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RSS is a fantastic way to deliver relevant content," explained a Burpee spokesperson. "The gardeners who read our feeds are sensitive to being overwhelmed by marketing messages, but they respond to the opinions, voices and photos of other gardeners. Adding real, authentic review content into our RSS feed amplifies the voices of our most enthusiastic customers and gives feed subscribers instant access to credible and relevant product information. It is a win-win for Burpee and our customer base."
W. Atlee Burpee & Co. offers premium seeds and gardening supplies to customers who are passionate about gardening. The company, which has supplied seeds to the home gardener since 1876, offers a variety of community resources to its loyal customer base. Burpee introduced an RSS feed to share gardening news and information on featured products, as well as deliver special offers and promotions. Burpee views its RSS Feed as an effective and low cost way to keep home gardeners engaged with its company and its brand.
Burpee deployed fully managed customer ratings and reviews from Bazaarvoice on www.burpee.com in January 2006 as part of its strategy to use word of mouth marketing to accelerate company growth. Customer review excerpts were first included in the February 8, 2006 edition of the Burpee RSS Feed, which featured the Biker Billy hot pepper. Review content filled in key details unavailable in the standard product description, including yield, heat, and even cooking instructions.
"An average yield has been 12 to 16 pounds per 6 plants," wrote a reviewer from Washington. "They grow very well in containers also and are very attractive on the deck. I usually end up planting about 20 of them and friends are amazed with the quality of them. Highly recommended."
"This year, I'm going with live plants," added a reviewer from Virginia. "I recommend it chopped in chili, minced in omelets, stir fried with pepper steak, or (my favorite) marinated with beef then skewered with onion, mushroom, and tomato. One per kabob will satisfy without overpowering if you're up for hot."
Reviews now appear in the Burpee RSS Feed three or four times a week, generally in the context of a daily-featured product. Burpee also plans to leverage the review content in other channels, including a forthcoming blog.
About Bazaarvoice
Based in Austin, Texas, Bazaarvoice offers outsourced technology, community management services, analytics, and syndication to encourage and harness word of mouth marketing, and bring it closer to a company's brand and customer experience. The company's flagship hosted and fully managed customer ratings and review service allows businesses to enable, encourage, and analyze customer ratings and reviews on their website. With Bazaarvoice, companies can empower their customers to share honest opinions and influence each other to make more informed and rewarding purchase decisions. Clients like CompUSA, Golfsmith, and PETCO benefit from a credible and reliable customer-to-customer community, without having to delve into complex IT work or the laborious process of community management. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.bazaarvoice.com or email info@bazaarvoice.com.
About W. Atlee Burpee & Co.
The Burpee company was founded in Philadelphia in 1876 by an 18 year-old with a passion for plants and animals and a mother willing to lend him $1,000 dollars of "seed money" to get started in business. Within 25 years he had developed the largest, most progressive seed company in America. By 1915 Burpee was mailing a million catalogues a year to America's gardeners.
Burpee is still a family seed company and still in the Philadelphia area, owned and operated by George Ball -- a passionate plantsman and third generation seedsman. The company currently sells through retail partners, catalogs and the website.
Author: Array
Previous article: 11 June 2007
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