The right moment to ask for a review
A review request that comes too early feels pushy. One that comes too late gets forgotten. The best moment is right after your customer has experienced what you promised.
New to this topic? Start with How to Get More Google Reviews, Automatically and GDPR-Safe
Why timing makes the difference
Most satisfied customers do not leave a review. Not because they do not want to, but because nobody asks, or because the question arrives at a moment when they have no head for it.
A review request competes with everything someone has to do that day. If it arrives while your customer has just received an invoice and does not yet know whether the work was good, it gets left. If it arrives three weeks later, the feeling of satisfaction has faded.
There is a moment when the experience is fresh and the customer knows it was good. That moment differs per business, and whoever finds it gets more reviews for the same effort.
The principle: after the result, not after delivery
The best moment is not the day you finish, but the day your customer notices that it works. For some businesses those are the same moment. For others there are days or weeks in between.
| Type of business | When the customer experiences the result | Good moment for the request |
|---|---|---|
| Hairdresser, restaurant, beauty salon | Right at the visit | The same day or the day after |
| Installer, plumber | When the system has run for a few days | After a few days to a week |
| Web shop | When the product has arrived and been used | A few days after delivery |
| Advisor, accountant | When the advice produced something | After the assignment or tax return is done |
| Construction and renovation | When the customer is living in the space | One to two weeks after handover |
These are starting points, not laws. You find out what works for your customers by keeping track.
Watch for signs of satisfaction
There are moments when a customer shows on their own that they are satisfied. Those are the best moments to ask, because the feeling is already there:
- A customer thanks you by email or message
- Someone books a follow-up appointment or orders again
- A customer refers someone to you
- You get a compliment on the phone
A short "great to hear, would you be willing to put that in a review?" with the link attached works better than any scheduled email.
Make it as easy as possible
A well-timed request still fails if the customer has to search. Three things make the difference:
A direct link. Not "look us up on Google", but a link that opens the review window of your Google Business Profile straight away.
A short question. Two or three sentences. Who you are, what you are thanking them for, and the link. No long explanation of why reviews matter for your business.
The channel your customer uses. If you are in touch by email, send it by email. If you mostly see customers in your shop, a card with a QR code at the till can do the job.
What is not allowed
Google has clear rules for asking for reviews:
- No reward. A discount or gift in exchange for a review is not allowed.
- No selecting. Only approaching customers you expect to be positive is not allowed either. Ask everyone, or no one.
- No writing reviews for customers. Not even as an example text they can copy.
On top of that, privacy law applies. In the EU you may approach your own customers about a service they bought from you, provided they can unsubscribe. A bought list is never allowed.
Build it into the way you work
The biggest problem with asking for reviews is not the timing, but forgetting. After a busy week nobody thinks about it anymore. That is why it works best when it does not depend on your memory.
Choose a fixed rhythm that suits your business. A hairdresser asks everyone from that day. An installer puts the previous week's customers on a list every Monday and sends the request then. That way the request always arrives a few days after the work, without you having to think about it every day.
How dGENIX helps
The Reputation Engine finds the direct review link of your Google Business Profile and sends your own customers a proper invitation, with your business name and an unsubscribe link in every email. Per recipient you see whether the request was sent and whether someone unsubscribed. Anyone who unsubscribes never gets a request again.
You can schedule the sending too, for example every Monday for that week's new customers. You paste contacts into the dashboard or pull them from a Google Sheet. With more than twenty-five recipients, GENI always asks for confirmation first.
How to combine this with the rest of your reputation is covered in getting more Google reviews. What to do when a critical review comes in anyway, you can read in responding to negative reviews.
Frequently asked questions
How often can I remind a customer?
One reminder after a week is fine for most customers. After that, let it rest. A customer who does not respond twice does not want to, and a third request costs you more goodwill than it brings in.
Can I ask for a review after a complaint?
Yes, as long as you ask everyone. A customer for whom something went wrong and who was helped well often writes a particularly valuable review. Solve the complaint first, ask afterwards.
Does a review request by text message work better than by email?
It depends on your audience. Choose the channel your customer already uses to communicate with you. A message in an unexpected channel feels more like advertising.
