A review should be quick to give… while remaining qualitative

This page is part of a global project to create a better online reviews system. If you want to know more or give your feedback, write at [email protected] and we’ll grab a beer ;)

A study 1^1 shows that 85% of people don’t leave online reviews because of a lack of time and motivation. Although the statistic may be debated (as it depends on who’s asking and respondents might not be aware of their unconscious reasons for not leaving a review), it highlights the importance of time sensitivity for people.

The effects of questionnaire length on participation and response quality are well-documented 2^2. Survey providers constantly advise keeping surveys as short as possible to improve participation and quality of responses.

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However, when it comes to online reviews, long and detailed comments are often considered more helpful and trustworthy (see “All Reviews Don’t Count the Same”). Valuable feedback takes more time, creating a tradeoff between the time it takes and the quality of replies.

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Exploration
  • Interactive emails. AMP emails are a powerful way to capture direct feedback without the user leaving their inbox. Gmail supports this technology, but Apple and Outlook still don’t. Currently, only 40% of emails are AMP-compatible. We hope that all vendors will implement this tech soon, as it would greatly enhance user experience, not just for surveys but for many other tasks like making appointments directly from the email.
    • An example of interactive email who could work
    An example of interactive email who could work
  • Box-clicking. Instead of selecting a star rating and leaving a comment, users could pick from various options, allowing them to share their overall feelings quickly.
    • Airbnb’s review flow, with several choices at the category level, is a good inspiration for this approach.
    Airbnb’s review flow, with several choices at the category level, is a good inspiration for this approach.
  • Remove the stars. Deciding between a 4 or 5-star rating can take time and adds to the feeling of responsibility (see “Feeling bad judging people”). This time could be saved by eliminating star ratings and using other methods.
  • Confirm other reviews. Users who don’t want to leave a full review might be willing to confirm whether they agree with another review. This confirmation could count as an “upvote,” helping highlight helpful reviews for potential customers. Alternatively, the platform could ask, “Which of these reviews applies best to your case?” A design innovation is needed here.
    • A proposition for confirming reviews
    A proposition for confirming reviews

1^1 Checkatrade, 2021

2^2 Effects of Questionnaire Length on Participation and Indicators of Response Quality in a Web Survey Get access Arrow, Galesic and Bosnjak, 2009

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➡️ Next up: Not the right time