Nothing beats loads of positive Google reviews. The more you get, the better! But how can you get Google reviews for your small business?
Google has 91.55% share of the search engine market. In other words, for every 100 search engine users, about 92 use Google.
Yup, I’m among the 92 👊. When I search Google to learn about a product or service, hardly do I enter my card details to make an instant purchase. Instead, I read many reviews to find proof I’d get a great product or service.
Others do this, too.
According to a B2B SaaS Reviews report, 82% of business-to-consumer customers say reviews are more influential than the marketing and sales claims of businesses. 52% of respondents also consider product or service ratings below 4.0 as suspiciously low.
This shift in buying pattern means you need to prioritize getting positive reviews for your business.
In this guide, you’ll get a step-by-step process for asking clients for Google reviews. I’d also illustrate some of these steps with Lighthouse Dental Centre, a brand with 250+ raving five star Google reviews.
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Disclaimer: The Lighthouse Dental Centre is our client at SimpleTexting. But I’m using them to illustrate some of my points because I believe their approach to asking for Google reviews is great. With that out of the way, let’s unpack the steps for asking for Google reviews and building your social proof arsenal.
The best channel for reaching customers is one that offers them the most convenience. These channels could be email, SMS, social media, a face-to-face interaction, or a combination of channels.
Requesting Google reviews with email is beneficial because it lets you say as much as you want. Here’s an example by Biscuiteers with a link asking for a Google review:
Know what I like most about this email? The ‘Here is what others have said’ section 😉.
This section gives the customer ideas of what to write. The testimonials also make it easier for the customer to note the unique elements of their pressies and come up with a review.
87% of businesses that text customers report their marketing is successful. With reviews, your SMS can work even better because you’ve likely delivered a stellar product or service.
When asking for Google reviews with SMS, keep your message brief. Also, thank your customer for choosing your business and express your commitment to their satisfaction. Lighthouse Dental Centre exemplifies these in this example:
Hi! It’s Carla from Lighthouse Dental Center. Thank you so much for being willing to write a review for our office. We really appreciate it as it helps others know exactly what our office is all about. You can click the link below to write the review and get entered into our draw as well. [Google review link]
Here’s another example by Redbox+ that I like:
Your schedule dumpster rental with Redbox+ Dumpsters of Northeast Denver and Fort Collins has been picked up. Thank you for your business! Please consider leaving us a 5 Star Google review at [Google review link], as it will only take a minute of your time and is vital to our success as a local family-owned business.
Beyond thanking the customer, they mentioned two things that could increase their chance of getting the Google review.
First, “…it will only take a minute of your time.” Translation: Count one to sixty and you’re done writing the review. Easy!
Second, they mentioned the review is vital to the success of their local family-owned business — this gives the customer a ‘why’ to write the review.
🔖 How to write a thank you for your purchase message [+ templates]
If you own a brick-and-mortar or home service business, train your staff to ask satisfied customers for reviews.
As a part of your process, you can provide physical cards with instructions. Your card could also include a QR code that customers can scan to access your Google review link. Here is an example from Evelyn’s.
To create a QR code, you can add your Google review link to a free code creator like QR Code Generator.
Social media platforms let you request Google reviews in a casual and engaging manner. You can gently encourage your fanbase or followers to share their experiences with you or your business. Here is a LinkedIn example from Commercial Washrooms.
These are great places to ask customers for a Google review.
Why?
The transaction is fresh in the customer’s mind. For your customer’s convenience, include a short URL of your Google review link or place a QR code in your receipts and invoices.
Optimizing your Business Profile helps you gain more Google visibility and establish a solid online presence for your small business. It also lets prospects understand what you do besides reading your reviews.
Here is your checklist for this:
Information like your business name, local phone number, and business hours has to be correct.
Here’s why: Let’s say a prospective customer reads your great reviews. They call the phone number on your Business Profile, but discover it’s incorrect or not in use. You could lose such customers to your competitors. To prevent this, enter up-to-date information on your profile.
Besides the company overview on your profile, your business description is often the first interaction a potential customer has with your brand. When creating a business description, ensure it shows what you offer and communicates what makes your business unique.
High-quality visuals can enhance the visual appeal of your profile. They are brilliant for showcasing your products, services, and the overall atmosphere of your business.
Approach the use of visuals as an opportunity to communicate the experience customers can expect. Here is an example from Lighthouse Dental Care:
You asked for a review. You got it.
Now you have to respond.
This shows your commitment to customer satisfaction and respect for the reviewer’s time.
To build more goodwill with customers who write a review, go deep in expressing your work with the customer.
For example, I like how Lighthouse goes beyond saying, “Thank you for leaving us a review.” Their responses are fun, detailed, personalized, show gratitude, and sets expectations for prospective clients.
📕 Related reading: How to write the perfect customer appreciation text message
Take advantage of the Google Posts feature to keep your audience informed and engaged. Regularly share updates, promotions, or any exciting news about your business.
Not only does this keep your profile active, it shows your business wants to provide value to customers.
You know what this prevents? Friction.
If customers encounter roadblocks as they try to leave a review, they could back out. You don’t want that.
To make it easy for your customers to leave a review, follow these steps to find and copy your Google review link:
Before sharing, test the link to ensure it directs users to the review page. This avoids any potential confusion for your customers and you can safely include it in your communications. After clicking your link, you’d see a pop-up like this:
You should tailor your request for review to every channel and ensure it’s personalized for the customer. Here are Google review ask templates for different channels:
Subject line: Tell us how we did!
Hi [First name],
We hope you enjoyed your recent experience with us. Could you take one minute to share your thoughts on Google? Your feedback helps us improve and assists others in discovering what makes us great.
Click here to share your thoughts [Attach Google review link]
Thank you for being a valued customer!
[Your name]
[Email signature]
Hi [First name]! We hope your recent experience with us was fantastic. 😊 Mind sparing 60 seconds to share your thoughts on Google? Your feedback is super important to us! [Google review link] Thanks a bunch!
Here, you or your staff do most of the work before handing the customer a review card with a QR Code. Here is a sample message you can add to your card.
We’re thrilled to hear you had a great experience! If you could spare a moment, we’d love your feedback on Google. It means a lot to us and helps others discover our business. Please scan this code to leave a review.
Assuming you’re running a service business, you could share a simple message like this:
Loved your recent visit? Share the love! Leave us a Google review and let others know why you chose us. [Google review link]
Below is a brief note you can add to your invoice or receipts, along with a link or QR code.
Thank you for choosing us! We’d appreciate it if you could share your experience with others by leaving a quick Google review. [Google review link] Your feedback means the world to us!
Manual requests for customer reviews can be daunting, especially when your client-base grows rapidly. To overcome this challenge, include automation in your review collection process.
You can automate Google review asks for both SMS and email. For instance, with Zapier and Make, you can schedule and automate text messages from an SMS marketing platform like SimpleTexting.
Below is an example of how you can do this based on a Google Calendar event that has ended.
Quick note: SimpleTexting integrates with 1,000+ apps. Meaning, chances are your CRM platform will integrate with our SMS service.
Asking for Google reviews on social media is easy. To do this, include the creation of review requests in your content calendar. Already have a list of scheduled social media posts? No problem. Just include the Google review request posts.
Also, if your business communicates with customers on social media, you can prepare a review request message and send it to them after an interaction or purchase.
That should be a “Yes.”
Amassing Google reviews is for businesses of all sizes. Businesses like the Lighthouse Dental Centre use Google reviews to stand out, build customer loyalty and generate demand for their business … all with SMS. Sending text messages can also help you increase the Google reviews of your business.
If you’ve delighted your customers, don’t hold back. Request a review because it can help you:
Lighthouse Dental Centre is winning with Google reviews. So can you. 🎉
🔖 Further reading: How to ask customers for reviews: 11 tactics with real-life examples.🔖 SimpleTexting free trial: Try SimpleTexting for two weeks free. No credit card required.
Precious Oboidhe is a B2B SaaS content strategist for marketing agencies and tech brands like HubSpot, Nutshell, CoSchedule, Single Grain, and EngageBay. His freelance brand is called Content Estate Marketing and he has five years of experience being a freelance writer.
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