Get reviews: send requests by SMS or email

Who this is for: you want more Google reviews (or Trustpilot reviews) by asking your customers yourself, after a sale, a service, a meal or an appointment.

What you'll see: the Get Reviews page, the monthly quotas, the two sending modes (single and batch), customizing the SMS and email messages, and best practices.

How it works

A review request takes 3 steps:

Chargement du diagramme…

WhatsApp is added to the sending channels when it is connected.

Open the Get Reviews page

The Get Reviews page is in the Google Business menu, at the top of the screen. Direct address: /dashboard/avis-acquisition.

It applies to the selected bubble at the top right (in the example: Optique Martin › Lyon 6e).

Your monthly quotas

At the top of the page, two counters show your usage for the month: SMS (phone icon) and emails (envelope icon), each with its limit. In the example: 12 SMS out of 50 and 41 emails out of 200.

Need more? The Contact us link, just below, is there to ask for it. You also find your monthly usage in Settings › Subscription and quotas.

Single send: one customer at a time

This is the mode shown when you arrive on the page. Ideal right after a sale or an appointment. Under the counters, the Single send / Batch send switch moves from one mode to the other.

Fill in the form

Here is the same form filled in for an email send to Google Maps:

Consent and sending

Under the form, tick This customer gave us their number and agreed to receive a one-time review request by text. In accordance with GDPR, the customer's consent is required before sending: as long as the box is not ticked, the Send review request button stays grayed out.

Then click Send review request. Each send counts toward your monthly counters.

Just below, Send me a test email sends the email to you first: handy for checking how it looks before writing to a customer.

GDPR tip: keep a record of each customer's consent (a note on the receipt, a box ticked on your booking form, agreement noted in your customer file).

Batch send: a whole list at once

You import a list of customers and send them your request in one go. Click Batch send, under the counters. Two tabs appear: Import a CSV and Paste from Excel.

Paste from Excel or Google Sheets

1. Open the Paste from Excel tab.
2. Copy your data from Excel or Google Sheets. The first row must contain the column headers (Name, Email, Phone...).
3. Paste it into the input area.
4. Click Import contacts.

Reset lets you start over.

Import a CSV file

Open the Import a CSV tab, then choose your file.

Check, then send

Once the list is imported, GMB Club shows the number of contacts found (in the example: 8 contacts found) and how many are ready for each channel (8 contacts ready for email send). Sending will use email, SMS or both, depending on the contact details available for each contact.

A review table lets you go over your list before starting the send. During the send, a progress bar tracks how far along it is.

The Customize the message block (Your invitation email) can also be expanded in this mode.

Before a long list: take a look at the monthly counters at the top of the page, to be sure you have enough sends left.

Customize the SMS and email messages

This is the thing to do before a real campaign: a message in your name and in your tone reads far better than a generic one.

In single send, expand the Customize messages block (Your invitation SMS and emails), between the form and the consent box:

• Available variables: {nom_client} (the name entered for the customer) and {lien_avis} (the link to your review page). Keep them in your texts: they are replaced at each send.
• Custom SMS message and Custom Email message: one text area each, with a Preview link to see the message before sending it.
• Save my messages saves your templates.

The SMS in the example (Optique Martin Lyon 6e):

Hello {nom_client}, thank you for visiting Optique Martin Lyon 6e! Your feedback means a lot to us. Leave us a review here: {lien_avis}

And the email:

Hello {nom_client},

Thank you for visiting Optique Martin Lyon 6e!

Your feedback is precious to us and helps us improve our services. Could you take a few seconds to share your experience?

Thank you for your trust!

The Optique Martin Lyon 6e team

Tips for your messages:

• Casual or formal? Adapt to your customers. A bistro or a hair salon: a casual tone works. A law firm or a medical practice: stay formal.
• Short is better. An SMS is read at a glance: no need to explain why you are asking for a review.
• Keep {nom_client}. A message that addresses the customer by name is more personal.
• A single call to action: one introductory sentence, the link, that's all. No promotion.

Find out where your reviews come from

To measure the effect of a campaign, look at the new reviews that arrive in the following days on your Review Management page.

If you want to link reviews to a specific point of contact (counter, receipt, business card…), use QR codes, one per place or per use. They are managed in Settings › QR codes, and each one is tracked separately.

Best practices

When to send?

• After the sale or the service, in the following days: the customer needs to have had the experience.
• Only once per customer. If they don't leave a review after the first request, don't follow up: you risk annoying them.

Who to send to?

• Your recent customers (customer file, till, appointment book), with their consent.
• Not to customers you know are unhappy. If you know a customer had a problem, deal with the problem first. Asking an annoyed customer for a review means risking a bad rating.
• Quality before volume. A few well-chosen customers are worth more than a long list sent at random.

Common issues

A review platform is grayed out → It is not set up yet. Click the Set up link next to its name.

The "Send review request" button stays grayed out → Tick the consent box (This customer gave us their number and agreed to receive a one-time review request by text.), and check that the form fields are filled in.

My monthly counters have hit their limit → You have used all your SMS or all your emails for the month. Click Contact us to ask for more.

My list won't load → Use the Paste from Excel tab: copy your columns from your spreadsheet, with the headers (Name, Email, Phone...) on the first row.

My customer didn't receive the SMS → Check the number entered: one digit too many or too few is enough to make the send fail. Some phones also filter SMS from unknown numbers.

My customer received the message but doesn't leave a review → Not everyone follows through, that's normal. To give yourself the best chance: personalize the message (their name, what they bought or experienced with you), only write to customers who had a good experience, keep it short, and send only once.

How do I know if a review comes from my campaign? → Look at the new reviews that arrive in the days after your send. To link reviews to a physical point of contact, use one QR code per place (Settings › QR codes).