I attended a conference by DMAS sometime ago and it was about using User Generated Content as a marketing tool. The speaker, Kim Diamond from Bazaarvoice made a very good point  – NOBODY TRUSTS MARKETEERS ANYMORE. I think this is extremely true and being in the industry myself, I can’t help but to think that everything you see out there is a marketing gimmick. How likely are you to buy a product just by looking at a microsite or promotional advertisement? Compare that to listening to a friend wax lyrical about this great mp3 player or movie that he recently saw. I’d go with my friend as that is a form of endorsement and I trust my friend more than I trust what the brands are telling me. One of the participants pointed out local foodie guide, Hungrygowhere.com (which I realised has now expanded to HK, KL, Sydney AND Melbourne).

Thanks to user reviews and ratings, it is now my No. 1 trusted site to look at before I decide where to go for a meal.

One of the features I liked on the site is the function for staff of that eatery to post a reply when someone comments about a disatisfactory experience. It’s much faster and enables you to “douse the fire” quickly. Platforms like hungrygowhere are good to have for businesses dealing with customer satisfaction and service. It not only allows you to get feedback from your consumers, but is also a self-promotion tool that requires not a lot of effort from the business owners.