Did you know that SMS has a 98% open rate compared to email? 89% of phone users also read text messages within 30 minutes of receiving them.
SMS, texting, text messaging – no matter what you call it, it’s an effective channel for communicating with customers that businesses need to take advantage of.
And this includes businesses looking to get more reviews.
Despite that, you can’t manually text review requests to every new customer your business deals with. It’s time-consuming and, well, inefficient.
Templates just make it easier.
In this guide, we look at the best practices for sending SMS review requests and provide six templates that you can use to get more reviews online.
Review & Feedback Requests For SMS – Best Practices
Writing a review request for SMS (Short Message Service) should ideally be kept under 160 characters.
This makes texts quicker and easier to read for customers, but also means that you are limited with what you can write.
So it’s important to take a specific approach – a review request message that you think will encourage your customers to write a review.
Like review request emails, the same general rules apply to SMS review requests:
- Addressing the customer by name
- Using a friendly tone of voice
- Not asking for positive feedback
- Including a review link
As SMS is generally less formal, it’s possible to use emojis or emoticons. These can make text messages more appealing to younger audiences, but should still be used sparingly.
6 SMS Review & Feedback Request Templates
Even though text messages are short, using templates will save time. Templates may even help you determine which review request messages convert more than others.
This makes it a good idea to choose your approach.
To point you in the right direction, we’ve provided six review request templates for SMS that are designed to convert, as each uses an effective approach that we’ve explained below.
Remember: make sure to include a review link and sign the message with your business name.
Feedback Request Template For SMS #1
Hi (customer’s name), thank you for choosing us and being a valued customer. If you could write a review, we’d really, really appreciate it. Thanks again!
It’s always important to thank customers, but this SMS review request puts thanking the customer front and center. The message also expresses gratitude and that your business values the customer, which can encourage them to write a review.
Feedback Request Template For SMS #2
Hi (customer’s name), we really value our customers’ feedback. If you have a moment, do you mind writing a review for us? Thank you!
This SMS review request focuses on placing value on the customer’s feedback itself. This both informs and assures the customer that their feedback is important, which can persuade them to write a review.
Feedback Request Template For SMS #3
Hi (customer’s name), thanks for being a customer. Would you do us a favor and click the link below to write a quick review? It takes less than a minute and is a big help! Thank you in advance.
Some customers don’t complete review requests because they assume it will take too much time.
For that reason, the focus of this SMS review request is to assure the customer that providing feedback won’t take long, which can motivate them to write a review.
Feedback Request Template For SMS #4
Hi (customer’s name), your feedback helps us improve and help other valued customers like yourself. Would you please help us out and click the link below and write a review?
This SMS review request calls to a general desire to help others. In this case: through the customer’s personal experience. This message also expresses that your business values customers and constant improvement, which the customer will appreciate.
Feedback Request Template For SMS #5
Hi (customer’s name), how did we do? Tell us what you think about your experience by writing a review! Thank you in advance.
This SMS review request leads with a simple question, which is effective at getting the customer’s attention. This message also calls to a general desire to express personal opinion, which can incentivize customers to write a review.
Feedback Request Template For SMS #6
Hi (customer’s name), we hope you enjoyed your (product/service). But it would be great to know what you think! Just tap the link to tell us your opinion.
Last but not least, this SMS review request employs a personal approach by mentioning the product/service the customer purchased. It’s more direct and personal, which can encourage the customer to write a review.
How To Make Your SMS Review Requests More Effective
Like most marketing strategies, there are always different factors to consider. So for your SMS review and feedback requests to be more effective, it’s worth taking the following into account.
The Best Time To Send Review Requests
There is, in fact, a best time to send SMS review requests. It won’t be the same for every audience, but scheduling your texts with your customers in mind is a tactic that may help your review requests see more success.
Short Links
Some links are just too long. This is a problem for SMS, as a lengthy review link will use up characters and, in some cases, appear longer than the message itself.
Shortening the URL into a short link prevents this and makes your review requests more presentable.
Review Request Follow-Ups
It’s not uncommon for customers to read your review request but forget to follow through. For this reason, it’s worth sending a follow-up SMS.
When and how many can depend but, as general rules, avoid annoying your customers by sending follow-ups too soon.
How To Automate Review Requests
Using templates makes it quicker to send review requests, but it’s not the easiest method. Automation can send review requests to your customers more efficiently, cutting out the process of typing and sending texts each time you get new customers.
Still, it’s important to not forget about email. Email addresses are easier to collect than phone numbers and some customers simply prefer email, so both channels are worth utilizing if you want your business to get more reviews.
The solution here is to automate email and SMS review requests.
And by using a tool like ReputationStacker, requesting reviews from your customers using SMS and email gets taken care of for you.
ReputationStacker uses a tried and tested approach for requesting reviews that works for all businesses looking to get more reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, and more.
The end result? More reviews for your business without doing any of the hard work.
