MarketLive Speaks with Bazaarvoice

Social commerce application vendor Bazaarvoice and retail e-commerce platform provider MarketLive today announced the integration of Bazaarvoice's ratings and reviews application with the MarketLive E-Commerce Platform. MarketLive clients now can add Bazaarvoice's ratings and reviews technology to their e-commerce sites in order to improve the online shopping experience and help consumers make more informed and rewarding purchase decisions, the companies said in a joint statement. This new, integrated offering provides a fast, easy way for businesses to facilitate and learn from online customer-to-customer conversations in order to boost purchase conversion, average order value, and customer loyalty, they said. The Bazaarvoice solution itself is customizable to blend with the retailer's brand, and the company says deployment period is typically less than 30 days from start to finish. Features include an analytics package for actionable analysis of review content; personalized account management and support combined with continual development of new promotional techniques and best practices; and an open syndication platform for displaying review content across the Bazaarvoice syndication network of shopping comparison sites. "Consumers have always turned to each other for advice about products, and the ability to capture these conversations online drives sales and enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty," said Brett Hurt, founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice, in a written statement. "This turnkey solution allows retailers to rapidly add highly customizable ratings and reviews on their site in a matter of weeks. We look forward to working closely with MarketLive, as a highly respected e-commerce platform, and their many top-tier clients." The Bazaarvoice/MarketLive integration can be deployed in less than 20 total client IT hours, according to the companies' beta results. "Our new MarketLive Performance Index demonstrates that customer reviews can translate into a 26 percent revenue increase for e-tailers," said Ken Burke, founder and chief evangelist for MarketLive, in a written statement. "By partnering with Bazaarvoice, we can offer our customers the industry's most comprehensive ratings and reviews solution to help drive customer engagement and boost sales. By integrating Bazaarvoice solutions into the MarketLive E-commerce platform, we are able to offer our leading retail clients best-in-breed services that put the customer voice at the center of the e-commerce experience." No industry analyst was available for comment as of press time. However, it's fair to say that the partners' focus on best practices as best-of-breed providers will play well together, especially in cases where a client of either company wishes to expand its e-commerce faculties with the other. This is likely to be a viable alternative to starting over with a suite of applications, and Bazaarvoice and MarketLive's list of clients and content partners suggests that there's value to be had from this partnership. Related articles: Let's Review: A New Web Marketing Tool Omniture Plays Matchmaker for Its Partners