Word of mouth has always driven trades work, and online reviews are just the modern version of it — they’re often the first thing a potential customer checks before they call anyone. The problem isn’t that customers don’t want to leave reviews. It’s that asking feels awkward in the moment, so it gets skipped, and then it’s too late to feel natural.
Ask at the right moment
The best time to ask is right after the job’s finished and the customer’s happy with the result — not a week later when the details have faded, and not before you’ve actually done the work. If you wait until you “have time” to ask, you’ll mostly end up not asking.
Make it a one-tap link
The easier you make it, the more people follow through. A direct link straight to your Google Business review form — sent by text or email the same day — removes almost every excuse. Asking someone to “leave a review, just search for us on Google” loses most people at the searching step.
Don’t incentivize it
Offering a discount or entry into a prize draw in exchange for a review is against Google’s review policies, and it can get reviews removed or the listing flagged. It’s also not necessary — a happy customer who’s asked at the right moment in the right way doesn’t need a bribe.
Respond to every review, good and bad
A short, genuine reply to a positive review costs nothing and shows you’re paying attention. A calm, professional reply to a negative one often matters more than the review itself — other potential customers read how you handled it, not just what went wrong.
Systemize the ask so it doesn’t depend on memory
The businesses that consistently get reviews aren’t the ones who happen to remember to ask — they’re the ones where asking is just a step that always happens after a job, the same way invoicing always happens. That’s the part that’s easy to let slip when you’re the one running the job and the office.
Sortivo’s customer follow-up service sends that review request automatically after every job, at the moment the customer’s most likely to say yes — so it happens every time, not just when there’s time to remember.