How to Increase Customer Reviews and Ratings

Testimonial requests tend to sound like homework. “Would you mind filling out a quick review form?” “Could you write a few lines about your experience?” As Abe Lincoln once said - ain't nobody got time for that. Not when they’re drowning in QBR decks and budget asks. But here’s the good news: You’re ALREADY getting testimonials. You’re just not capturing them. How? Well, your best reviews happen mid-sentence...not in post-call surveys. Every week, your customers are saying: - “This saved us so much time.” - “I had no idea we could do that.” - “You’ve made my job way easier.” THAT'S your testimonial. Don’t ask for it later. Double back immediately. “Loved that feedback - any chance I can turn that into a short quote for our team? I’ll write it up for you to approve.” The answer is usually yes. Here’s a 3-part system CSMs can use: 1. Use Sybill to identify key praise moments. Tag the call. Clip the quote. Make it easy for marketing to use. Bonus points if it aligns to a launch, feature, or persona. 2. Send the follow-up within 24 hours. Keep it short: “Hey Samantha - loved what you said on today’s call. I drafted a quick version below. Let me know if you’re cool with it or want to tweak anything.” Now it’s opt-in. You removed homework from the equation. 3. Tie review asks to key milestones. Don’t wait until EBRs. Ask after: - a successful onboarding. - a new feature rollout. - a strong support save. - a surprise ROI win. All you're doing is reinforcing momentum. tl;dr = testimonial collection isn’t so much of a marketing play as it is a CS system. If your team’s sitting on dozens of glowing comments each month, but none of them make it into your website, your decks, or your content, you simply need to do a better job of capturing what's already coming your way. Fix that and the next case study writes itself.

Lots of buzz going around about law firms losing reviews on Google Business Profile. Whether it's a filter glitch, AI-gone wrong, or an algorithm update, it reinforces how important reviews are to many firms. For lots of firms, generating consistent, high-quality reviews can feel like an uphill battle. Here's some ways you can combat that. A way to rethink the review request process is to go beyond the ‘case closed’ moments. Many firms are stuck in the habit of asking for reviews only once a case is resolved. While that’s a good starting point, it’s far from enough if you want to build a steady steam of client feedback, or compete from a local SEO perspective. Start asking for them during multiple stages of the clients’ lifecycle. It helps ensure you’re capturing service feedback, and generating consistent reviews during the most meaningful points in the client journey. A few examples... - After the intake process - Following the initial consultation - When signing the retainer agreement - In the middle of the process - When thanks or gratitude is expressed Some firms have clients who are hesitant to share reviews (privacy concerns). Here’s how you can approach this challenge. 1. Let clients know they can leave reviews without sharing personal details. They don’t need to go into the specifics of their case. Rather, have them focus their feedback on your level of professionalism and responsiveness.     2. Ask them to leave reviews based on the specific experiences. Was the intake process smooth and frictionless? Did you give them case updates? Timely feedback? Set solid expectations and next steps? Were invoices accurate?     3. There’s also the art of asking prospective clients who you don’t retain for reviews if you’ve gone above and beyond to point them in the right direction. Not everyone who contacts your firm is an ideal client. And if you took the time to make sure these individuals don’t wander aimlessly after speaking with you, you’ve earned the right to ask them to share that feedback with the public. To ensure consistency, systemize the review request process for the firm. • Use automated reminders. Leverage email and SMS tools to send requests based on key milestones.    • Provide staff with pre-approved scripts or templates for requesting reviews and different client stages. Bonus points if you also put processes in place to respond to both positive and negative reviews.    • Incentivize your team. Make it fun. Reward team members who actively secure reviews as part of their client interactions.    • Make it easy. Simplify the process. The fewer steps clients need to take, the more likely they’ll complete a review. ✅

Poor customer feedback systems = poor customer experience 😩 → Plus, research from Product Marketing Alliance found companies with structured feedback programs see 8-12% higher win rates. Who doesn’t want that... But sending random surveys won't cut it. You need a systematic approach that connects insights to action (and ultimately revenue). — I partnered with the Survicate team for this post (and a series on how I'm using Survicate in my own product) because they’ve built the most complete toolkit for capturing, analyzing, and actioning customer feedback in HubSpot of the integrations I’ve seen. The AI powered research assistant is 🔥 You can also get double the survey responses (for the same price) by emailing 'STUART' to the Survicate team when you signup by the end of April. — Here's a playbook to get started building an automated customer feedback engine in HubSpot (that will increase reviews and escalate problems): 1. Create a condition-based feedback survey in Survicate Question 1: "How happy are you with [product name]?" → Type: Rating Scale (1-5) IF High Scores (4-5): Question 2: "What do you love most about [Product]?" Type: Open text Question 3: "Would you be willing to help others like you by leaving a public review?" Type: Single answer selection IF yes to providing a public review - show thank you screen with link to 3rd party review website. IF no to providing a public review - thank respondent for their time. IF Low Scores (1-3): Question 4: “What is the main reason you aren't satisfied with it?” Type: Open text 2. Set up your automation workflow: ⚡️ Trigger: When the synced property value for your satisfaction rating is updated. → Has completed: Property value changed → Property name is Latest Satisfaction Rating → New value: Latest Satisfaction Rating is known 🛎️ Action 1: Send Slack notification → To channel: #customer-feedback → Message: 💡 New satisfaction score of {{ latest_satisfaction_rating }} submitted 🌴 Branch: check the branches in order → High Scores when “Latest Satisfaction Rating” is: IF High Scores (4-5) 📧 Action 1: Send review request email → To: Enrolled contact → Template: Review request → Email Content: Reference recent score and interest in providing a public review with links to preferred 3rd party review platforms. ✨ Action 2: Add to static list → List name: “Evangelists” → Optional Update lifecycle stage to Evangelist if used* ✅  Action 3: Create task → Title: Case study outreach → Type: Todo → Assign To: Contact Owner → Notes: Reach out to discuss a case study IF Low Scores (1-3) ✅  Action 1: Create task → Title: Engage dissatisfied customer → Type: Email → Assign To: Contact Owner → Notes: Reach out to address customer feedback One Survicate customer using this playbook improved their Trustpilot rating from 4.2 to 4.8 and generated 1,000+ responses in a single day 🔥

What’s more powerful than getting a five-star review? Getting hundreds of them. One of my healthcare clients, with over 30 pediatric therapy locations, had a massive problem —poor online reviews. We’re talking 2-star ratings across the board, or worse, no reviews at all. And we all know what happens when potential patients see that. They move on to a competitor. We needed a strategy, and fast. I knew we couldn’t just ask for reviews passively; we had to make it a priority across all locations. So, we gamified the process — turning the review system into a competition among the clinics, with an office party for the region that generated the most 5-star reviews. The result? An explosion in reviews. Every clinic got involved, and the five-star ratings started pouring in. But we didn’t stop there. We built individual location pages on their website, optimized their Google Business Profiles, and the traffic skyrocketed. If your business depends on local visibility, don’t underestimate the power of Google reviews. They don’t just influence customers — they influence Google’s algorithm too. And sometimes, all it takes is a little incentive to get everyone on board. Check out they handled replies to positive and negative reviews below. Don't shy away from either. PS: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced with managing online reviews? Let’s hear your story.

Capturing reviews is hard. Even when customers are engaged, actually getting them to write a review? Not always easy. That’s why timing—and placement—matter. Here are my top 5 underutilized places to make the ask: 🖥️ In-app A well-timed pop-up + a shorter review form and no external validation needed = review gold. 📝 On your customer event registration page They’re connecting with your brand and experience—this is a great time to ask them to share their perspective. 📬 In your customer newsletter If they’re opening your emails, they’re already engaged. Why not pop in a CTA? A small nudge here can go a long way. 🎤 At webinars or events You’re building community and providing value—follow up with an opportunity to share feedback. 💬 In your customer community When people are contributing ideas or asking thoughtful questions, it’s a great time to invite broader input in the form of a review. The key is making the ask part of the journey—not a disruption. Where’s the most unexpected place you’ve asked for a review (and it worked)? Let’s crowdsource some ideas ⬇️