On the front page of the Business section of the New York Times today, Alex Wright did a good write-up on sentiment analysis and how it is being used by companies on a daily basis to make better business decisions. He features Scout Labs and a use case from one of our clients, StubHub, on how they are proactively solving customer problems in the moment and also improving corporate policies as a result of the sentiment feedback they get from Scout Labs. “This is a canary in a coal mine for us,” said John Whelan, StubHub’s director of customer service, in the New York Times article.
In such a short format, Alex wasn’t able to talk much about how Scout Labs’ sentiment works and the unique way that we improve algorithms by learning from user feedback. Nor did he talk about how Scout Labs goes beyond just rants and raves, with emotions like Recommendations, Caveats, and Comparisons, delivered by our QUOTES feature. But we are honored that when he thought “sentiment for business” he thought of Scout Labs.
I’d like to give a huge thanks to the team at StubHub who spent time with Alex talking him through how StubHub organizes, staffs, prioritizes, acts and plans differently thanks to sentiment insight from Scout Labs. Only one story made it into the article (the story of the Yankees-Red Sox rain-out, the immediately customer service response, and the policy review underway), but I think it’s a great example because it highlights what is so important to us at Scout Labs: Insight + Action.
Really forward-looking companies like StubHub proactively identify operational issues and product opportunities, and assess marketing performance using opinions expressed in social media. Really smart companies are always looking for the why behind the buzz - the qualitative insights that help organizations understand better and innovate faster. Really competitive companies make tangible changes to products and policies in response to customers. StubHub is one company who is absolutely putting the voice of the customer at the heart of the organization and reaping great rewards.
The companies who can listen better and innovate faster DO have a strategic competitive advantage. We’re all too happy to help.
Nice picture of Margaret and Mars (and Julie in the background!)
Source: Peter DaSilva for The New York Times
