Message clinic

SMS review requests: good, bad and better

Small wording choices change whether a review request feels recognizable and respectful or suspicious and pushy.

1. The mystery sender

Bad

Thanks for your business! Please review us: [link]

Better

Hi Alex, Harbor Auto here. Thanks for trusting us with your vehicle today. Would you share your experience? [link]

Why: The second version identifies the sender and anchors the request to a recognizable interaction.

2. Rating pressure

Bad

We hope you loved us! Please give our team 5 stars: [link]

Better

Thanks for visiting Northside Dental today. We welcome your honest feedback: [link]

Why: The customer owns the evaluation. The business does not need to prescribe the score.

3. Incentive trouble

Bad

Leave us a 5-star review and get 15% off next time.

Better

Thanks for choosing [Business]. If you would like to share your experience, you can review us here: [link]

Why: The FTC prohibits incentives conditioned on a particular sentiment. Google prohibits incentives in exchange for reviews.

4. The guilt trip

Bad

Reviews are everything to us. Please help us reach 500 reviews!

Better

Thank you for choosing [Business]. If you have a moment, we would value your honest feedback: [link]

Why: The customer is not responsible for the business's marketing target.

5. The vague reminder

Bad

Reminder!!! You still haven't reviewed us.

Better

A quick follow-up from [Business]. If you would still like to share your recent experience, here is the link: [link]

The pattern

Good requests usually identify the sender, provide genuine context, ask neutrally and make the next step obvious. More persuasion is not automatically better.

Primary sources