Comments on: Does Review Gating Impact Star-Ratings?

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 18:12:17 +0000

In reply to Paul. Paul Thanks for the comment and suggestion. We are working on better classification across all of our locations but that is a necessary first step before we could aggregate enough data for a good sample.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 18:09:22 +0000

I see this on a much smaller scale with my own clients. Some clients try to send review requests only to customers they think will be positive. Those clients bring in much smaller numbers of reviews. Other clients send review requests to all customers and they consistently bring in large numbers of reviews with great NPS scores.

Certain small business categories tend to have lots of unenthusiastic customers even when they’re provided with competent, professional services. I’d be very interested in an updated gating study focused on lawyers.

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 18:21:47 +0000

Proof people are getting smarter. I like it.

By: Andy Kuiper

Andy Kuiper — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 05:15:40 +0000

I wouldn’t have suspected results like that – interesting findings Mike 🙂

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 21:52:36 +0000

In reply to Josh Vinecombe. The sweet spot from what I have seen is in the 4-4.5 range but I think what really resonates is authenticity. Yes if businesses focus on getting better it is a win for all.

By: Josh Vinecombe

Josh Vinecombe — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 21:14:41 +0000

Mike,

Thank you very much for that. Such a small drop in rating but nearing double the volume.

I know a few businesses doing gating and will share this on.

From the study we did it was the volume of reviews that was more significant, something you have written about previously.

As volume increased beyond say 1000, most were below 4.5, which is the sweet spot you spoke of recently.

I guess negative reviews force businesses to alter their philosophies and improve their service which is a win for all.

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 19:57:37 +0000

In reply to Alastair McDermott. @Alastair Very true. I am actually working on that post now.

By: Alastair McDermott

Alastair McDermott — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 19:53:42 +0000

Some “negative” reviews will also help increase sales. For businesses with a good customer experience, someone leaving a badly written, possibly unhinged sounding 1 star review could reassure future readers of that review.