Printable copy: Google Review Request Pack for Small Businesses

Google Review Request Pack

Ask for honest feedback after completed work, using the same public invitation for every eligible customer. This pack gives your team SMS and email templates, one reminder, a separate support response and a checklist for testing the process.

Do not select customers because they sound happy, gave a high private score or are expected to leave a positive review. An invitation creates an opportunity to speak; it does not promise a rating, a review or a ranking improvement.

Set the Rule Before Sending

Write down one objective completion event for each service. It might be a completed appointment, delivered project or finished recurring visit. Use that event consistently, including when the customer's opinion is mixed or negative.

Eligibility also depends on whether the person had a genuine customer experience, whether you may contact them through that channel, whether they have opted out, and whether they were already invited. A complaint or low feedback score must not hide the public review link. Handle the concern through a separate support path.

Never offer money, a discount, a gift or another benefit for a Google review. Do not make a refund or remedy conditional on posting, changing or removing a review. Customers choose whether to review and what to say.

Request Windows

Choose timing around the work, not around the customer's mood:

• Appointment services: an agreed interval after the appointment is completed.
• Home services: after the agreed work is marked complete, with the same rule for each eligible job.
• Professional services: after a defined deliverable or engagement stage, without revealing confidential information in the request.
• Recurring services: after a defined visit or milestone, with a frequency limit to avoid repeatedly asking the same customer.

A job that has not happened yet is different from completed work that received a complaint. Do not use an open complaint as a substitute for an objective completion or contact-permission rule.

Audience Segments

Use operational states to run the sequence:

• Completed and eligible. Send the neutral invitation and direct public review link.
• Work not completed. Wait for the same completion event used for everyone receiving that service.
• Already invited. Follow the agreed reminder and frequency rule. Do not start duplicate sequences.
• Opted out or no permission for this channel. Do not send through that channel. Record the stop reason.
• No genuine customer experience. Do not solicit a review as if the person were a customer.
• Customer reports a concern. Assign support. Keep public review access independent of the concern or its resolution.

Do not create separate public-review eligibility groups for promoters, detractors, positive scores or negative scores.

SMS Sequence

Choose SMS or email according to the customer's contact permissions and preference. These are alternatives, not a reason to send both automatically.

First Ask

Hi [First Name], thank you for choosing [Business Name]. Would you share an honest review of your experience? [public review link]

If you need help with anything, you can also reply here.

Add the identification and opt-out wording required for the channel you use. Keep the public review link available without asking the customer to answer a rating question first.

One Reminder

Hi [First Name], one reminder in case you wanted to share your experience with [Business Name]: [public review link]

It is entirely your choice. Thank you for your time.

Send only at the agreed interval, if the person remains eligible and the sequence has not stopped. Do not claim you can identify every reviewer automatically. Match reviews to customer records only when there is a reliable, appropriate way to do so.

Team-Specific Variant

Thank you for working with [Team or Technician Name] at [Business Name]. If you would like to share your experience, here is our public review link: [public review link]

You can also reply to this message if you need assistance.

This wording does not ask for praise or make a review conditional on being satisfied.

Email Sequence

Subject Options

• Would you share your experience?
• Feedback on your experience with [Business Name]

First Email

Hi [First Name],

Thank you for choosing [Business Name]. If you would like to share an honest review of your experience, you can do that here:

[public review link]

If you need assistance, reply to this email and [support team or named role] will help. You do not need to contact us before leaving a public review.

Thank you,
[Name]
[Business Name]

Follow-Up Email

Hi [First Name],

One reminder about sharing your experience with [Business Name], if you choose:

[public review link]

Thank you for your time,
[Name]

Set one reminder across the sequence. An unanswered email should not automatically start repeated texts or calls.

Escalation Lanes

A private complaint needs a response from a person. It must not become a gate in front of the public review link.

Thank you for telling us. I am passing your concern to [role or name], who will contact you by [time your team can meet]. Please use [private contact method] for any details you do not want to share publicly.

Record the concern, assign a responsible person and confirm the follow-up time. Do not promise a resolution the team has not approved. Keep sensitive service, health, financial or account details out of public responses.

If you draft a public reply with AI, have it follow the approved publishing controls. Check the facts and tone before posting. Do not invent a visit, disclose private records or argue about a reviewer's identity.

Failure Modes

Remove these patterns before launch:

• A private rating screen sends only high scores to the public review site.
• The CRM excludes completed customers because of a complaint or predicted rating.
• Staff ask only people who complimented them.
• The script asks for five stars, offers a reward or makes a remedy conditional on a review.
• Several employees or channels send duplicate invitations.
• A reminder continues after an opt-out or an agreed stop event.
• A public response exposes confidential details or publishes without the agreed approval.

Operating Standard

1. Name the person responsible for the request sequence and the person who handles concerns.
2. Define the completion event, permission check, channel, frequency limit and stop conditions.
3. Give every eligible customer the same public invitation, irrespective of satisfaction.
4. Test the first request, reminder, opt-out, duplicate prevention and support handoff.
5. Review the sequence using actual records. Fix missed eligibility or permission checks before sending more requests.

Test Before Launch

Use clearly labelled test records, not real customer messages, for this rehearsal:

• Eligible completed customer with positive feedback. Receives the neutral invitation.
• Eligible completed customer with negative feedback. Receives the same public invitation; a concern can also reach support.
• Customer has opted out. No invitation through the opted-out channel.
• Duplicate completion event. No duplicate first invitation.
• Reminder is due after the sequence stopped. No reminder.
• Customer asks for help. A named person receives the request and the agreed follow-up time.

Check the link on a phone and a desktop. It should lead to the intended business profile without requiring a private satisfaction score first.

Weekly Review

Record eligible completed customers, invitations delivered, delivery failures, opt-outs, duplicate sends and concerns awaiting a person. Use the same reporting period and eligibility rules each time.

A useful coverage check is delivered invitations divided by eligible customers. Do not treat a missing review as proof of a failed service, pressure staff to produce positive ratings or set a guaranteed review target. Customers remain free not to respond.

Have the Process Set Up for You

TQP's review management service covers the agreed neutral request sequence, reminder, response drafts and customer-concern handoff. The proposal names connected profiles, approvals and reporting. Review volume, ratings and search positions are not guaranteed.