“Five stars! Best product ever! Written by definitely-not-the-CEO.”
How it kills
Customers can smell a fake review faster than a fish left in the sun—over-the-top praise with zero specifics is a dead giveaway.
Erodes trust instead of building it—one obviously fake review makes people doubt all your reviews.
Leads to embarrassing moments when customers start calling out the bots in the comments.
If your testimonial section reads like it was written by a 19th-century poet (”Life-changing! Transcendent! A triumph of modern commerce!”), expect some raised eyebrows.
What Works
Encourage genuine reviews—real voices, even imperfect ones, are more powerful than manufactured hype.
If you want great testimonials, deliver a great product—people naturally share what they love.
If your reviews look like they were written by someone who has never used your product (or possibly, the human language), rethink your strategy before you become a case study in what not to do.
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