SheSpeaks CEO Aliza Freud is a former vice president of global marketing and brand management for American Express, where she handled marketing and product management for 10 years.
In February 2007, Ms. Freud started SheSpeaks, a market research firm with a 35,000-member all-female product-testing panel. The firm's clients include Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Oxygen Media, AOL and Jonathan Skin and Haircare. eMarketer spoke with her about how marketers use research and how word of mouth works online.
eMarketer: There are many market research firms nationwide, and most panels have women. What makes SheSpeaks different?
Ms. Freud: We combine product testing with word of mouth. Panel members can post to online discussion boards about the products they're trying, and can pass the word along to their friends if they like something. Panel members can also discuss other products or topics they like or hate, so the board becomes more of a community.
We are looking to be a resource for female consumers, where they can influence the products that are marketed to them. At the end of a product trial, the client's CEO will usually send study participants an e-mail letting members know how they influenced product development or marketing.
eMarketer: What types of product trials work best?
Ms. Freud: It's not about the product types so much as targeting. You have to make sure that the sample lines up properly with the product. If the sample is correct for who the client says they want to reach, including demographic and psychographic characteristics, the test will be a success.
eMarketer: Do clients usually know who their target market is?
Ms. Freud: Most clients have a good idea who they think they want to reach, but we can also help them consider other targets, based on past data.
Just because a woman says she likes organic food, for instance, doesn't mean her purse strings always follow. Some women with a preference for organic food balk if the price is too high. We can figure that out by comparing our current panel results to previous studies.
One client was considering an organic food brand extension. We suggested they also ask panel members their opinions about other options, such as all-natural (but not necessarily organic).
eMarketer: Is there any type of product which is ill-suited to this type of marketing?
Ms. Freud: The biggest concern is having a logical connection between the product and why the women are being asked for their opinions. We test products, service and content. For content (Oxygen television shows, for instance), the panel member gets to play producer for advance program showings.
We need to make sure the panels are as targeted as possible. We did an advance screening of a show called "Fight Girls." The show features women in some pretty brutal martial arts fighting. The test was targeted to people who said they would be interested in testing television. We also targeted those who said they were into sports and healthy living. We didn't know if they'd be into extreme sports.
We had a high response rate, with a lot of members interested in participating in the test. But in the discussion forum for the test, some participants indicated [an] aversion to the content, saying it was demeaning to women.
Making sure you have a proper target is easier to do with a product or service than with content.
eMarketer: Do brands incorporate member feedback into their campaigns?
Ms. Freud: Clients have used testimonials from discussion forums and verbatim quotes from surveys. Clients make packaging, distribution and other decisions based on member feedback.
eMarketer: How do product trials of this type stack up against other types of marketing in terms of effectiveness?
Ms. Freud: We measure word of mouth by member self-reporting, forwarding of special offers from clients to member friends and promo redemption or link clickthrough. For content, we also look at show ratings.
Most buzz companies try for three to four recommendations from each person in a test. We generally see six to seven.
Participants pass along these promotions based on perceived value, not just dollar value. If it makes them feel in the know, they're more likely to pass it along.
eMarketer: Do you ever have problems with verifying participants' demographic information?
Ms. Freud: We haven't had a problem so far except for people trying to use multiple screen names to get more product samples.
eMarketer: Bloggers can be merciless in their criticism of corporate-sponsored talk which isn't up front about its origins. How do SheSpeaks members make their relationships to brands clear when they're spreading the word?
Ms. Freud: They say up front that they learned about the product in a market study.
eMarketer: Since participants are into new products, do you have outside advertisers on your site?
Ms. Freud: We don't have advertising anywhere on the site. Participants are very likely to tell friends about the trials they're participating in precisely because they're not asked to — they feel they're spreading the word about something cutting-edge, rather than being saddled with an obligation by a marketer.
The lack of advertising helps with this. We're approached by advertisers all the time, but our clients get more benefit from an ad-free site.