创业偶像改善消费者和企业的良性互动

    起初，OwnerListens的联合创始人奥伦•杜布朗斯基只是想获取一些消费者的反馈。2011年，他在帕洛阿尔托市开了一家名叫“奥伦的豆沙店”的餐馆，之后他花了好几个月的时间征求顾客对餐厅的想法。不过顾客们要么太害羞了，要么就是Yelp等点评网站上的点评过于笼统。作为店铺老板，他需要一种更简单的方式来实现与顾客的沟通。他的解决方案就是以手机应用的方式，开发出一个现代化的意见箱。

    自从OwnerListens这款应用于2011年9月发布以来，它已经帮助许多消费者以安全、私密的方式向很多企业负责人发送了明确的反馈，建立了良好的互动。公司CEO阿迪•比坦表示，如果消费者想向某个企业负责人发送一条特定反馈，只需在这个平台上发一条短信，哪怕那家企业不在这个平台上，OwnerListens也会把消息发送到企业那里。企业再次通过这个中间平台，在几小时内就可以向消费者给予回复——它意味着消费者的声音得到了倾听，企业也少了很多网上的负面评论，而且企业可以根据消费者的特定反馈做出改变。自从这款应用发布以来，已经在自己的数据库上汇总了2,000家企业和餐厅的信息，而且还获得了不少投资人的青睐，其中包括门罗风投（Menlo Ventures）、Promus Ventures、Commerce Ventures、Subtraction Capital等机构投资人以及史蒂夫•布兰克、杰夫•爱泼斯坦、凯利•罗森茨维格、马克•阿布拉莫维茨等天使投资人。

    《财富》（Fortune）杂志就这款应用采访了这家公司CEO比坦，谈到了这款应用与其它在线点评网站相比有哪些特点，以及在线点评业务的前景。

    《财富》：网络上有许多地方可以让消费者投诉和抱怨，比如Yelp、Facebook和Twitter。消费者为什么要选择OwnerListens?

    这个问题我们也问过用户和我们自己。一个关键因素就是，我们是隐私性的，是匿名的。大多数人不喜欢在网络上贬低别人，那样做的感觉并不是很好。他们更喜欢私下的、匿名的方式，一直以来我们听很多人都表示过这种看法。

    第二个原因就是，我们发现人们想直接与有权威的人说话。你到Twitter上发一条负面的微博，并不是因为你是个坏人，你想要的只是一个说法。对于消费者来说，要想联系上企业负责人，这样做可能是最好的、甚至可能是唯一的方法。所以如果给他们一种更好的方式，他们就会采用更好的方式。而这个更好的方式，就是把反馈直接发给能解决问题的人，也就是经理。

    OwnerListens co-founder Oren Dobronsky simply wanted feedback. After opening his restaurant Oren's Hummus Shop in Palo Alto in 2011, he spent months asking customers for their thoughts on his new establishment with little success. The customers were either too shy, or the feedback he got on websites like Yelp wasn't specific enough. As a business owner, he needed a simpler way to engage with customers—his solution: a modern-day suggestion box in the form of an app.

    Since launching in September 2011, OwnerListens has helped customers leave specific feedback for business owners in safe, private interactions. Consumers use the app to text a message they wish to get to the business owner, and OwnerListens delivers the message even if the business isn't on the platform, says CEO Adi Bittan. Businesses often respond within hours—again using the app as a middleman—meaning consumers get their voices heard, businesses get fewer negative online reviews, and change can be implemented. Since its launch, OwnerListens has accumulated 2,000 businesses and restaurants in its database, and has a slew of investors, including Menlo Ventures, Promus Ventures, Commerce Ventures, Subtraction Capital, and angels Steve Blank, Jeff Epstein, Cary Rosenzweig, and Marc Abramowitz.

    Fortune interviewed CEO Bittan about the app, how it compares to other review sites online, and the future of online reviews.

    Fortune: There are plenty of places online for consumers to voice their complaints online—Yelp, Facebook, and Titter to name a few. Why would a consumer choose OwnerListens?

    We ask ourselves that and we also ask our users that. One of the key [things] that works here is that we're private and anonymous. Most people don't love disparaging other people online; it doesn't feel that great to be doing that. They prefer the private, anonymous alternative, and that's something we hear form folks all the time.

    The second reason we found is that people want to speak to someone with authority. You aren't going online and sending out a bad tweet because you're a bad person, you just want an answer. This is just the best way—or the only way—for the consumer to contact the business owner, so give them a better way and they'll do it. The better way is to actually send this to the manager who can solve the issue.