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How to Ask For a Review [With Free Templates]

March 14, 2024 13 min. read
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The service industry is a competitive marketplace. You can stand out with plenty of positive online reviews that show you’re a trustworthy business providing quality services.

87% of consumers read reviews when searching for local businesses. When they see positive feedback from people like them, they’ll feel confident that your business can solve their problem.

In this article, we’ll explore different ways to gather reviews—and useful scripts to help you confidently ask for the positive reviews you deserve.

How to ask for a review on Google

Google Business reviews are essential if you want to attract customers online. They act as social proof for potential customers, and they improve your SEO ranking so your business is easier to find on Google.

Your Google Business listing will look something like this:

Screenshot of Google Business profile for Revive Services

Getting these reviews is easy—just ask, and make it easy for customers by sending instructions and providing a direct link to your review page.

Then pair your link with this template to ask for a Google review via email or text message:

Or, instead of manually sending this to every customer, set up automatic review collection in Jobber. Jobber automatically sends a text to the customers you want reviews from.

When you make an invoice in Jobber, you can choose if you want to send the customer a review request.

A list of customer reviews on a mobile phone that came from selecting “Yes” for the “Ask for review: option in Jobber Reviews.

After paying their invoice, those customers will automatically get a direct link to leave a review on your Google Business Profile.

From your reviews dashboard in Jobber, you can keep an eye on your average Google rating. You’ll also see your latest reviews and resources on how to manage your business’s reputation.

Pro Tip: Not every review will be a positive one—but you might be able to change that. Respond to negative reviews, fix the problem that earned a poor review, and ask the customer to update their review afterwards.

How to ask a customer for a review on Facebook

With a massive 2.89 billion monthly active users, Facebook is one of the most common social media platforms for businesses to reach and communicate with customers.

Facebook is also a common place for customers to leave reviews about your services. Asking for reviews from Facebook users can go a long way in building your social reputation.

Limit your Facebook review requests to customers who have followed your Facebook page, commented on your business’s posts, or tagged you in an image of a completed job. This will help you get the greatest number of responses.

Use this template to send your customers a direct message asking for a Facebook review:

Pro Tip: Send a thank-you note after a customer leaves a positive review. That way they know how much you appreciate their time and effort.

How to ask for a review on lead generation and review sites

Most of your home service reviews will come from Google or Facebook, but don’t overlook the importance of other review and lead generation websites available to your business, like:

  • Yelp: Yelp doesn’t allow businesses to ask for reviews, but you can still draw eyes to your profile. Add a Yelp badge to your website, share Yelp reviews on social media, or tell customers you have a Yelp profile. The more visits your profile gets, the better your odds of earning a review.
  • Thumbtack: Requesting reviews directly from Thumbtack can help you attract new customers to your service business. Make it easier for your customers to write reviews by sharing your link in an email, on social media, or through a text message.
  • Angi: Ask your customers to visit your Angi profile and leave a review after a job, or add your profile link when you send a review request by email or text. Keep in mind that only registered Angi members can leave reviews for your business.
  • HomeAdvisor: HomeAdvisor lets service providers easily share reviews on their platform so homeowners can make informed decisions. To collect feedback stress-free, copy your review link from your HomeAdvisor profile and paste it into any of the templates in this article.

READ MORE: HomeAdvisor vs. Angi: which lead generation site is right for you?

Use this template to ask for reviews on lead generation and review sites:

How to ask for a review in person

Asking a customer for a review face-to-face can be intimidating. But if you find the right opportunity, requesting a review in person can actually feel natural—and be extremely effective.

Instead of asking right after the job’s done, wait for the customer to give you a positive cue like:

  • “You did amazing work, thank you! I’m so pleased with the result.”
  • “I’m really happy with what you’ve done here. Let’s talk about our next project.”
  • “Your employee Rebecca was really helpful throughout this entire process.”
  • “I shared photos of your work on social media and I’m getting lots of positive comments.”
  • “I told my friend about your business and he’ll contact you soon about a new project.”

READ MORE: How to build a customer referral program that wins more clients

If you can’t find a natural opportunity, ask open-ended questions like “how was your experience with our company?” or “would you use our services again?”

Hearing a thank-you, getting positive feedback, or receiving a referral is your green light to asking for a review. Here’s what you can say:

When the customer agrees to leave a review, you can email them the link to your review page, along with instructions to make the process easier.

How to ask for a review over the phone

Make a point of following up with every customer after every job. Your day is likely jam-packed, so find a few minutes between visits to make phone calls and gather customer feedback.

If they’re satisfied with your work, most customers will make that clear right away. Take this opportunity to ask for a Google review using this phone script:

As soon as you hang up the phone, send the customer an email with review instructions. Your customers are busy, too, so don’t give them time to forget about writing a review.

Be aware of the context of your phone calls, too. If your customer needs you to fix a mistake or complains about an employee, it’s not the right moment to ask for a review.

How to ask for reviews via SMS

Some of your customers may be just as busy as you are. In these situations, it’s a good idea to contact customers by text message so you can reach them on the go.

SMS review requests make it easy for customers to leave a quick review, right from their mobile phone. Use one of these scripts to send SMS messages asking for reviews:

Pro Tip: Only ask for reviews through text messaging if the customer’s already communicated with you this way. Otherwise they may not trust your message and won’t respond to it.

How to ask for a five-star review via email

Email review requests give your customers the option to leave a review right away or save it for a later time. It’s also convenient for you because you can automate most of the process and use repeatable templates.

There are typically two ways to send review requests by email:

  • Email campaigns let you send a single templated email to a larger group of customers at once. This is an effective and efficient way to get the job done.
  • Personalized emails make your customers feel appreciated and help build a lasting relationship, but they also take time to write one at a time. These are a better option for repeat customers, or customers with jobs at higher price points.

Whichever type of email you choose, keep it short and include your service business branding. Choose an easy way for customers to leave a review, like a link to your Google Business profile or Facebook page.

Here’s an example of an email template you can use:

Pro Tip: If you’d like to customize this template, add a personal comment about something you enjoyed on-site—for example, the customer’s child, their dog, or the coffee they gave you.

It’s a good idea to send a follow-up email if you don’t receive a review. Just make sure to wait a reasonable amount of time, like a week or two. The customer may be busy and not appreciate too many reminders too often.

READ MORE: How to write better customer service follow-up emails

How to ask for customer reviews on your website

Your company website does a lot of your marketing work for you. That includes earning reviews, and displaying these reviews on your website shows you’re trustworthy and professional.

Making review requests part of your marketing strategy will also help improve your local SEO. This helps you rank higher in search engine results for keywords related to your business.

READ MORE: SEO for contractors: the ultimate easy-to-implement guide

Here are a couple of ways to ask for reviews on your website:

  • Use review CTAs throughout your website. Add a call to action (CTA) button to your website that asks customers to leave a review. Include this button on your most visited site pages, like your homepage, services, blog, and contact page.
  • Create a testimonial page. A testimonials page can encourage potential customers to give your services a try. Include direct links to your review sites (such as Google and Facebook) to encourage your customers to share their feedback.
screenshot of reviews on a pest control website

Use these website content templates to ask site visitors to leave reviews:

Get more reviews for your home service business

Knowing how to ask a client for a review will only take you so far. You’ll get the best reviews from happy customers, so providing exceptional service will get more reviews for your business.

From professional quotes to customer communication, Jobber has all the features you need to impress your customers from day one.

Originally published November 2019. Last updated on March 14, 2024.

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