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Most businesses know they should be asking customers for reviews. The hard part is the actual asking — what to say, when to say it, and how to phrase it so customers actually follow through instead of nodding politely and forgetting by the time they get to their car.
This guide is a practical, copy-paste resource. You'll find SMS templates, email templates, in-person scripts, and post-purchase scripts you can adapt to your business in about ten minutes. Every template below has been pressure-tested on the two things that matter most: brevity (people read short messages) and friction (the easier you make it, the more reviews you get).
A quick note before the templates: this post focuses on the what to say. If you're still trying to figure out when to ask or why it matters, our companion post on how to ask for reviews from happy customers covers the strategic basics, and our Google reviews guide covers timing and platform-specific best practices.
Before the templates, four rules that show up in every high-converting review request, regardless of channel:
Keep it under 160 characters for SMS, under 75 words for email. Long requests get skimmed and abandoned. Short ones get acted on.
Personalize the first line. Use the customer's name and reference what you actually did for them. "Hi Sarah — thanks for letting us handle the kitchen remodel" beats "Dear valued customer" every time.
Include a direct link to your Google review page. Don't make customers search for you. One tap, one click, done. (You can grab your direct link from your Google Business Profile, or use a tool like TrueReview to handle this automatically.)
Make the ask explicit. "Would you mind leaving us a quick review?" is clear. "We value your feedback" is not. Tell people exactly what you want them to do.
With those rules in mind, here are the templates.
SMS gets opened 98% of the time, usually within minutes — which is why it's the highest-converting channel for review requests. Keep these short.
Hi {Customer Name}, this is {Your Name} from {Business Name}. Thanks for choosing us today! If you have a moment, would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? It really helps our small business: {Review Link}
Hey {Customer Name}! Hope everything's going great with your {service/product}. If you have 30 seconds, we'd love a Google review: {Review Link}. Thanks so much!
Hi {Customer Name} — would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? It would mean a lot. {Review Link}
Thanks for visiting {Business Name} today, {Customer Name}! If we earned 5 stars, we'd love a quick Google review: {Review Link}. Your feedback helps other {customers/patients/clients} find us.
Hi {Customer Name}, thanks for trusting us with your {project type}. If you're happy with the work, would you leave us a Google review? It helps other homeowners in {City} find us: {Review Link}
Hi {Customer Name}, just a friendly reminder — if you have a minute, we'd really appreciate a Google review: {Review Link}. No pressure if you're busy! Thanks again.
Hi {Customer Name}, we love having you as a regular at {Business Name}. If you've ever thought about leaving us a Google review, today would make our week: {Review Link}
Email lets you say more, but more isn't always better. The best review request emails are still short — under 75 words in the body — with one clear call to action.
Subject: Quick favor, {Customer Name}?
Hi {Customer Name},
Thanks again for choosing {Business Name} for your {service/product}. It was a pleasure working with you.
If you have a moment, would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? Honest feedback from customers like you helps other people in {City} find us — and it genuinely makes our day.
[Leave a Google Review →]
Thanks so much,{Your Name}{Business Name}
Subject: A quick thank you (and a small ask)
Hi {Customer Name},
I wanted to personally thank you for {specific thing — choosing us / trusting us with your project / being a customer for X years}.
If you have 60 seconds, a Google review would mean the world to me and our team. Here's a direct link:
[Leave a Review on Google →]
Whether it's one sentence or five paragraphs, anything you share helps.
Thanks,{Your Name}
Subject: How was your {service} experience?
Hi {Customer Name},
Hope you're enjoying your {newly remodeled kitchen / cleaned teeth / serviced car / etc.}!
If everything went well, would you consider leaving us a Google review? It takes about a minute and helps other {homeowners / patients / drivers} find a {trade} they can trust.
[Leave a Review →]
Thanks,{Your Name}
Subject: Did we earn a 5-star review?
Hi {Customer Name},
Just following up on my note from last week. If you have a minute, we'd love your honest feedback on Google:
[Leave a Review →]
If anything wasn't perfect, please reply to this email and let me know — I'd rather hear it directly so we can make it right.
Thanks,{Your Name}
Subject: How are you liking your {product}?
Hi {Customer Name},
It's been about two weeks since your order — long enough to really put your {product} to the test.
If you're happy with it, a quick review would help other shoppers decide:
[Review Your Purchase →]
If something's not right, reply and let us know — we want to fix it.
Thanks,{Business Name}
Subject: A quick favor, {Customer Name}
Hi {Customer Name},
It was a pleasure working with you on {brief reference to engagement}. I hope the outcome met your expectations.
If you'd be willing to share your experience publicly, a Google review would be incredibly valuable for me and helpful for others looking for a {profession} they can trust:
[Leave a Google Review →]
Of course, no obligation — just appreciated.
Best,{Your Name}
Asking face-to-face has the highest emotional weight but the lowest follow-through (people forget the moment they leave). The fix is to combine the in-person ask with a written follow-up — say it now, send the link 5 minutes later by text.
"Thanks so much for coming in today! Quick favor — if you've got a minute later, we'd really appreciate a Google review. I'll text you the link so you don't have to look it up. Sound good?"
"Looks like we're all set! Hey, before you head out — if you're happy with how everything turned out, would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? I can send you a direct link by text right now."
"Alright, that's everything wrapped up. I know you've got a lot going on, but if you have five minutes this week, a Google review would help us out a ton. Word of mouth is honestly how we get most of our jobs. I'll text you the link right now so it's easy."
"Before you go — we'd really value your feedback. If you have a moment when you get home, would you consider leaving us a Google review? I'll send you a link by text. It helps other patients find us when they're looking."
"How was everything today? … That's great to hear. If you'd be open to sharing that on Google, we'd really appreciate it. I can send you the review link by text whenever's convenient."
The "soft ask" is intentional. Asking how their experience went first lets you gauge whether to push for the review or fix a problem instead. If they say "honestly, not great," now you have a chance to address it before it ends up as a public 2-star review.
Print and digital touchpoints right after the purchase are some of the most underused review-generation surfaces. The customer just paid you — they're more engaged with your brand right now than they will be next Tuesday.
Loved your visit? Leave us a Google review at {short link or QR code}. Two minutes of your time = the world to a small business.
Thanks for your order!
Would you take 60 seconds to leave us a Google review? Scan the QR code or visit {short link}. Your honest feedback helps other shoppers — and us.
— The {Business Name} Team
Order confirmed! 🎉
While you're here — if you've shopped with us before, would you mind leaving a Google review? Click below for a one-tap link.
[Leave a Google Review →]
Enjoyed working with us? A Google review would mean a lot: {short link}
{Your Name}{Title}, {Business Name}📞 {Phone} | ✉ {Email}Happy with our service? Leave us a Google review.
SMS: Send between 10 AM and 6 PM in the customer's local time. Avoid Sunday mornings and Monday before 11 AM. Always include "Reply STOP to opt out" if you're sending review requests in bulk — it's required by US carrier rules.
Email: Tuesday and Wednesday mornings have the highest open rates. Subject lines under 8 words outperform longer ones. Plain-text emails feel more personal and often outperform heavily designed templates for review requests.
In-person: Ask within the last 60 seconds of the interaction, when the experience is freshest. Always pair it with a written follow-up — humans forget within hours.
Post-purchase: QR codes on physical materials should link to your direct Google review URL, not a landing page. Every extra click costs you reviews.
You'll get three kinds of responses:
The "I'll do it" reply. Send a thank-you and the link again. Don't assume they'll follow through without the link in front of them.
The "I had a problem" reply. Drop everything and respond. This is the customer who would have left you a 2-star public review — you just got a chance to fix it privately. Apologize, fix the issue if you can, and ask if there's anything you can do to make it right. Don't ask for a review afterward; let them volunteer it.
No reply at all. This is most customers, and it's normal. Send one polite follow-up 3-5 days later (Template 6 above), then move on. Never send more than two requests for the same transaction — anything beyond that becomes annoying and can hurt your brand.
If you have more than 10-20 customers a month, copy-pasting templates into your phone and sending them one at a time gets old fast. The owners who consistently generate reviews are the ones who automated this — they set up a workflow once, then their CRM, scheduling tool, or POS system triggers the request automatically when a job closes or a customer pays.
Tools like TrueReview connect to apps you're already using — ServiceTitan, LionDesk, Square, Acuity, Google Sheets, and dozens more via Zapier — so when a job is marked complete, the review request goes out automatically. The follow-up reminder goes out 3-5 days later, also automatically. You set the templates once, and the system runs.
The result: instead of remembering to ask 30 customers a month, you ask 100% of them, every single time, without thinking about it.
Ready to stop manually asking and start automating? Start your free 14-day trial of TrueReview — send up to 250 SMS and email review requests at no cost while you test the templates above on real customers, with no setup fees and the ability to cancel any time.
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