No reviews: your customers will write them if you ask properly

Why reviews matter more for trades than for most businesses

Answer first: for trades, reviews decide which of the three map results gets the call. A homeowner with a leaking water heater rarely reads your About page. They glance at stars, count and the date of the last review, then call.

Reviews also feed the other three problems. A thin profile lowers the share of searchers who call (a volume problem), and buyers who can't judge your quality default to price (a quality problem). Review requests are also the kind of task that gets dropped when the owner is short of time.

The review request, step by step

The system is small. What matters is that it runs on every job, not just the ones someone remembers.

1. Pick the moment. For a repair, right after the fix is confirmed working. For a project, at the final walkthrough, before the last invoice. Not a week later.
2. Ask in person first. "Would you mind leaving us a Google review? I'll text you the link." A spoken ask raises the response rate to the written one.
3. Send a direct link. Use the review link from your Google Business Profile so the customer lands straight on the star screen.
4. Keep the message short. Name, thanks, link. No paragraphs.
5. Follow up once. One reminder after two or three days. Then stop.
6. Reply to every review. Thank people by first name and mention the job type where it fits naturally.

A sample text, to adapt: "Hi [First name], thanks for having [Business name] out for the [job type] today. If you have a minute, a quick Google review helps us a lot: [review link]. [Your name]"

Consent and fair-play rules

Two Canadian rules shape how you ask. Neither is complicated, but both matter.

• Consent for texts and emails. Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) covers commercial electronic messages. Consent rules, sender identification and an unsubscribe option all apply. Get the customer's agreement to be texted or emailed at booking, note it in your records, and identify your business in every message.
• No fake or bought reviews. Writing your own reviews, having staff post as customers, or paying for reviews can amount to a misleading representation under the Competition Act's deceptive marketing rules. It is also the fastest way to have a profile suspended.

We summarise these rules for marketing purposes only; for anything beyond that, get legal advice.

What's included, timeline and measurement

• Review link set-up and a short request script for crews and the office
• Text and email templates with consent wording
• An automated or semi-automated send after each completed job, connected to your scheduling or CRM where possible
• Reply templates for positive, mixed and negative reviews
• A monthly count: requests sent, reviews received, average rating and days since last review

Expect the first new reviews within days of starting, because the backlog of recent happy customers is usually the quickest win. A steady rhythm takes a season to establish. We measure the request-to-review rate, new reviews per month and recency against your three nearest competitors.

Mistakes to avoid

• Asking in batches once a year. A burst of 30 reviews in one week, then nothing, looks odd and fades fast.
• Sending a link to your homepage. Every extra click loses people.
• Arguing in replies. You are writing for the next customer, not the angry one.
• Leaving it to memory. If the request depends on someone remembering, it will stop in the busy season.

For proof from our HVAC work, GasBoilers.ca, a gas-boiler division built for CANRO Heat, holds 5.0★ from 76+ Google reviews. The results page explains what that case does and doesn't show. If you want the request automated end to end, Trades.Digital covers CRM set-up and automated review requests in more depth.