Can You Incentivize Customers to Leave Reviews?

Any seasoned contractor knows how important reviews are for business. They’re social proof that you’re the right contractor for the job—and the numbers back this up. According to BrightLocal, 77 percent of consumers always read reviews before making a purchase. On top of that, consumers pay the most attention to reviews for local contractors.

No matter how many five-star reviews you already have, it’s only natural to want more. We often hear from our clients that online reviews help them win more business. When their existing customers tell the world how great their service is, other homeowners follow.

So, what’s the best way to boost your online reviews? And can you incentivize customers to leave a five-star review? Here’s the short answer: Offering incentives in exchange for reviews might seem like a no-brainer, but it comes with some risks. Here’s what you need to know before asking your next customer for a review.

Is It Legal to Incentivize Customer Reviews?

It depends. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has acted against businesses that have offered incentives in exchange for reviews. When people look to online reviews to inform their decisions, the FTC wants to make sure those reviews aren’t biased. In other words, you can’t directly offer customers an incentive to leave a five-star review.

With that said, the FTC doesn’t explicitly ban incentives. If you’re thinking about sending a discount voucher with your next customer feedback form, here are some rules of thumb to keep in mind:

• Only ask for reviews from customers who have used your products or experienced your services.
• Don’t ask friends, family members, or colleagues to leave reviews of your contractor business.
• Don’t ask staff to leave reviews of your business without ensuring they disclose in the review that you employ them and they were asked by you to write it.
• Don’t ask for reviews only from customers you think will leave positive ones (hint: negative reviews can be good for your business if you know how to handle them).
• If you offer an incentive for a review, don’t condition it on the review being positive. Even without the condition, the review should disclose the incentive because it may introduce bias or change the credibility that readers give the review.

What Are the Risks of Incentivizing Customer Reviews?

Maybe you’re struggling to keep your contractors busy during shoulder season—or you’re just starting to build your online presence. No matter what your online reputation looks like, customer reviews can get a buzz going about your brand. 

Why? It’s simple: 99 percent of consumers have searched for local businesses on the Internet. Your customers are scoping out your business before making a decision. That includes your online reviews, website, social media accounts, and anything else they can find.

Of course, you’ll need to be careful about your review process. Without the right strategy, incentivized reviews can:

• Harm your reputation. Never trick customers into writing a five-star review. If you mislead them in any way, you risk them changing their review, spreading negative word-of-mouth reviews, and damaging your brand’s reputation.
• Contribute to fake reviews. If you incentivize reviews (i.e., a valuable gift card), you risk reviews from customers who just want freebies. Instead of going big, try offering a small discount voucher (i.e., 5% off your next HVAC tune-up), company merch, or customer shoutouts on your Facebook page.
• Violate platform policies. Trying to build your Yelp profile? Skip the incentives. Some review platforms are strictly against incentivized reviews—and violating platform policies can lead to deleted reviews, search ranking penalties, and other consequences. In addition, some platforms prohibit reviews from people with personal connections to the business—even if the reviews disclose the connection.

So, How Can You Offer an Incentive?

First, let’s reiterate: Never offer an incentive with the condition that your customers leave a glowing review. With a carefully crafted review process, it’s possible to avoid risks that come with incentives.

For example, you might offer a voucher for existing customers. In your email, you should specify that you’ll only send the voucher to customers who write unbiased reviews about their experience. This way, your customers will know how much you value their feedback (and they’ll be that much more willing to leave a review).

Another option is to host a giveaway. For example, you might send an email blast to customers who booked an appointment within the last month, and enter all of those customers into the giveaway. In turn, there’s no pressure to write a review. At the same time, you’re not incentivizing any kind of rating.

What Can You Do Instead?

Guess what? You can skip all the risks that come with incentivized reviews and still boost your online presence. It’s easier to get online reviews than you might think: 70 percent of customers will leave an online review if you just ask.

Of course, you want as many online reviews as possible, so you’ll need to get to work. Here’s how to maximize your online reviews without incentives.

• Make it as easy as possible. Your customer decides to leave a review. Congratulations! Instead of wasting their valuable time, you want to make it as convenient as possible for them to leave a review. Don’t forget to include links to your preferred review pages on your website and emails. The easier you make it, the more reviews you’ll get.
• Get the timing right. Try prompting customers to leave a review. This might be in the form of website pop-ups, emails, or SMS messages to follow up after an appointment. This way, you can thank customers and ask for feedback while the experience is still fresh in their minds.
• Respond to your reviews. Good or bad, you should always respond to reviews. It shows that you’re responsive to customer feedback and that you genuinely care about your customers’ experience.

Win the Trust of Prospective Customers

At the end of the day, better visibility = more appointments. Getting honest and unbiased reviews from your existing customers plays a huge role in your visibility, but just like any other kind of marketing play, you can’t mislead prospects about your products and services.

If you’re not sure how to make online reviews part of your process, we’re here to help. Reach out to our team to boost your online reputation and book more appointments.

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