Almost every small business we work with has the same problem with reviews: they get them when customers are unhappy, and never when customers are pleased. The solution is not a piece of software. It’s a short script and a slightly bolder ask, used at the right moment.
What follows is the exact approach we’ve used with around a dozen clients — dental practices, restaurants, a small chain of dog groomers — to roughly triple their monthly review volume. Total cost: about an hour of training. No tools required.
The script
The most important thing is that the ask is specific and the moment is correct. Generic “please leave us a review” emails sent days after the visit perform badly. Specific, in-person requests at the moment of greatest goodwill perform extremely well.
If you wouldn’t write the review yourself, don’t ask for it. Wait until the customer says something nice unprompted — then ask.
Here is the exact wording we train staff on. Adapt the verbs but keep the structure:
“I’m so glad. Honestly, the thing that helps us most is when people say that on Google. Would you be willing to leave us a quick review? I can text you the link right now.”
The moment
Three rules: the customer must be visibly happy, the ask must be in person or on the phone (not by email), and the link must arrive within a minute. Every hour you wait halves the conversion rate.
What to text
A bare URL. No marketing copy. No “thanks for your business.” The customer is mid-conversation with you; the text is a continuation of that conversation, not a marketing message.
What not to do
Don’t offer a discount in exchange for a review — it is against Google’s terms and almost every other platform’s terms. Don’t filter requests to only happy customers using software (the FTC has been clear about this since 2024). Don’t reply to a one-star review with a defence; reply with a number.
What you should see
Within sixty days of training your team and giving them the link, expect roughly 2–3× the monthly review volume. The lift is bigger for businesses starting from a low base; smaller for those with hundreds of reviews already.
If you do not see a lift, the problem is almost never the script. It is almost always that the staff aren’t actually asking. We’ve watched this play out a dozen times. The fix is supervision, not software.
01 — If you operate in a regulated industry — health, finance, legal — check your professional body’s rules on testimonials. Most of the principles still apply but some specifics may not.
Maren spent eight years running marketing for a regional dental group before starting Folio. She writes mostly about reviews, retention, and the unglamorous bits of getting a small business found.
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