Martina Hautau: How TV needs to be more accessible - and how reviews act as a mouthpiece for customers.

Customer reviews for a TV program is a brand new concept. For Martina Hautau, host of the show "Success preferred", the intention of using reviews was there right from the start. The digital race gave her the idea. Transparency and enhanced visibility online are the result, but active exchange of communication with visitors and guests is a definite bonus, too. As an experienced TV presenter, Martina know that digital attraction is more important today than ever before. Martina Hautau has dedicated herself to enhancing the online presence for her show, which has been primarily produced for TV and can be rated on all social media channels.

Before using ProvenExpert, had you ever worked with customer reviews and feedback from viewers?

I've been working with reviews and feedback for a long time – and I've always told my viewers and guests that if they give feedback, it will be seen. Being, or becoming, visible online is a huge advantage for a TV show. If someone leaves a good review, it's visible for others to read and who might be interested in the comments left. That's something I view as a win-win situation: we receive a review, and the person who left it can benefit too.

What added value do you expect form using ProvenExpert?

ProvenExpert offers survey tools which allow my viewers to easily leave a review without having to come up with words themselves. When people leave a review, it's sometimes difficult for them to think of what to write, but with pre-produced templates, that's not a problem. In this way, I help my viewers find the words they're looking for for quickly by offering selection options. It generates much more feedback and has an active influence on my online activity and digital attraction. The response from viewers has also significantly increased. We're also really looking forward to using the ProvenExpert App, because we're expecting an even higher response rate. I think viewers and guests are going to find evaluating us easier than ever in future.

Who rates you – your talk show guests, or your viewers?

Both – including our viewers who are with us in the studio, but also viewers at home watching the show on TV or on social media. And our talk show guests to whom I give TV training also review too. They have a completely different experience to that of our viewers. Viewers and guest each have an online survey question block that's directly tailored to their experiences with the program.

Do you look forward to new ideas as a result of feedback from your viewers?

I think that viewers who follow the show develop a range of ideas, wishes and suggestions for improvement that they can now communicate with us easily. In this way we've learned that viewers want to take a more active role in show events. Feedback and responses are what make it possible to put ideas and suggestions into action. When TV is digitzed, it creates new dimensions. That's new dimensions for companies and their effects, exciting information for the viewers and an innovative TV experience.

In what ways do you use ProvenExpert?

ProvenExpert has simplified my workflow and I enjoy using it. Reviews I receive on my profile can be forwarded right away and shared on a range of social media channels. In addition, I know that the reviews I receive belong to me, and me only. I've been in the unfortunate position before where online portals closed and my aggregated ratings score simply disappeared. That's hard, since reviews and ratings are the currency of modern times. My ProvenExpert profile offers a range of possibilities. I can work on my reviews, and I can work on my Google ratings score too. It's an exciting possibility for TV shows, whose rating scores don't always translate to the Internet. ProvenExpert offers me a whole range of easily accessible options.

Do you think that accusations of "fake news" can be combated through the use of reviews?

The media today are really being denounced – tabloids, fake news. I think we need to have a closer presence to our customers. It's for this reason exactly that I invite viewers into our studio, so that they can experience how television is produced and created for themselves. When they also have the option of expressing their personal opinion , they feel validated, too. We take the customer feedback and suggestions extremely seriously, which leads to positive effects for our show. We all know the reader letters you see in newspapers. I think that print media and other TV shows will soon have to catch up with online customer reviews.

What's the most successful way to deal with customer reviews and ratings, in your opinion?

It's certainly having the courage to go after customers for feedback. To request feedback in a really proactive way is something that any service provider should get used to, in my opinion. Of course, it's always very important to learn how to react to criticism. Remembering to keep a well-judged, professional distance is particularly important. You have to ask yourself – how can I use this criticism in a positive way? The courage to be transparent is really important here, as well as having no fear of constructive criticism. When you really make the effort, catching five stars from the ratings heavens is really possible!