Online Reviews
By Jana Dolsen, Partner Manager Associate, Broadly
August 10, 2021
6 min read
home services owner asking for a review

How to ask for reviews: best practices and templates

Learning how to ask for reviews is an essential skill that’s critical for long-term business success. Businesses looking to attract new customers through influential platforms such as Google, Facebook and Yelp need to practice the art of asking for reviews. 

We’re here to help with tips on how to ask for customer reviews. Plus, using our review request email templates to follow up with happy customers can help you secure compelling testimonials. 

Catch the eye of potential customers and boost your conversion rates across relevant social media channels and review sites.

Dive in — Table of contents:

How reviews drive business

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Generating buzz about your products and services via online review platforms is an important part of any effective marketing strategy, even for local small businesses. After all, nearly all customers (87%) say they check out reviews.

Here are ways positive reviews empower businesses and marketers to drive growth:

  • You can identify promoters: These are super fans who conduct word-of-mouth outreach on behalf of a given company, helping to increase overall Net Promoter Scores (NPS), which​​ ask how likely the customer is to recommend your business to friends or family on a scale from one to 10.
  • You can attract new customers: By offering the social proof today’s information-hungry customers seek before committing to a new product or service for the first time.
  • Build your online reputation: Positive ratings serve to build credibility for first-time customers.

How to ask for online reviews: tips for success

With as many as 47% percent of customers saying they post reviews as frequently as once a month, you want to snag those important reviews for your company as a small business owner. 

When is the best time to ask for a review?

Looking to get more positive reviews and wondering when to ask a happy customer to leave a review? The ideal time to ask is soon after a customer has made a purchase and has had a positive customer experience with the product or service.

  • For companies offering products: Ask within one to two weeks of when a customer has had a chance to use the product.
  • For service businesses: Ask right after performing the service.

How do you politely ask for customer feedback?

There is a certain finesse to asking for reviews that can increase your chances of receiving more reviews and future happy customers. Follow these suggestions to ensure successful review requests.

  • Ask for feedback first, so you can help if they have had a poor customer experience. 

Asking for customer feedback instead of a review can be much less intimidating for the customer. It shows you care about their experience. If they are unhappy about their customer experience, you have the chance to resolve any issues first before they post a poor review. 

  • Explain the benefits of customer reviews to your small business and potential customers.

When satisfied customers take the time to verbally thank you for a great service or product, follow up and explain that by sharing their customer experience via Google review, Yelp review or on Facebook, they can help potential customers find the right product or service — and help you grow your small business.

How to ask for reviews over email: best practices

While some customers may take the initiative to write reviews about your company on their own, you can help inspire potential submissions by emailing review requests to your customers directly. 

Before messaging your customers, it’s important to keep these best practices for crafting an email that’s requesting a review in mind:

  1. Personalize the email: Address your customer by first name and sign off by including the first name of the customer support team member who is reaching out.
  2. Make it easy for the customer: Include a link to the page you’re requesting a review for, such as Google or Facebook.
  3. Keep the email short: You don’t want to overwhelm your customer with a lengthy request.

Review request email templates for Google, Facebook and Yelp

Below are simple review-request email templates that you can use to send to your customers. 

These templates should help you avoid negative reviews altogether by generating positive buzz about your business right from the start. Be sure to tweak these templates as needed to better reflect your business.

How to ask for Google reviews

Did you know that 59% of customers go to Google to read reviews and view it as a trusted authority? That’s where you want to start to build a stellar online reputation.

If you have a Google My Business Page (and you should), you should be seeking out Google reviews. Google reviews increase your visibility when people search for your services or products via Google and can also help improve your local SEO.

Here’s an example of a review request email template you can use as a guide and send to a customer via email or text message:

Subject line: Share your customer feedback

Dear [CUSTOMER’S NAME]

We want to thank you for your business and are committed to delivering the highest quality to our customers. In today’s digital world, online reviews are very important to companies like ours. 

Will you take a moment of your time to jot down some feedback on our Google Business Page <insert direct URL>? It’s a quick and easy way for you to make a difference.

Please feel free to give us a call should you have immediate feedback or concerns about your [product or service purchased]. We want to hear from you and are happy to answer your questions.

Thank you for your time and business!

[YOUR FIRST NAME]

[BUSINESS NAME]

[PHONE NUMBER]

Don’t forget to check out this resource to create a Google review link!

How to ask for a Facebook review

Facebook is a powerful avenue for small businesses to gather online reviews because 1.84 billion people already log in to the site every single day. Most customers have a personal Facebook account, and this makes the task of getting reviewed easier. Roughly two out of three Facebook users check out a local business page at least once a week.

If your company wants to generate more Facebook reviews, use this review request template to grow your social media reputation.

Subject line: Will you write us a Facebook business review?

Hi [CUSTOMER’S NAME],

Thank you for choosing [business name]. Would you be willing to write us a Facebook review? It should only take a couple minutes and would make an immense difference to our company.

If you are willing, you can follow [this link] to submit your Facebook review.

Please let me know if you are not pleased with [product or service], and we can speak about it personally so your customer feedback is heard.

Thank you again for your business and your time!

Best regards,

[YOUR NAME]

[BUSINESS NAME]

[PHONE NUMBER]

How to ask for a Yelp review

Ninety-two percent of customers visiting Yelp are already loyal — they are looking for a business they can return to. That means if you get your fair share of positive reviews on Yelp, your business is set up for success.

Regardless if you work for an ecommerce website or restaurant or are a lawyer, consultant or contractor, your company can greatly benefit generating positive Yelp reviews. 

However, Yelp’s review policy clearly states, “Don’t ask customers, mailing list subscribers, friends, family, or anyone else to review your business.” 

While you can’t ask for reviews directly, you can provide a link to your Yelp profile page in an email as a follow-up after a recent purchase and nudge the customer in the right direction. (And if you’re wondering why Yelp filters some reviews check out this post, which explains what you can do about it.)

Hi [CUSTOMER’S NAME],

I see you’ve recently visited our establishment, [business name]. I wanted to follow-up with you to check in about your experience. Did you enjoy everything?

We are committed to providing our customers with a fantastic experience, and your feedback helps us make that possible.

LINK TO YELP PROFILE

Thank you for your time,

[YOUR FIRST NAME]

[BUSINESS NAME]

[PHONE NUMBER]

When using these review request templates, be sure to adapt them and use your company’s voice. Good luck with your outreach and with getting new online reviews!

How Broadly can help you get more reviews

We work with small local businesses to help you get more reviews through automation. Our products can also help you better communicate with your team and your customers or revamp your website — so you can focus on running your business.

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