Think about what would be the perfect review for your product. Think about the elements it would include, what the customer would highlight. I bet you have in mind a list of features you want the customer to mention in their review, right? Maybe you want the customer to point out that your product is reliable, right? Also add some general statements about how awesome and trustworthy your brand is, perhaps? Put all this together and you would have the perfect review for your product, right? The perfect mixture of highlighting all the right features, while also pointing to the reliability of your brand.
I can assure you that none of that comes close to defining the perfect product review.
When many companies think about what defines a great product review, they focus on what they want the customer to say about the PRODUCT. They have a list of all the features and attributes they want the customer to mention, maybe a couple of gushing compliments about the brand in general.
Instead, the perfect product review is one where the customer talks about THEMSELVES. But…they talk about themselves in the context of how your product made them BETTER at something.
Here’s a snippet from one of my favorite reviews for my book, Think Like a Rock Star:
“Second, more than any other I’ve read, the book inspired me to take action. These are practical ideas that you can implement right away, not well-meaning tips to put in your idea file, never to be seen again. I hadn’t even finished reading chapter one, and I already implemented one of his ideas.”
See the difference? This review isn’t talking about me or the book, it’s talking about how reading the book prompted a positive change in behavior FOR THE READER. This is what I want to see as a customer reading reviews, I want to know how the product IMPROVED the life of the customer that wrote the review. Because if it helped the customer who wrote the review, that makes me believe it can help me as well.
The perfect product review is one where the customer talks about themselves positively. The customer talks about how your product made a positive change in their lives.
Which review for an SUV do you think is better?
“This is the best car I’ve ever owned.” – Positive about the car.
“Driving this car made me feel safer.” – Positive about how the customer felt driving the car.
Which review for dog food do you think is better?
“It was a great deal, easy to serve portions, and the price was right.” – Positive about the dog food.
“I noticed that my dog was more active and seemed happier as soon as he started eating this.” – Positive about the change in behavior of the owner’s dog.
Which review for a camera do you think is better?
“This camera comes with all the bells and whistles you need to take great pictures.” – Positive about the camera
“This camera made me a better photographer.” – Positive about how the camera changed the behavior of the customer
If you think about it, we don’t buy products, we buy the change in our lives that happens when we own those products. When we buy a car, we aren’t buying the object, we are buying what the car allows us to do. We aren’t buying the laptop, we are buying what the laptop allows us to do. We aren’t buying the mattress, we are buying a good night’s sleep.
Think about how your marketing helps influence the reviews your products receive. The features you highlight in your marketing are often the ones customers highlight in their reviews. What if your marketing helped customers understand how their lives would change as a result of owning your product? Customers would buy your product based on the promise of the change or changes it would make in their lives. Then if your product met the customer’s expectations, that would be shared in their product reviews.
Sell the benefit of your product, more than the product itself.
