audience is the Boomer
towards products and services compared to Baby Boomers generation, but is that who’s talking about you? Social data
and Generation X. Australian Millennials give 89 percent of helps you answer questions better than assumptions or
products four- or five-star ratings. In slight contrast, Boomers aspirations. For instance, in Mexico and Canada, Millennials
give 84 percent of products four or five stars. are overrepresented in UGC relative to their population by 12
percent and 7 percent, respectively. In the UK, Boomers are
Irish Millennials most critical
overrepresented by 7 percent relative to their population.
In Ireland, Millennials contribute the most critical product
ratings, compared to all other countries in our analysis. While Get specific: When you learn what different generational
Irish Millennials rate 78 percent of the products they purchase cohorts are talking about and emphasizing by way of their
favorably, they give the highest percentage of very negative UGC, you can create targeted marketing that emphasizes
ratings. In Ireland, 12 percent of Millennials give products what each generation cares about, featuring words from their
one- or two-star ratings, representing the highest amount generational peers that align to those themes, needs, concerns.
of negative reviews per country in our analysis.

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TATES AUST
ED S RAL
AVERAGE PRODUCT RATINGS BY UNIT IA

GENERATION OM

& COUNTRY
)

E GD
ND

CA
PT IN
LA

NA
K
IR
(EX ED

DA
IT
CE
UN
Sum of 1 and 2 star %

Sum of 3 star %

Sum of 4 and 5 star %

FRANCE
SPAIN

Boomer

Gen X

Millennial
NE

Y
AN
W

RM
ZE
AL

GE
AN

D
New Zealand Millennials are the
most positive worldwide.

MEX D
AN
IC O IREL

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Insight: Generational insights should drive definitely did not live with their mom! Times have changed,
personalized marketing and this change creates disruptive opportunity for marketers
who adapt by listening to their consumers.
Jason Dorsey, CEO of The Center for Generational Kinetics,
gives his insights to the importance of generational research The different ways each generation engages in the online
to brands: consumer conversation can be as revealing as what they are
actually saying. The Index highlights how the same technology
Generational segmentation provides a powerful lens to view can lead to a different type of consumer interaction. It’s no
your online brand conversations around the world. This lens surprise that Baby Boomers create more online content. Not
is often more accurate and timely than age segmentation only are Baby Boomers more experienced consumers, but
traditionally used by advertisers. The explanation is simple: they also think writing in script is a lost art among the young.
there is more consistency and predictability by birth cohort I couldn’t agree more, but who needs proper grammar when
than by arbitrary age ranges such as 18 to 25 or 26 to 34. you have emoticons?
Why are we seeing this shift? One reason: delayed adulthood.
Recognizing your target consumer by generation and
As young adults graduate from college later than ever interacting with them based on their engagement pattern
before, enter the workforce later, and get married and have gives you a distinct advantage. At The Center for Generational
children later, they are postponing when they make many Kinetics, we predict the momentum for a personalized buying
key life purchases. This means a 25-year-old today can have experience segmented by generation will continue to increase
a very different consumer mentality than a 25-year-old from as more data and competitive options are readily available
a previous generation, such as a Baby Boomer. At age 25, to consumers. The brands that pay attention now are the ones
a Baby Boomer was likely married, worked full time, and that will lead.

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The sentiment graph people like you — even complete strangers — are more
powerful than signals from people you happen to know. But

adds depth to social, how much do you truly have in common with someone who’s
your age and mentions a common hobby in their profile?

interest graphs Enter the sentiment graph, which consists of how you actually
feel about interests, products, or anything else, to understand
Today, brands use social data to market along two axes, in who you are as a consumer. The sentiment graph solves for
general: the social graph and the interest graph. But only the complexity of who consumers are as people: not just
the sentiment graph strives to understand how consumers what they’re interested in, not just who they know, but what
really feel. they value, what matters to them — and how much it matters.
It reveals what motivates you and what does not, and what
The social graph consists of “who you know.” It uses your
causes you to actually make decisions among many choices.
online connections, via Facebook for example, as a proxy
for who you are as a consumer. In some cases, this makes For example, a marketing message promoting the eco-friendly
sense — you may take a dinner recommendation based on qualities of a new hybrid may resonate with consumers that
a suggestion of someone you know. But simply knowing care deeply about the environment, but have little impact
someone doesn’t mean you have similar dining preferences. on other consumers. However, the cost savings associated
with the hybrid’s high MPG will appeal to another group of
The interest graph consists of your interests, tastes, demographic,
consumers that care more about a car’s impact on their wallets
and psychographic profiles. In many contexts, signals from
than on the planet.

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It’s this level of understanding that reveals the complex — yet
often consistent and predictable — consumer. Tuning into the
sentiment graph gives brands the understanding to connect
with consumers in ways that are truly meaningful and targeted,
to drive directly to their core needs as an individual.

Sentiment often refers to the average rating a product
or service gets from consumers. For example, a product
that receives a 4.5 out of five star rating is considered
highly positive. Digging more deeply into the language of
consumer-generated opinions and experiences uncovers a
new sentiment according to a specific need or a specific
type of consumer.

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A closer look at data identify themselves as “not parents” had only 61 percent
positive sentiment, with 31 percent neutral sentiment. Some

uncovers consumer consumers did not identify their parental status; they were not
included in this analysis. It appears that parents may be a bit

sentiment desensitized to messiness, with slightly lower expectations
for cleaning pet hair.

We analyzed sentiment of cleaning products that specifically It’s interesting to note that, when we simply look at average
address cleaning up after pets. We focused on two key product rating — which is 4.87 out of five stars — it’s very
features or terms that consumers mention in their input: positive for both parents and non-parents. An analysis of the
“pet hair” and “smell.” We determined sentiment using the actual language shows a more nuanced story, which can help
language used by the consumer in addition to the product a brand play to its strengths for different needs, uses, and
rating, with more emphasis on the language. Overall, target markets.
sentiment for these products is 80 percent positive, with an
average rating of 4.82 out of five stars. When consumers mention eliminating pet smells in this
segment of feedback, their contributions were 84 percent
Digging into the data, we found that consumers who positive, 13 percent neutral, and only four percent negative.
identify themselves as parents used much more positive The 18 percent of contributors who mention smell are happier
language in regards to removing pet hair. Parents’ feedback overall with their purchases.
contained language that was 81 percent positive; those who

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A CLOSER LOOK AT DATA UNCOVERS
CONSUMER SENTIMENT Positive

Neutral
A comparison of consumer groups shows diﬀering
Negative
NON-PARENTS attitudes towards a single product use case.

WHO MENTIONED PET HAIR
IN PRODUCT FEEDBACK:

63% 31% 6%
Positive Neutral Neg.

Digging into the data behind consumer
feedback reveals more than just product
ratings. For example, sentiment analysis
within pet product feedback reveals that
PARENTS parents are much more positive about
pet hair than non-parents.
WHO MENTIONED PET HAIR
IN PRODUCT FEEDBACK:

81% 13% 6%
Positive Neutral Neg.

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Look beyond product ratings to understand sentiment:
As a brand or product manager, it’s not enough to know if Language reveals
consumers give your products a “thumbs up” or “thumbs
down.” It’s critical to dig into the specifics of what they really consumer needs for
like or dislike, touncover what’s truly important to them. The
nuances of language tell a story that ratings alone can’t. healthy choices
Dig deeper to understand real consumer needs: When Consumer contributions also show a growing need for healthy
you combine demographic information — i.e., parent versus and organic options. We trended mentions of “healthy,”
non-parent — with sentiment, it can help you precisely target “allergies,” and “organic” from January 2010 to January 2012.
your message to specific markets even better. Sentiment
Across all CPG categories, which include food, beverages,
and language data can also uncover unexpected needs or
health, and beauty, “healthy” was mentioned 12 percent
concerns by markets that you haven’t considered.
more often in 2011 than in 2010. In the makeup category
Organize consumer-generated information to help specifically, “healthy” was mentioned 10 percent more often.
consumers make buying decisions: When consumers In contrast, Google searches for “healthy” among food
shop, they often look beyond overall rating to find traits options actually decreased 10 percent from 2010 to 2011.
that meet their own specific needs. Listing often-mentioned
As expected, “healthy” mentions within consumer feedback
pros and cons alongside overall product ratings can help
are 30 percent higher in January through April, corresponding
shoppers easily see specific language that speaks to their
with New Year’s resolutions to become healthier. In November
needs. For example, those who care more about scent than
and December, there are 35 percent fewer mentions of
level of cleanliness will be more interested in that aspect of
“healthy,” compared to the rest of the year. This remains
the product than its overall effectiveness.
consistent year over year.

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References to “allergies,” including “allergy” and allergic,” Sweat the details: The fact that consumers take time to
are most often found in the health and beauty categories. give feedback on every-day, low-cost items reveals that they
When consumers mention these terms in the skincare care about the products they use, and want to emphasize the
category, it correlates with a 26 percent lower than average differentiators that are important to them. Learn what’s really
product rating. The average product rating in the skincare important to your consumers, then emphasize it everywhere to
category is 4.11 out of five stars; however, when “allergies” make marketing and product development even more efficient.
are mentioned, the average product rating dips to 3.26 out
Differentiate consumer-driven trends from marketing-
of five stars.
driven trends: Healthy, organic options are on the rise,
When consumers refer to “organic” in product feedback, and the language contributed directly by consumers shows
they generally rate the product two percent higher than what’s truly most important. This post-purchase language also
other products in the food category, and they use more reveals how much consumers actually buy into the product’s
positive language overall. “Great” appears in 39 percent marketing or positioning. When a brand emphasizes “healthy”
of reviews that include “organic,” “taste” in 29 percent of in marketing, but actual users are more concerned about
feedback, and “love” in 24 percent. another feature, these insights can help hone positioning.

For organic foods, price is mentioned 16 percent of the time, Uncover key words consumers use for your products,
and “expensive” appears in three percent of these reviews. then use them in marketing: While “healthy,” “allergies,”
The most talked-about organic foods include coffee, sugar, and “organic” may apply to food and beauty, what are the key
honey, butter, milk, chocolate, peanuts, and fruit. words that consumers use for your products, including your
overall product category? While your marketing focuses on fat
content, consumer feedback may uncover more mentions of
calorie count. Use consumer language to power meaningful
motivations to buy.

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LANGUAGE REVEALS EVOLVING Think consumers are getting more health

CONSUMER PREFERENCES conscious? Not in all categories, according
to trends in language data.

Average product ratings: Percentage of health-conscious language mentions
Health & beauty in all product categories:
4.11
Health & beauty 3.26
with allergy mention
Food 4.45 Healthy Allergy Organic Gluten Dietary
Food 4.56 mentions mentions mentions mentions mentions
with organic mention
1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars .30%
Percent of healthy mentions in food category:

8% .25%

7%
.20%
6% TREND

5% .15%

4%

.10%
3%

Organic mentions are trending downward.
2%
.05%
1%

0%
0
JAN’ 11

JAN’ 11
JAN ’10

JAN ‘12

JAN ’10

JAN ‘12
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Sentiment of older When the “new iPad” (third generation) was released,
one-star reviews for iPad 2 increased 50 percent, not as

products impacts dramatically as for the previous version. Five-star reviews
for iPad 2 dramatically decreased, however — from 80

new releases and
— percent to just 72 percent.

In another example, when the video game Call of Duty 2
vice-versa came out, reviews for the original Call of Duty sagged. In
this case, we looked at a one-year period before Call of
How do consumers feel about older versions of a product Duty 2 premiered and afterwards.
once the new version is launched? Looking at product
ratings over time helps marketers and product managers When Call of Duty was originally released, consumers gave
best promote older versions to new markets, and create it mostly four and five stars — 97 percent of feedback was
new versions that fill consumer-recommended needs. positive. During the year after the sequel was released,
as expected, review volume for the original dropped 50
We analyzed all three versions of the iPad to see what percent, and sentiment for the original dropped to 88
happens to previous versions upon launch of the latest. percent four- and five-star reviews.
We compared the 90-day period before the release of the
new version to the 90-day period after the new release. Obviously, a new version makes the previous version look less
exciting, so consumer ratings fall. However, new versions can
When iPad 2 was released, the percent of one-star (out of create opportunities to reach a different market with the older
five) reviews doubled for the original iPad, and four - and five - version. For example, a sporting goods retailer created a new
star reviews dramatically decreased — from 88 percent of all version of a popular style of hiking pants, but consumers were
reviews to only 83 percent.

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polarized in their opinions — they loved them or hated them. the differences between older and newer models, to better
Digging into the feedback revealed that a certain customer set consumer expectations. If a consumer decides not to buy
segment — older consumers, in this case — preferred the fit the latest version, you can steer them toward the older model.
of the previous version. However, another core segment of
If sentiment falls for older versions, consider marketing
their target market — younger consumers — had no concerns
them to different audiences: As stated above, sometimes
about the new fit.
the older version just works better for a set of your audience.
This information shows precisely what consumers respond Keep an open mind, and use the data from consumer
to — or don’t — with new versions. The retailer in this case feedback to determine if there’s an opportunity to keep the
can market the new version to younger consumers, and older version on tap.
consider bringing back the “classic” version for their older,
Make the new version stand out: Comparing the new
loyal customers.
version to the older version helps loyal consumers decide to
It also lets brands integrate first-person, popular consumer upgrade. Make the comparison clear and easy to understand.
wants and needs into new versions. When consumers Take this opportunity to differentiate the products, so
feel they had a hand in creating the new version, they’ll feel consumers have great experiences and keep upgrading.
appreciated — and become more loyal.
Use consumer feedback to hone future versions –
Use consumer language cues to differentiate between and let them know they helped you iterate: What did
versions: As marketers, we always want consumers to buy buyers think of the original version, or version two? Use this
the latest version; however, overall loyalty to the brand is information to help guide new versions, and when you do, let
important, too. When you release new versions, take a look at consumers know you were listening. Just letting them know
the marketing messaging for the older versions. Underscore you’re acting on their input helps you build brand loyalty.

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NEW RELEASES IMPACT SENTIMENT New versions of a product raise the

FOR PREVIOUS VERSIONS
bar and correlate with a decline in
satisfaction with older versions.

iPad 1 reviews iPad 2 reviews
90 DAYS PRIOR TO IPAD 2 RELEASE 90 DAYS PRIOR TO NEW IPAD RELEASE
90 DAYS POST IPAD 2 RELEASE 90 DAYS POST NEW IPAD RELEASE

93%
90%
88%
84%

8% 10% 6% 5% 8%
4% 2% 2%
1 and 2 3 4 and 5 1 and 2 3 4 and 5
star reviews star reviews star reviews star reviews star reviews star reviews

iPad 2 release date: 11 March 2011 New iPad release date: 16 March 2012

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The methodology behind The Conversation
Index Volume 4
Bazaarvoice powers online consumer and brand conversations on hundreds of our clients’ sites, including many of
the world’s largest brands. We have served more than 310 billion impressions of user-generated content globally,
across 210 countries and territories, and 24 languages — including first-person consumer opinions, feedback,
experiences, and Q&A. From this massive pool of social data, our in-house analyst team — which specializes in turning
data into actionable insights — extracts select findings, which we highlight in this report.

We based on our findings on a sample of 12.7 million pieces of first-person content contributed by consumers on
our clients’ sites during the past three to six months. These data points include consumer-contributed content from
around the world.

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Want more?
If this Index spurs your curiosity about what consumers are saying about your own brand, consider it a call to dig deep into what
they really want. They are telling you — and the world — exactly what they want, right now.

Bazaarvoice helps the world’s best brands capture, analyze, and act on social data. Putting consumers at the heart of your brand lets
you more efficiently and effectively serve and market to them, and lets you focus innovation precisely on what’s most important
to real consumers.

Bazaarvoice helps brands replace guesswork with precise, always-on consumer insights about their products, services, and
the consumers themselves. The result? These customer-centric brands create products consumers crave, provide service based
on what customers really want, and deliver targeted marketing messages that drive real sales. When brands listen to and act on
what matters most to the people who matter most — their customers — they enjoy a real competitive advantage.

Visit TheConversationIndex.com for insights from past and future volumes.

Bazaarvoice turns data into doing.

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Contributors
Jason Dorsey is CEO of The Center for Generational Kinetics. A noted expert on Millennials/Gen Y
research, Jason has been featured on The CBS Early Show, 60 Minutes, and the Today Show. His
bestselling books include Y-Size Your Business. Watch Jason explain Millennials at GenHQ.com.

Column Five Media created the infographics and visualizations for The Conversation Index Vol.4.
columnfivemedia.com

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Contact us
Contact us to see how we help brands gain invaluable consumer and product
insights by putting consumer conversations at the heart of their organizations.

United States: (866) 522-9227 Germany: +49.89.24218508
bazaarvoice.com bazaarvoice.de

United Kingdom: +44 (0) 208.080.1100 Netherlands: +31.20.301.2169
bazaarvoice.co.uk
Australia / Asia-Pacific: +61.2.9362.2200
France: +33 1 56 60 54 45
bazaarvoice.fr
Sweden: +46.8.463.1083

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About Bazaarvoice
Bazaarvoice, a leading social software and data analytics company, brings the voice of consumers to the center of business strategy
for more than 700 global clients including Best Buy, Costco, Dell, Macy’s, P&G, Panasonic, QVC, and USAA.

Bazaarvoice helps clients create social communities on their brand websites and Facebook pages where consumers can engage in
conversations. These conversations can be syndicated across Bazaarvoice’s global network of client websites and mobile devices,
which allows manufacturers to connect directly with consumers. The social data derived from online word of mouth translates
into actionable insights that improve marketing, sales, customer service, and product development. Headquartered in Austin,
Texas, Bazaarvoice has offices in Amsterdam, London, Munich, New York, Paris, Stockholm, and Sydney. For more information,
visit bazaarvoice.com, read the blog at bazaarvoice.com/blog, and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/bazaarvoice.

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