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Invitations

How to ask for an honest review

A good invitation makes giving feedback easier. It leaves customers free to decline, choose their own words and describe their experience honestly.

Check the destination before you ask

Review sites have different rules. Confirm that your intended platform permits requests and that your method is eligible. Yelp asks businesses not to solicit reviews, so do not use an invitation campaign for that destination.

Use a fair, experience-based trigger

For a platform that permits requests, choose a practical point after a real purchase or completed service. Apply the same neutral eligibility criteria regardless of satisfaction. Do not ask a satisfaction question first and show the public review link only to people who give a positive answer.

Keep the choice with the customer

Keep the message short and optional. Avoid rewards, star-rating requests, suggested review text and repeated pressure. A customer does not owe your business a review.

Example wording · adapt to verified facts
Thank you for choosing us. If you would like to share your experience, you can leave an honest review using this link. All feedback is welcome, and taking part is optional.

Keep employees out of review targets

Do not set staff quotas for collecting reviews, ask customers to mention particular employees, or pressure people to review while on the premises. Do not recruit current or former staff, relatives, agencies or others with a conflict of interest to pose as independent customers.

Check the link and contact permissions

Make sure the link opens the intended business profile. Use a contact channel you are permitted to use, honor opt-outs and check any rules that apply to messages in your market. A past purchase is not blanket permission for every type of message.

Let the feedback guide the work

Customers decide whether to post. Focus on keeping the invitation process fair and addressing recurring service issues. A completed request workflow is a deliverable; a fixed number of reviews is not.

Further reading

Check the current guidance for the platform and method you intend to use.

A little help putting this into practice

Explore Review Invitations