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`
`Fearless Feedback
`(5 May 00) OnlineOpinion gives your users a rant outlet and you,
`the perfect redesign tool
`Jeff Sengstack
`
`You beta tested, usability tested, and bug tested, and your site
`passed all with cheers of congratulations, but now that it's live, the
`emails keep coming in--complaints about the site's interface, the
`commerce, even the font size. Is there some way to harness your
`users' negative comments and let them know, before they've even
`given them, that you value their feedback and opinions? Yes, there
`is.
`
`With no fanfare, explanation, or even captions. tiny, inconspicuous
`plus signs wrapped in parentheses have started popping up on
`dozens of Web sites. Usually tucked away in a corner. Web visitors
`can easily overlook them. However, despite their unobtrusive
`presence, tens of thousands of Web users have rolled their cursors
`over them and discovered a tiny pop-up Web site rating system.
`
`Called OnlineOpinion (www.opinionlab.com), it lets customers
`readily rate a Web site on a page-by-page basis. Users may simply
`select a numeric rating for a page and move along or opt to drill
`down to a simple but more detailed opinion form, adding personal
`comments and snippets of marketing data if they so choose.
`
`MVP.com, a sports e-tailer, has posted the little parenthetical
`pluses since the Super Bowl. The company receives more than
`1 ,000 ratings and comments daily. "It gives us a competitive
`advantage," says MVP.com CTO ian Drury. "It lets us act with great
`speed and act smartly."
`
`Jackpot.com, a new ldealab advertiser-supported site, started using
`OnlineOpinion on April 20. Within ten days, they received 51 ,000
`responses--more than 5,000 a day. "There's absolutely no doubt
`that it will drive an economic benefit for the company," says
`Jackpot.com's operations vice president Adam Zauder.
`
`This simple but powerful tool is the brainchild of Opinionlab, a
`Chicago firm founded by Rand Nickerson, one of the developers of
`the Arbitron rating system. Nickerson has been at the forefront of
`opinion and audience data research for years. He discovered that
`traditional Internet user quality rating methods like pop-up surveys,
`feedback buttons, and email simply do not work. "Folks don't use
`them because they're unpredictable and idiosyncratic," Nickerson
`says. "They tend to be abusive rather than empowering."
`
`Opinions are a real plus
`Many site surveys won't let respondents opt out, or they ask
`questions users aren't prepared to answer and probe for personal
`
`Qualtrics, LLC
`Exhibit 1022
`CBM of U.S. Patent No. 8,041,805
`Page 001
`
`

`
`OnlineOptnion to be conven•ent, quick. and
`easy. It protects privacy and is consistent. "It acts the same way
`every lime. It never abuses you. never surprises you," says
`Nickerson.
`
`Unlike services like Bizrate, PC Data Online. and Media Metrix,
`which provide aggregate volume numbers, OnlineOpinion tells site
`managers what people think of the site and how to make it better.
`"It gets down to the granular level. which is particularly actionable."
`says MVP's Drury.
`
`Sites can download and install OnlineOpinlon in about 10 minutes.
`Virtually everyone coming to a site can use It immediately. There is
`no client download. The{+) floats in the same client-selected
`location on all its Web pages. Rolling the cursor over the(+) symbol
`reveals a five-point rating scale. Optionally, clicking on "comments"
`lets users rate content. design, and usability. plus type in
`comments. An additional optional step is to register and submit
`some generic marketing information
`
`Surprisingly, users have not abused the(+) to maliciously ·name·
`sites. Nickerson thinks he knows why Web users tend to settle into
`what he calls "personal Web space.· groups of sites they rely on:
`"They have an interest in optimizing that space. and OnlineOpinion
`gives them a convenient means to alert sites to problems and
`suggest solutions:
`
`Data are displayed on a clever and elegant spoke system. Each
`line represents a page; line length shows the relative number of
`opinions per page; and a color scheme differentiates positive.
`negative, and neutral response rates. The graphic highlights
`bimodal samples-widely divergent views--by placing a different
`colored dot at the end of a spoke. "Their spoke system is an
`enormously effective tool," says Jackpot's Zauder. "Most data
`analysis averages bimodal distributions Into non-committal
`opinions, but these folks are very intelligent about how data can lie
`to you."
`
`Penny for your redesign thoughts
`The first detailed data analysis is free. Additional queries behind the
`spoke graphic cost $850. For sites that do annual updates. that
`should suffice. Those that do more frequent revisions may choose
`to subscribe to an annual service for $15,000. Still in beta is real(cid:173)
`time data analysis that will regularly email new opinions and
`comments to site and page managers.
`
`MVP already has used OnlineOpinion data to redesign Its site and
`add new product lines. Originally MVP displayed products m lists.
`Click a product name and its image would appear. Customer
`feedback led to a redesign. Now. up to 16 images of products are
`displayed in a 4 x 4 matrix. "As a result, conversion has increased.
`which means revenues have increased. which is the name of the
`game." says MVP's Drury.
`
`Jackpot.com had what they thought was a streamlined registration
`and client software download process. "What we learned through
`OnlineOpinion's feedback was that it was really cumbersome." says
`Jackpot's Zauder. So they pulled all the elements to~ether onto one
`
`Qualtrics, LLC
`Exhibit 1022
`CBM of U.S. Patent No. 8,041,805
`Page 002
`
`

`
`clearer explanation of how the site works.
`"We've seen a very significant increase in the percentage of new
`site visitors who end up downloading the game."
`
`This open channel between users and Web sites is the "beauty" of
`the Internet, according to Kent Allen, e-commerce analyst with the
`Aberdeen Group. Until now, most of that interaction took customers
`away from sites. He gives OnlineOpinion a "ringing endorsement."
`"It's an embedded means to taking advantage of that open
`channel." Allen says. "Finding out about a pissed-off customer is a
`hell of a lot cheaper than losing a pissed-off customer."
`
`Opinionlab's CEO Rand Nickerson has big plans for his little(+)
`symbol. He sees a day when it, or something like it, becomes a
`feedback convention on the Web that will complement and even
`steer other rating techniques such as focus groups and usability
`testing. Both of those can be expensive but do sometimes provide
`"gems" that help justify their cost. Nickerson says that his little (+)
`will provide the same quality gems more frequently and for less
`money. <<
`
`Copyright © 2000 Hypermedia Communications
`
`Qualtrics, LLC
`Exhibit 1022
`CBM of U.S. Patent No. 8,041,805
`Page 003