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What Makes a Good Review? 11 Elements of a Good Review

What makes a good review? Craft impactful reviews with these 11 essential elements to guide readers toward informed decisions.

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What Makes a Good Review? 11 Elements of a Good Review
Title
What Makes a Good Review? 11 Elements of a Good Review
Date
Nov 5, 2024
Description
What makes a good review? Craft impactful reviews with these 11 essential elements to guide readers toward informed decisions.
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Everyone has read a review that made them stop in their tracks. Maybe it was a good one that made them smile or a bad one that worried them about what they might be getting into. Regardless of the type, reviews can create powerful, almost visceral reactions that can sway a buyer’s decision almost immediately.
So, what makes a good review? In this article, we’ll unpack the key elements of effective reviews, why they matter, and how testimonial software can help you collect impactful customer feedback. It is one of the best customer feedback tools.

What Makes a Good Review? 11 Elements of a Good Review

What Makes A Good Review
What Makes A Good Review

1. Specific Details About the Experience: What Happened?

A good review highlights what was great (or not so great) about the product or service. Instead of vague praise, it’s better to mention particular aspects like:
  • Customer support
  • Ease of use
For example: "The customer service team quickly resolved my issue with a broken product, and they even offered a discount on my next purchase."

2. The Problem They Were Trying to Solve: Why Did They Need It?

A good review often starts by explaining why the client sought the product or service in the first place. This context helps other potential customers relate to the review. For instance, "We needed a reliable CRM to streamline our sales process."

3. Results or Outcomes: What Changed?

It’s adequate to share how the product or service made a difference. What results were achieved? Did it save time, increase productivity, or boost revenue? An example could be, "After using the software for just one month, we noticed a 25% increase in client retention."

4. Authenticity and Honesty: Is It Real?

Reviews that are genuine and balanced, mentioning both positives and any areas for improvement, tend to be more trustworthy. Instead of a glowing five-star review without details, potential customers appreciate an honest take, like "The product worked well overall, though I found the learning curve a bit steep at first."

5. A Recommendation: Would They Pass It On?

A vital review often ends with a recommendation. Whether they would recommend the service to others and why. For example, "I highly recommend this service to small business owners looking for a cost-effective solution."

6. Detailed Comparisons: How Does It Stack Up?

Reviews that compare a product or service with competitors can be particularly persuasive. When reviewers explain why they chose one product over another, it provides valuable context for potential customers considering similar options. Highlighting specific advantages or drawbacks can significantly influence decision-making.

7. Clarity and Structure: Is It Organized?

Good reviews should be:
  • Well-written
  • Clear
  • Easy to understand
Proper spelling and grammar enhance readability, making it easier for other consumers to grasp the review's message. A structured format with headings or bullet points can improve clarity and help readers find relevant information quickly.

8. Length and Depth: How Comprehensive Is It?

Longer reviews are more valuable than short ones as they often contain more details about the reviewer’s experience. A comprehensive review offers potential buyers a well-rounded perspective by covering:
  • Price
  • Service quality
  • Delivery time
  • Product performance

The Power of Detailed Reviews

This detail helps set clear expectations for future customers and gives potential buyers a well-rounded view of what to expect. A 5-star user rating can look like seeding or spam if it doesn't have any constructive details. So, take a little time to review it and take pride in it—do it well, and it could help someone.

9. Constructive Feedback: What Could Be Better?

Whether positive or negative, reviews should provide constructive feedback. This means highlighting both the product or service's strengths and weaknesses. A balanced perspective helps other customers make informed choices and gives businesses insights into areas for improvement.

10. Visual Evidence: Can I See It?

Including photos or videos in reviews can enhance authenticity and provide visual proof of the reviewer’s experience. Visual content helps potential customers visualize the product in use and adds credibility to the review.

11. Timeliness: When Did It Happen?

Indicating when the experience took place is essential for context. If a review is based on an experience from several years ago, it may need to reflect the current state of the product or service accurately. Timely reviews help ensure that feedback remains relevant and useful for prospective buyers.

Why Do Reviews Matter for Businesses

What Makes A Good Review
What Makes A Good Review
Customer feedback shapes how other customers perceive your business. Whether you use a Voice of the Customer strategy to collect feedback or follow up customer service interactions with a CSAT survey, exploring the benefits of customer reviews can improve your business operations and boost your bottom line.

Customer Reviews Build Trust

Client reviews are powerful because they come from real people. Even when posted by brand evangelists, reviews often feel more authentic to buyers than traditional marketing. About 50% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations from family and friends, demonstrating that word-of-mouth marketing online can significantly impact a business’s bottom line.
In our digital age, companies can build customer trust when customers read honest reviews from people they know and other consumers with real experiences.

Customer Reviews Provide Valuable Feedback

Reviews give insight into what you’re doing right and where there’s room for improvement—from your product quality to the effectiveness of your support team. Honest feedback also helps you know if you’re meeting customer expectations.
For example, Mailchimp used customer feedback to identify which features and functionalities were most important to customers. Using this information and a customer-centric strategy, the company built better products that helped more customers than ever.

Customer Reviews Encourage Positive Engagement

Creating a platform where customers can exchange experiences enhances engagement and fosters a sense of community. For instance, encouraging interaction on your website or mobile app by allowing customers to post reviews and respond to others’ feedback can significantly increase customer engagement.

Customer Reviews Provide Coaching to Agents

All feedback can be good, especially when it breaks down service flaws and helps strengthen support quality by identifying areas of improvement. Positive customer reviews encourage agents to continue performing as they are, while constructive or negative reviews can reveal where they might be missing the mark.
Managers can use all customer feedback forms to create transparent coaching sessions, skills labs, or training programs.

Customer Reviews Improve the Bottom Line

Reviews can directly drive customer acquisition, upsells, and cross-sells. When prospects read client reviews about their customer experience or see a business interacting with customer reviews online, they form opinions about who to trust and interact with.
Good review etiquette and honest reviews from real customers can significantly increase a business’s revenue.

Simplify Your Testimonial Process and Boost Credibility

Testimonial simplifies the process of building trust and credibility for businesses. Our software allows an accessible collection and display of authentic client testimonials featuring:
  • Video and text options
  • Embeddable wall of love widget
  • Clever Email Assistant
  • Third-party review imports
Testimonials help boost credibility and conversion rates by showcasing real customer experiences. They are ideal for content creators, agencies, eCommerce, and SaaS companies. Build a wall of love for free today with Testimonials.

Where to Include Reviews in Your Marketing?

What Makes A Good Review
What Makes A Good Review
Placing reviews on your key landing pages will provide the best area for potential customers or buyers to see how great your brand or company is. Also, having reviews on your products or services pages will allow you to back up any claims you have.

Let Ad Content Do the Talking for Your Business

Let your customers vouch for you in paid ad campaigns and watch the results roll in.

Combine Reviews with Your Success Stories

This is where you can provide quantitative data in the form of data and statistics of outcomes and qualitative data using customer reviews. As previously mentioned, combining both will win your customers’ hearts and minds.

Use Reviews for Final Persuasion on Contact Pages

Having a review on your checkout or contact page can be the final touch of persuasion you need. It could be what you need to push someone to buy your products or services. To make this as effective as possible, save your best reviews for last.

Engage Customers on Social Media with Reviews

Share reviews across your social media channels for high engagement. Remember to tag your clients in the content and ask them to share it so you can reap brand exposure with their networks.

Create a Dedicated Page for Testimonials

While many companies include reviews throughout their site, creating a dedicated testimonial page is also a good idea. For example, making a Wall of Love with Testimonial ensures you get all my testimonials and reviews from various sources on a single page.

How To Request for Reviews From Customers

What Makes A Good Review
What Makes A Good Review
Email requests remain one of the most effective channels for collecting customer testimonials because it's a straightforward and scalable approach. Later in this post, you'll find testimonial email templates that simplify collecting testimonials via email.
You can ask for positive feedback in bulk by emailing your email list, or you can send an individual testimonial request by sending a direct message to your customer's email address.

Automate Testimonial Requests for Maximum Impact

You can even set up an automation so happy clients receive an automatic email when they complete an action. For example, ask for a testimonial two days after buying my product or after a positive customer service interaction. That way, your customer success team will only need to remember to do this sometimes.

Text Messages: A Direct Way to Request Customer Reviews

Text messages (or SMS) offer an intriguingly direct and personal channel for requesting customer reviews. Customers receive dozens and sometimes hundreds of emails per day. In an age where inboxes are so cluttered, a text message can gracefully cut through the noise.

Respectful and Timely Text Requests for Authentic Feedback

Because text messages are so direct, they carry a higher risk of intrusion or annoyance if not done thoughtfully. Make your request respectful, clear, and to the point, ideally integrating it as a seamless part of an already positive customer experience. This way, you encourage valuable testimonials while maintaining the sanctity of personal space.

Website Headers and Footers: Prime Real Estate for Customer Feedback

The header or footer of your website serves as prime real estate for collecting valuable feedback. It's an area consistently visible to your audience, often catching their eye right before they navigate away or complete an action on your site. Strategically placing a simple but engaging call-to-action (CTA) here can encourage loyal customers to share organic feedback.
Since they're already on your platform, this minimizes friction, making it exponentially easier for them to participate. It's convenience coupled with visibility!
Pro tip: When collecting testimonials passively, use incentives like discount codes and gift cards to encourage more people to leave testimonials.

Social Media: Tap Into Your Existing Audience for Customer Testimonials

If you've already built a social media following, you're sitting on a gold mine for collecting testimonials. Your audience is engaged, they know your brand, and they're likely to have positive experiences they're willing to share.
A single well-crafted post asking for reviews can generate immediate and numerous client testimonials and, sometimes, even traffic via public social media posts.

In-Person Requests: A Personalized Approach to Collecting Testimonials

If you're new to this and need an established email list of customers, asking in person can also be effective. Ask your customers for a written or video testimonial whenever they visit your shop. This method is convenient for business owners who nurture face-to-face relationships.

Offer Incentives

Sometimes, your customers need some extra motivation. Offering some kind of gratification in exchange for a testimonial could help you collect more testimonials quickly. You can provide a testimonial swap where we exchange positive customer testimonials. Of course, this only works if we use each other's products or services.

Incentivize Testimonials with Rewards

Offer a gift card to each person who gives a testimonial, or if you have a tighter budget, organize a lottery in which one can win a gift card or some other compelling prize. If you go for a lottery, remember to ask for each customer's contact information to get back to them.

Ask Multiple Times

You might not get an answer when you ask for the first time. The situation may need to be more ripe. Ask later. Offering multiple chances to give testimonials during a single website visit is also essential. It might be noticed if the only way to provide feedback is hidden in the navigation.

Provide Great Customer Support and Experience

Want a surefire way to ignite a chorus of positive reviews for your business? Prioritize stellar customer support! Happy customers don't just return for more; they become your most persuasive marketing team, eager to share their positive experiences with the world.
From anticipating needs to resolving issues promptly and professionally, exceptional support fosters trust and appreciation, paving the way for glowing testimonials.

Utilize Existing Review Platforms for Testimonial Collection

Utilizing third-party platforms can be your secret weapon for unlocking positive reviews and boosting your business's credibility. Imagine this: a streamlined system where happy customers can quickly leave feedback on a neutral platform, complete with star ratings and detailed narratives.

Leverage Third-Party Platforms for Authentic Testimonials

Platforms like Trustpilot, Google My Business, and Capterra provide this trusted space, encouraging authenticity and making testimonials feel less like "a favor" and more like "celebrating a good experience." Plus, their search engine optimization magic can land your business in front of even more potential customers seeking social proof.

8 Tips for Encouraging People To Leave Reviews

What Makes A Good Review
What Makes A Good Review

1. Make It Easy to Leave a Review

Simplifying the review process is fundamental. Provide direct links to your review pages in:
  • Follow-up emails
  • Your website
  • Through social media
Consider using QR codes on physical materials, such as receipts or business cards, that lead directly to the review site. The easier it is for customers to leave a review, the more likely they will do so.

2. Ask for Reviews Directly

One of the most effective ways to encourage reviews is to ask for them. Timing is crucial; request reviews shortly after a positive interaction or purchase when the customer’s experience is fresh in their minds. This can be done in:
  • Person
  • Via email
  • Social media

3. Use Follow-Up Emails

Send personalized follow-up emails thanking customers for their purchases and inviting them to leave a review. Include a direct link to the review page and ensure the message is friendly and appreciative. Automated email systems can streamline this process, ensuring every customer is noticed.

4. Offer Incentives

While it's essential not to incentivize only positive reviews, offering small rewards such as discounts or loyalty points can motivate customers to share their feedback. For example, you could enter customers into a contest to leave a review or provide a discount on their next purchase.

5. Display Social Proof

Showcasing existing positive reviews on your website and social media can encourage others to contribute their feedback. When potential reviewers see that others have shared their experiences, they may feel more inclined to do the same.

6. Respond to Reviews

Responding to positive and negative customer reviews demonstrates that you value their feedback. Acknowledging reviews can encourage others to leave their comments, knowing their voices will be heard.

7. Promote Your Review Platforms

Promote your profiles on platforms like Google, Yelp, or Facebook to ensure customers know where to leave reviews. This can be done through:
  • Signage in-store
  • Email links
  • Social media posts
Highlighting these platforms increases visibility and encourages participation.

8. Leverage Social Media

Use social media platforms to engage with your audience and ask for reviews. Share positive customer experiences and tag those customers, which shows appreciation and encourages others to share their thoughts in hopes of being featured.
  • Capterra Alternatives

Build a Wall of Love for Free Today with Testimonial

Customer reviews are genuine customer evaluations of their experience with:
  • A business
  • Product
  • Service
Most reviews include star ratings and written feedback that detail what the customer liked or disliked about their experience. Reviews typically appear online and are accessible to anyone researching a business before engaging with them.

Why Are Customer Reviews Important?

Customer reviews are vital for building trust and credibility with potential buyers. Most people read online reviews before making a purchase and trust these reviews just as much as personal recommendations. Fewer than 20% of consumers say they don’t read reviews. Instead, they’ll turn to other resources to research a business, product, or service.
Customer reviews can also help improve a business’s bottom line. Higher ratings increase conversion rates, and products with reviews can earn up to 20% more sales than items without reviews. Reviews can also help with search engine optimization. Google and other search engines favor recent, fresh content, and customer reviews provide businesses with this valuable content.
Reviews often contain key search terms that can help improve a business’s online visibility. Regularly responding to reviews can also improve SEO.

What Makes a Good Review?

Not all customer reviews are created equal. While even the most generic positive or negative reviews can help a business, detailed, well-rounded testimonials are the most beneficial. So, what makes a good review? Here’s what to look for:
  • Good Reviews Are Detailed: The more information customers can provide about their experience, the better. Look for reviews that cover specific features, products, or services rather than vague positives or negatives.
  • Good Reviews Have Context: Reviews that explain why a customer feels a certain way can help potential buyers relate to the experience. Contextual information helps customers understand how their experiences might compare to the reviewer’s.
  • Good Reviews Include Summaries: Some customer experiences can be complex, with various positives and negatives. Reviews that offer an overall summary often found at the beginning or end of a detailed review, can help customers quickly grasp the review’s most important takeaways.

Boost Credibility and Conversions with Social Proof

Testimonial simplifies the process of building trust and credibility for businesses. Our software allows an accessible collection and display of authentic client testimonials featuring:
  • Video and text options
  • Embeddable wall of love widget
  • Clever Email Assistant
  • Third-party review imports
Testimonials showcase real customer experiences and help boost credibility and conversion rates. They are ideal for content creators, agencies, eCommerce, and SaaS companies.
Transform your business reputation with our powerful testimonial software. Start building your Wall of Love for free today, and watch your credibility soar!

Written by

Damon Chen
Damon Chen

Founder of Testimonial

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