Reviews turn merchants into consumer advocates

Retailers have been adding product reviews to their web sites because it's good for sales. But there is a significantly bigger social impact:

Online retailers are becoming the most effective and influential consumer advocates. 

Merchants are reading consumer reviews, then going back to their suppliers and demanding better quality.  These merchants have power for change that individual consumers never will. 

Examples:  PetCo calls every person who posts a bad review and puts them on the phone with the product manufacturer

The merchant's motivation is still profit, but for the first time, profit motive and customer satisfaction are on the same side of the table.  This is big. This is why I'm the evangelist for word of mouth.

Brett Hurt, CEO of BazaarVoice, is leading this movement and making it happen.  Watch my interview with Brett from the BazaarVoice Social Commerce Summit :

P.S. I'm a BazaarVoice advisor