Online customer reviews are changing customer behavior. Nearly all consumers—93%—now read online reviews before making a purchasing decision. And 91% of 18 to 34 year-olds say they trust online reviews just as much as recommendations from family and friends.
These independently written opinions about local businesses are powerful. About 94% of consumers say they’ve avoided a company because of a bad review. Great reviews, on the other hand, can increase sales by as much as 31%.
Once you start getting good reviews, what next? As with all online content, you should promote and share, share, share. Because what’s the point of good reviews if no one sees them? Identify the best reviews and post them on as many platforms as possible.
But how do you know which good reviews to share? Read on to learn how to recognize a great review and see some good review examples.
4 characteristics of great reviews
There are four basic characteristics every stand-out review should have. These are the reviews that get the most “thumbs ups” from readers and drive in (or away, if you aren’t careful) more business.
#1: Detailed yet concise
A good review should provide specific information about the customer’s experience that helps boost credibility with readers. But a great review concisely offers essential information, so readers aren’t overloaded. No one wants to read a book.
#2: Helpful and specific
The best reviews help readers by explicitly calling out parts of the customer’s experience. This could be the name of a server, an item purchased, a service rendered, or even photos and video of the products or services. Evidence like this helps paint a true, believable picture of what your business is really like.
#3: Error-free
No one likes to read testimonials riddled with spelling and grammar errors. While even the best review might not be written perfectly, good reviews do communicate in a way readers can understand with little difficulty.
#4: Has a response
One out of three customers says a business’s response to their reviews is key to judging the company. Not responding to reviews, whether positive or negative, is a major mistake. Monitor your online reviews, and write back to your customers.
Positive Reviews Examples
Characteristics are helpful, but positive reviews examples are even better. Here are three straightforward (and one surprising!) examples of great reviews.
Good review example #1
Our first example might not be grammatically perfect, but the reviewer provides value to other customers by describing exactly what she loves about this business. From the great selection to parking, her review is positive while getting straight to the point.
Good review example #2
You know this business must be great since the reviewer took the time to write a detailed post after just one visit! Between the good customer service reviews example and the honest appraisal of the facilities, the review rings true because both positive and negative takeaways are presented. Five stars is a great review, but it’s not ideal. A rating of 4.5 feels more realistic and reasonable to the reader.
Good review example #3
Short, but positive, this well-written review is to the point and mentions a specific employee. Many things can go wrong in a customer visit that excellent customer service can mitigate. When your staff receives kudos in a review, it’s definitely one you should promote.
Good review example #4
Responding to a review is an excellent method for attracting the eye of potential customers. But is this really a good review? Yes! By responding without really responding, the business took what is supposedly a negative review and used it to promote one of their core values. With 298 reactions, 44 comments and 14 shares, this is the kind of “bad” review you want to promote.
Good reviews aren’t always easy to get. So when you receive positive feedback, you want to get as much out of it as you can. Now you know how to recognize, and what to do with, positive reviews!
