By Cassy van Eeden

A platform that encourages consumers to share positive feedback about the services they received, HiHelen is one-of-a-kind. "We all understand that business is driven by word-of-mouth. It’s the most potent form of marketing."

Negative is popular

During her 30 years in the financial services industry, Szemerei became aware of how heavily consumers rely on digital reviews to make their buying decisions. She also identified that existing South African review platforms and websites are mostly used for sharing negative experiences. "It’s almost become a popular trend to speak negatively."

She explains that while many of these websites may have started out with the intention of sharing experiences of services of any nature, "some of it has spiralled out of control".

Because sharing reviews online is anonymous and from behind a screen, consumers feel that there are no repercussions, she adds. "I just don’t think people always realise the impact of their digital footprint."

Our digital footprint

According to Szemerei, the impact of our digital footprint is huge. The danger in sharing negative experiences online is that it only represents one person’s view, "it is unrepresentative of the overall good that that brand does". And most importantly, it’s out there for the world to see.

She notes that, just like any other country, South Africa is "reliant on foreign investment". The danger in sharing only negative experiences online is that, from a distance, that’s all that foreign investors see.

"I’m not saying that they [negative reviews] don’t have a place," Szemerei says, "But if we want to attract foreign investors and we want to make them feel positive about investing in this beautiful country of ours, to our own benefit, then we need to start speaking about the successes as well."

Five problems, one solution

Through research and in-depth conversations with South African companies, Szemerei identified three problems.

Firstly, she explains: "Companies have, over the years, collected thousands and thousands of fantastic client testimonies that speak of the wonderful work that they do, yet they haven’t been able to do anything with it."

As a result of not having an independent platform focussing on the positive on which to display these compliments, consumers and investors are only seeing negative reviews.

Szemerei has discovered that consumers are less likely to deem a review posted on a business’s own website as credible. "They say that it’s self-advocacy."

It is human behaviour, she argues, that drives us to share negative experiences online and to share positive feedback directly with the company.

A further problem that South African companies are facing is to get consumers to post their positive reviews online. Szemerei has found that consumers are less likely to share positive feedback on platforms that have previously spoken negatively about the company in question.

The HiHelen experience

The HiHelen platform was designed to remedy these problems. The website allows businesses – with the permission of their clients – to share the positive feedback that they receive. "This is an independent platform that carries those marvellous pieces of evidence of what companies do with great success, on a daily basis."

This also means that the feedback is stored and displayed by an independent party, making the reviews seem more credible.

The website allows companies to include a widget on their own websites that runs a live feed of all the compliments, but from an external, closely-monitored source.

HiHelen means that businesses are able to direct consumers to a space that is dedicated to positive feedback, making them more comfortable posting a positive review.

Compliments create growth

But why bother to take the time to share a positive customer service experience?

Without them even realising it, consumers who share positive stories online are helping to grow businesses. The more a company grows, the more jobs it creates. More jobs means less crime, says Szemerei. "We all know the reduction in crime that goes hand-in-hand with the flourishing of the economy."

The connection between compliments and business growth is simple: "If you acknowledge people, you will be amazed at that ripple effect and how much it means for their morale. That smile on the face that you’ve left the person with, it means that every customer after that receives the benefit."

What harm could it do to show appreciation? Based on the premise that a little positivity goes a long way, HiHelen is changing the face of customer relations in South Africa.

For more information, visit the HiHelen website. Alternatively, connect with the platform via Facebook or Twitter.