Ask at the moment of the win
The best request happens face-to-face, right after the customer expresses satisfaction, not in a mass email sent out weeks later.
The Beginner's Guide to Online Reviews for Home Service Businesses
Published 2026-08-11 by Ember & Echo Multimedia
Reviews influence two things at once: whether a customer picks up the phone, and whether search engines consider your business trustworthy enough to rank well. Most trades businesses have far more happy customers than reviews, simply because nobody asked.
Make it a two-tap process
Send a direct link straight to your Google review form, not to your homepage. Every extra click loses a share of the customers who intended to leave one.
Train your crew to ask, not just the office
Technicians in the field close more of these requests than a follow-up email ever will, because the customer is still standing there impressed by the work.
Respond to every review, good and bad
A short, professional reply to a negative review, addressing the issue and inviting the customer to call, does more for your reputation than the review itself hurts it.
Never offer money or discounts for a review
Incentivized reviews violate most platforms' terms of service and can get your listing penalized or removed entirely. Ask for honest feedback and let the work speak for itself.
Spread requests across platforms, not just Google
Google carries the most SEO weight, but a mix that includes Facebook and industry-specific directories builds a broader trust signal.