Glowing Reviews Aren’t Always the Most Persuasive

[ronhi85]

I just came across this research published by Havard Business Review. In a nutshell, the authors argue that getting only glowing reviews is bad for business. That buyers trust a brand more when they see a mix of bad and good reviews.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that is true for fiverr?

Here is the link to the study: https://hbr.org/2018/07/research-glowing-reviews-arent-always-the-most-persuasive

[cheyennewriter]

I think sometimes people might get a little suspicious when all the reviews are super amazing. Negative reviews provide some legitimacy.

[hanshuber16]

I absolutely agree with what you said. I was actually thinking about the exact same thing yesterday.

Well, now I know what I need to do.

Time to go get a negativ review so that it ends up making my gig more trustworthy. 😜 (no sarcasm intended, wait a second… 😉 )

[ronhi85]

I absolutely agree with what you said. I was actually thinking about the exact same thing yesterday.

Well, now I know what I need to do.

Time to go get a negativ review so that it ends up making my gig more trustworthy. 😜 (no sarcasm intended, wait a second… 😉 )

I absolutely agree with what you said. I was actually thinking about the exact same thing yesterday.

Well, now I know what I need to do.

Time to go get a negativ review so that it ends up making my gig more trustworthy. 😜 (no sarcasm intended 😉 )

Well, I was just sharing something I read this morning. I am not the one that said it 🙂

But I really dont think it works on fiverr. Might work if you are running an ecommerce store selling physical products.

[eoinfinnegan]

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

[ronhi85]

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

you just made me feel better for the bad review I recently got 😃

[eoinfinnegan]

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

you just made me feel better for the bad review I recently got 😃

After I got my first couple of bad reviews, I noticed immediately that silly buyers asking for cancellation after delivery stopped coming to me. No negatives is a scammer magnet because they also think that the seller must cancel often.

[trooviez9]

I agree with the study. A good mix of negative, neutral and positive reviews helps to showcase legitimacy which is more convincing to a potential buyer.

[jenihiggs]

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

Gah! I have over 100 reviews and no negative ones! I know I look hella suspicious. I have no idea why I haven’t had a ridiculous buyer yet. I mean, I actually have had a couple of unhappy people, but for some reason none have left reviews.

[nikavoice]

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

Uh-oh ~ Then you’re prolly giving me a side-eye atm. 👀

I don’t pay much attention to those yellow stars. I focus on other stuff!

So, therefore, I’m never suspicious like dat, I like to give people the benefit-of-the-doubt. 😉

[writerlisaz]

Now I feel better for those 3 bad reviews (2 and 3 star ones). I have 1770 5-star reviews and 24 4-star reviews, so I guess a little balance is good! I have seriously never cancelled an order because a buyer threatened to (or did) leave a bad review. I want the money I earned too much for that!

[eoinfinnegan]

Uh-oh ~ Then you’re prolly giving me a side-eye atm. 👀

I don’t pay much attention to those yellow stars. I focus on other stuff!

So, therefore, I’m never suspicious like dat, I like to give people the benefit-of-the-doubt. 😉

Nika and Jeni, while I do genuinely “give side-eye” to gigs with no negatives, it is not a deciding factor of course. It is just one of a whole lot of things that I weigh in. It wouldn’t stop me from ordering unless there were other red flags too.

Reviews are never definitive but they can help. Recently I went through my own review comments that buyers gave me. It’s strange. Most of the verbose “Eoin is amaaaaazing” type reviews come from buyers of <$20 gigs whereas a lot of the big >$100-500 people seem to just leave 2 words or whatever. So strange, you would think it should be the other way around.

For this reason, I have started looking at review comments a little less closely now too.

[adalenecaasi]

Whenever I go shopping online, I like to look through both the good and bad reviews. More often than not, the good reviews talk about how the product does the job, while the bad reviews give a good idea of what its limitations are. And depending on your needs, sometimes those limitations don’t really matter.

There’s probably a metaphor in here somewhere.

[nikavoice]

Nika and Jeni, while I do genuinely “give side-eye” to gigs with no negatives, it is not a deciding factor of course. It is just one of a whole lot of things that I weigh in. It wouldn’t stop me from ordering unless there were other red flags too.

Reviews are never definitive but they can help. Recently I went through my own review comments that buyers gave me. It’s strange. Most of the verbose “Eoin is amaaaaazing” type reviews come from buyers of <$20 gigs whereas a lot of the big >$100-500 people seem to just leave 2 words or whatever. So strange, you would think it should be the other way around.

For this reason, I have started looking at review comments a little less closely now too.

Yeah, reviews are blah, blah, blah. It’s usually the same old fluff. I prefer to have a chat with the Sellers to gauge their communication skills and work samples help tremendously, too.

For the most part, as a Seller, I don’t go cray-cray if I get a lower than 5️⃣ rating. I’m a perfectionist but I’ve come to the realization, that perfect reviews is unrealistic, after all, shit happens. I’ve been through worse, so stars will not cause me to lose my sanity.

Ahem, the next time I order from you, maybe I’ll write, “Eoin is Dope” or something. 😛

Cheers! 🍹

[uxreview]

I just came across this research published by Havard Business Review. In a nutshell, the authors argue that getting only glowing reviews is bad for business. That buyers trust a brand more when they see a mix of bad and good reviews.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that is true for fiverr?

Here is the link to the study: https://hbr.org/2018/07/research-glowing-reviews-arent-always-the-most-persuasive

That buyers trust a brand more when they see a mix of bad and good reviews.

It’s not really about the amount of bad vs good reviews, it’s about how you respond to bad reviews. People want to see what will you do if you get a bad review. Will you flip out? Will you use unprofessional language? Will you offer some kind of alternative solution?

That’s why I always start with negative reviews when I’m buying a gig. 😛

I don’t have any bad reviews myself. I’d like to think that it’s because of a good vetting process, but I guess it’s because I haven’t delivered enough orders.

[catzyjade]

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

Am I Lucky? 108x 5Star, 3x 4star and 2 cancellations. 😏

[eoinfinnegan]

Am I Lucky? 108x 5Star, 3x 4star and 2 cancellations. 😏

Yes.

IDK, I just mentioned what I think when I see profiles without negative reviews - I can’t help it.

For all I know, you are all just fantastic sellers who have some secret way to stop difficult buyers from ordering or something…

[derekppc]

We’ve only managed to get one negative review, I really have no idea how. I can think of a couple of times where it just didn’t work or we weren’t going to put up with the BS and yet still got a 5-star review. I wish people would just review more honestly and it does add legitimacy in my opinion.

[sue_mcl]

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

Damn it, I must look super dodgy! I like to think it is because of my awesome customer service and setting clear expectations to buyers rather than my obvious perfection :rofl:

[sue_mcl]

That buyers trust a brand more when they see a mix of bad and good reviews.

It’s not really about the amount of bad vs good reviews, it’s about how you respond to bad reviews. People want to see what will you do if you get a bad review. Will you flip out? Will you use unprofessional language? Will you offer some kind of alternative solution?

That’s why I always start with negative reviews when I’m buying a gig. 😛

I don’t have any bad reviews myself. I’d like to think that it’s because of a good vetting process, but I guess it’s because I haven’t delivered enough orders.

It’s not really about the amount of bad vs good reviews, it’s about how you respond to bad reviews. People want to see what will you do if you get a bad review. Will you flip out? Will you use unprofessional language? Will you offer some kind of alternative solution?

Absolutely! I think you can tell a lot about what your experience is likely to be working with someone when you read their response to a bad review.

[legacine]

When I see only 5-star reviews on a profile that has over 100 reviews, I am always a little suspicious. It makes me wonder if they cancel a lot or something. Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

Nobody is perfect and moreover - to not have one bad/silly buyer out of 100 would be extremely lucky.

I must be extremely lucky, then. (I can count my cancellations on one hand.)

The attempts at trying to spin mostly/only positive reviews as a negative in this topic is interesting.

[mariokluser]

I have at the time of writing this 91 reviews and all where positive.
For me it would be weird to ask a buyer for a negative review in order to make future buyers feel better.

However, my comments get flagged anyway.
Therefore I keep my distance from the forum… again 😎

Have fun folks.

[Guest offlinehelpers]

My stats:
413 5 stars
6 4 stars
Nothing lower, no negatives to give any sort of response to.

And yet, that would be frowned on for being ‘too good’? The world has officially gone mad. :rofl:

Evening @mariokluser BTW! 🙂

[nikavoice]

I have at the time of writing this 91 reviews and all where positive.

For me it would be weird to ask a buyer for a negative review in order to make future buyers feel better.

However, my comments get flagged anyway.

Therefore I keep my distance from the forum… again 😎

Have fun folks.

However, my comments get flagged anyway.

Therefore I keep my distance from the forum… again 😎

Noooooooooo. Don’t go! I like reading your stuff, it would be a shame to see another cool user gone with the wind. 😩

And yet, that would be frowned on for being ‘too good’? The world has officially gone mad. :rofl:

People are skeptical of perfection. Great stuff! 😂

[mariokluser]

However, my comments get flagged anyway.

Therefore I keep my distance from the forum… again 😎

Noooooooooo. Don’t go! I like reading your stuff, it would be a shame to see another cool user gone with the wind. 😩

And yet, that would be frowned on for being ‘too good’? The world has officially gone mad. :rofl:

People are skeptical of perfection. Great stuff! 😂

Off topic: naaaah, it’s a waste of time.

On topic: In all the time here I had two cancellations. In both cases I initiated them because the buyers got on my nerves and I didn’t want to talk to them anymore. I offered a cancellation, they agreed and we were done. Also in my daily business I tell clients not to go on my nerves, otherwise they have to look for somebody else. Sometimes they do and come back a couple of month later.

I think the study is pure nonsense. Never heard anybody give a negative review about his new Lambo, Ferrari or Rolex. But OK, it’s cucumber time, what is actually standard on this forum.