Using Blogs to Solicit Consumer Feedback: The Role of Directive Questioning Versus No Questioning

Despite increasing adoption of social media for market research, the effect of the design of Web 2.0 platforms on the quantity and quality of market insights obtained is unclear. With a field experiment, this article addresses the effect of participant interaction and the role of questioning on the performance of blog platforms that aim to solicit online consumer feedback. We show that the role of questioning is a key determinant of the protocol design decision process. In contrast with the industry standard of directive questioning and the intuitive appeal of a collective protocol in a social media setting, this study shows that no questioning, combined with an individual protocol, results in the best feedback quality. The analyses also highlight the value of an individual, no questioning protocol for performance over time and insights in consumers' experiential consumption and personal backgrounds. In terms of feedback quantity, protocols that combine directive questioning with a collective setting are best. These actionable recommendations indicate how market researchers can design online blog platforms to improve consumer feedback quantity and quality.

► We study the effect of blog design on performance in soliciting consumer feedback.
► We introduce the role of questioning as a key determinant.
► A collective setting with directive questioning is best for feedback quantity.
► An individual setting with no questioning is best for feedback quality.
► Individual, no questioning protocols perform best over time.