What is the Difference Between Reviews and Testimonials

The main difference between reviews and testimonials is that reviews are displayed on third-party platforms, while testimonials are displayed by platforms owned by the business.

Both reviews and testimonials give us details about customers’ experience with a brand or company. However, they are not the same. Testimonials are likely to be positive since they are gathered directly by the company from customers who are happy and satisfied with the service. Reviews, on the other hand, can be good or bad, and the company has no direct involvement in them.  

Key Areas Covered

1. What are Reviews 
  – Definition, Features
2. What are Testimonials
  – Definition, Features
3. What is the Difference Between Reviews and Testimonials
 – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Reviews, Testimonials

What are Reviews

A review is someone’s opinion or evaluation of a product, place, or service. Online reviews are an open platform where everyone can talk about their experience with a brand, both good and bad. For example, imagine that you had a bad experience at the hotel you booked through Booking.com. You will leave a review on Booking.com so that the hotel, as well as potential future guests of the hotel, will know about your bad experience. Similarly, if you ordered a product on Amazon, and if you are happy with the seller’s service, you will leave a review, praising the seller and the product.  

On the internet, there are many platforms to leave reviews. Some of these include social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, Google, Yelp, Foursquare, Trip Advisor, etc. If we look at the characteristics of reviews, they are usually written by clients or customers on third-party platforms. Owners of the business have little control over them. They cannot filter, remove, or delete the bad comments; all they can do is respond to the review and offer to set things right.

In these platforms like Google, the reviews are compiled to produce an overall score of the business. Through this score, consumers can have an idea of the performance of the company. However, it’s also important to know that some of these reviews may be fake. Sometimes, companies pay people to leave good reviews, and sometimes competitors or people with a grudge against the business owners may leave bad comments without any valid reason.

What are Testimonials

In advertising and promotion, testimonials are people’s written or spoken statement commending the virtue of a product or service. They are more like advertisements and usually found on the website of the company and website. Testimonials usually display the best of a company, from customers who are really happy and willing to go on the record sharing their good experience with the company. Therefore, unlike reviews, testimonials are always positive. If the customer is not happy with the service, they will not showcase his or her testimonial on the website.

Furthermore, testimonials are directly gathered from the customers by the company that provided the service. Therefore, they have complete ownership and control of the testimonials.

Difference Between Reviews and Testimonials

Definition

A review is someone’s opinion or evaluation of a product, place, or service, while a testimonial is a person’s personal statement commending the virtue of a product or service.

Platform

Reviews are displayed in third-party platforms Google, Facebook, Trip Advisor, Amazon, etc., while testimonials are displayed by platforms owned by the business.

Involvement of the Business

A business has no direct involvement in reviews since a third party collects and manages the data. However, the business that provides the product or service directly collect and manage the testimonials. 

Good vs Bad

Therefore, reviews can be good or bad, while testimonials are more likely to be positive.

Conclusion

The main difference between reviews and testimonials is that reviews are displayed on third-party platforms, while testimonials are displayed by platforms owned by the business. Testimonials are likely to be positive since they are gathered directly by the company from customers who are happy and satisfied with the service. Reviews, on the other hand, can be good or bad, and the company has no direct involvement in them. 

Image Courtesy:

1. “6066199” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “2044700” (CC0) via Pixabay