ExpertVoice partners with Georgetown University on joint research partnership
SALT LAKE CITY, June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ExpertVoice, the world's largest advocacy marketing company powered by experts, today announced a joint research partnership with Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.
The research will examine how digital recommendations from credentialed experts, such as professional ski instructors, licensed nutritionists or personal trainers, drive higher consumer purchase behavior for brands over the average uncredentialed recommendation.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of ecommerce sales has doubled in the past 10 years and is expected to continue at that rate in the coming years. As such, online reviews and recommendations are becoming an increasingly important part of the consumer buying journey. The research, conducted by Georgetown's Senior Associate Dean of MBA Programs Prashant Malaviya, Associate Professor Debora Thompson and Assistant Research Professor Chris Hydock, will measure how consumer behavior changes when they're able to see detailed credentials (place of employment, expertise, etc.) for the individuals who are leaving product recommendations.
Georgetown's team of researchers will be examining cross sectional data extracted from ExpertVoice's community of more than 1 million credentialed experts. The researchers are going to utilize the data provided by ExpertVoice, including more than 67,000 unique product recommendations, to explore the characteristics of the credentialed recommenders, the quality of their reviews and the implicit motivations behind their decision to leave a recommendation. After identifying the components of a quality product recommendation, the researchers will conduct additional field and laboratory tests to further study the impact of product recommendations on consumer buying behavior.
"It all comes down to trust," said Tom Stockham, CEO of ExpertVoice. "It's hard to trust someone you don't know anything about. We believe the same goes for online reviews, when you can see the credentials of someone leaving a review, consumers are going to be more likely to trust them. We're thrilled to be partnering with Georgetown's McDonough School of Business to dig into this consumer behavior that's only going to become more important."
"As academic scholars, we truly value partnerships with marketing practitioners because it gives us the ability to test our theories and ideas in the realm of actual consumer behavior," Malaviya said. "This research collaboration with ExpertVoice will help us gain a deeper and more accurate understanding of the influence of consumer expertise on product recommendations and buying behavior, as well as dig deeper into the exciting and dynamic field of Influencer Marketing."
About ExpertVoice
ExpertVoice connects brands with a network of more than 1 million experts across more than 30 product categories. The platform gathers the most influential and trusted recommenders, increases and improves their recommendations, and puts their recommendations to work on behalf of more than 500 of the world's top brands to increase sales to consumers. Learn more about ExpertVoice and discover how its rapidly growing community of brands and experts are transforming today's buying experience by visiting www.ExpertVoice.com/business.
About Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business
Located at the intersection of business, government, and international relations, Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business develops principled leaders committed to serving both business and society. Through their global perspective, the McDonough School of Business prepares students to compete in today's international business environment. Learn more at https://msb.georgetown.edu/.
Contact:
ExpertVoice
Connor Jones
[email protected]
McDonough School of Business
Teresa Mannix
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SOURCE ExpertVoice
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