Building a review request workflow
The most effective review-generation strategy is a simple automated workflow: ask every happy customer for a review at the right moment. Don't ask. Don't ask too late. Don't ask too soon. Just… ask, automatically, after every successful service.
The optimal trigger moment
Service businesses: 1–2 hours after appointment completion
E-commerce: 7 days after delivery
SaaS / subscriptions: 30 days after first successful charge (giving them time to experience value)
Healthcare: 24–48 hours after appointment (HIPAA-compliant template required)
Sample workflow: service business
Trigger: Appointment Status changed to Completed
Wait: 1 hour
Action: Send SMS — "Hi {first_name}, thanks for visiting today! How was your experience? Reply 1–5 (5 = amazing)"
Branch on reply: If reply is 4 or 5 → Send Google review link. If 1–3 → Send internal alert + recovery email.
Step-by-step setup
Automation → Workflows → "+ New Workflow"
Trigger: Appointment Status (filter: Completed)
Wait: 1 hour
Action: Send SMS asking for a 1–5 rating
Wait: 24 hours OR until customer replies
Condition: Inbound reply contains 4 or 5 → send Google review link via SMS
Condition: Inbound reply contains 1–3 → send recovery email + alert internal team
Test, publish
TIP — Make the review link friction-free
Send a direct link to your Google review page (not your business listing). Use https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=YOUR_PLACE_ID — this opens straight to the review form. Custom values are perfect for storing this link once and reusing across all workflows.
