There’s a lot of confusion out there around the difference between a customer testimonial and a customer review. Often they’re used interchangeably. While many think they’re kind of the same, they’re really not the same.
Let’s take a closer look first by taking a deep dive into customer reviews. We’ll then take a look at customer testimonials. Finally, we’ll put customer testimonials vs. customer reviews to the test, and peel apart the differences.
What is a customer review?
A customer review is often a long, detailed account of a customer’s experience with a product or service and can be either positive or negative. Customer reviews are primarily a way for businesses to improve or maintain their reputation by collecting feedback, both positive and negative, about their performance as a company.
Why are customer reviews valuable for businesses?
Customer reviews are valuable for a business in a number of different ways because they provide businesses with honest feedback about their products or services. They can help businesses to identify areas where they are excelling and areas where they need to improve.
Why are customer reviews valuable for customers?
For potential customers, reviews can help to build trust and credibility as they provide an honest and unbiased opinion that can’t be found in traditional marketing materials like advertisements. This makes good customer reviews can be a powerful marketing tool, while bad customer reviews can be damaging to a business.
Where can you find customer reviews?
Customer reviews can be found in a number of places, including on the business’s website, on social media, on review websites, and in forums. Customers can also leave reviews directly with the business, either in person, over the phone, or through email.
How do you get customer reviews?
The best way to get customer reviews is to simply ask for them. Businesses can do this by sending follow-up emails or surveys after a purchase has been made, or by placing a sign-up sheet at the register. Asking customers to leave a review can be an effective way to increase the number of reviews a business receives.
However, businesses and customers alike should be aware that customer reviews can also be manipulated. It is important to take all customer reviews, both positive and negative, with a grain of salt and to look at the bigger picture and the context in which the review has been given.
What is a customer testimonial?
A customer testimonial is usually a short, positive statement from a satisfied customer about their experience with a product or service. It’s all about good vibes, and sharing good news with others.
Why are customer testimonials valuable for businesses?
Customer testimonials have been around for centuries as a way for businesses to show potential customers that their products or services are high quality, worth investing in and loved by other people who are similar to them. If you’d like to get started with your customer testimonial pr
Why are customer testimonials valuable for customers?
They provide potential customers with an insight into what it’s like to use a product or service, and can be incredibly useful in the decision-making process. Customer testimonials are powerful because they’re coming from a real person who has first-hand experience with the product or service. However, its worth bearing in mind that only positive customer testimonials tend to be shared by companies, so each testimonial should be taken at face value, and not perceived to be representative of all customers’ experiences.
Where can you find customer testimonials?
In the digital age, customer testimonials have taken on a new form and are now commonly found on websites and social media platforms owned by brands and companies. Digital customer testimonials are often in the form of written reviews, video testimonials, or even social media posts.
If you’re looking to share customer testimonials, check out this post for more detail.
How do you get customer testimonials?
The best way to get customer testimonials is to simply ask your happy customers if they would be willing to provide a testimonial. You can also offer an incentive for customers to leave a testimonial, such as a discount on their next purchase. If you have a blog or website, you can also include a testimonial submission form.
And of course, if you are considering collecting testimonials, the best way to do this is by using Re-View.
So what’s the difference between a customer review and a customer testimonial?
Although there are lots of exceptions to all of these rules, here are some of the most common differences between a testimonial and a review.
- The length
A customer review can be very long, a customer testimonial is typically pretty short.
- The detail
A customer review typically has lots of specific details as its intended for research, whereas a customer testimonial is typically scarce on details and focuses more on hyperbole and how the product or service made a customer feel.
- The sentiment
A customer review can be positive, neutral or negative whereas a customer testimonial is typically overtly positive.
- Who shares it
A customer review can be shared pretty much anywhere and by anyone, whereas a customer testimonial is typically shared by the company for whom the positive review is about.
So thats the difference between a customer testimonial vs. a customer review! Both certainly have their place in the modern marketers tool belts, but with this knowledge now tucked away it’s our hope that there will be greater clarity around the terminology.
If you’re interested in collecting and sharing video testimonials, Re-View is the simplest and most affordable solution.
If you’re interested in using Re-View to collect customer reviews, we can help with that too. Check out our ‘using Re-View for UX Research‘ page here.
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