Review Request Templates (for Happy, Neutral, and Unsatisfied Customers)

Knowing you need to ask for reviews is one thing; knowing exactly what to say is another. A generic, one-size-fits-all message sent to every customer is a recipe for low response rates and missed opportunities. The secret to a successful review generation strategy lies in using tailored, thoughtful messaging that speaks to each customer’s unique experience. The right words can turn a satisfied customer into a vocal advocate, while the wrong ones can be ignored or, worse, cause frustration.

This guide provides a complete library of proven review request templates you can copy and use today. We will explore how to craft the perfect message for happy, neutral, and even unsatisfied customers, and provide channel-specific examples for email, SMS, and more. Most importantly, we’ll show you how a powerful review generation tool can use customer feedback automation to send the right message to the right person at the right time, transforming your review collection process from a manual chore into a high-performing growth engine.

Why You Need Tailored Review Request Templates

Sending the same message to a customer who had a 5-star experience and one who had a 2-star experience is a critical mistake. A tailored approach recognizes that not all feedback is the same and that your goals for each interaction are different.

Not All Customers Should Get the Same Message

Effective customer communication is all about context. Personalized review requests that acknowledge the customer’s experience are far more effective than a generic blast. This review segmentation allows you to approach a happy customer with confidence to ask for a public review, while you can approach a less-satisfied customer with empathy to ask for private feedback. This targeted communication shows you are listening and value each customer’s unique perspective.

How Messaging Affects Response Rates and Review Quality

The words you use have a direct impact on your review request success. A compelling, personalized message that is easy to act on will significantly increase your review response rate. Furthermore, the quality of the reviews you receive is often a reflection of your request. A thoughtful prompt that asks for specifics can lead to more detailed and helpful reviews, while a lazy request often yields a lazy, low-effort response.

The Role of Automation in Sending the Right Message at the Right Time

Manually tracking every customer’s experience to send a tailored message is impossible at scale. This is where AI review automation becomes essential. A platform that uses smart message timing can automatically send different templates based on triggers or internal feedback scores. These automated review requests ensure that every customer receives the most appropriate and effective message without any manual effort from your team.

How to Craft the Perfect Review Request Message

Before you start using templates, it’s important to understand the core ingredients that make a review request successful.

The 3 Key Ingredients: Tone, Timing, and Simplicity

These three elements are the foundation of any effective request:

• Tone: Your review request tone should be appreciative, polite, and human. Avoid corporate jargon or language that sounds demanding.
• Timing: The perfect timing for a review request is at the moment of peak satisfaction, when the positive experience is fresh in the customer’s mind.
• Simplicity: The message must be clear, concise, and incredibly easy to act upon, ideally with a single link that takes them directly to the review form.

Words That Motivate Customers to Leave Feedback

Certain words and phrases are more persuasive than others. Effective review copy often frames the request as a way to help others.

• “Share your experience to help others like you make an informed decision.”
• “Your feedback helps us improve our service for everyone.”
• “Would you be willing to take 60 seconds to share your thoughts?” (This minimizes the perceived effort).

These feedback message examples shift the focus from helping your business to helping the community, which is a powerful motivator.

Common Mistakes That Turn Customers Off

A few common review request mistakes can kill your response rates. Avoid overly long, complex messages that are hard to read. Don’t use a demanding or entitled tone. And most importantly, avoid over-asking for reviews; sending multiple requests to the same customer can quickly lead to annoyance and even a negative review.

Review Request Templates You Can Copy and Use Today

Here are five proven templates designed for different customer scenarios. Feel free to adapt these review message examples to fit your brand’s voice.

1. For Happy Customers (Positive Experience)

Goal: Capture the positive experience in a public review.
Tone: Enthusiastic and grateful.

Subject: So glad you enjoyed your experience with us!

Hi [Customer Name],

Thank you so much for choosing [Your Business Name]. We were thrilled to hear you had a great experience, and we’d be grateful if you would share it with others.

It only takes a minute and your feedback helps our community and our team.

[Link to Google/Yelp/Facebook Review Page]

Thanks again for your support!

Best,
The Team at [Your Business Name]

2. For Neutral Customers (Average Experience)

Goal: Understand the experience and get honest, balanced feedback.
Tone: Inquisitive and appreciative.

Subject: How did we do on your recent visit?

Hi [Customer Name],

Thank you for your recent visit to [Your Business Name]. We are always working to improve, and your honest feedback is a crucial part of that process.

Would you be willing to share your thoughts on your experience? Every detail helps us get better.

[Link to Google/Yelp/Facebook Review Page]

We appreciate your time.

Sincerely,
The [Your Business Name] Team

3. For Unsatisfied Customers (Constructive Feedback)

Goal: Take the conversation offline, solve the problem, and prevent a negative public review.
Tone: Apologetic, empathetic, and proactive.

Subject: We’re sorry & we’d like to make things right

Hi [Customer Name],

We are so sorry to hear that your recent experience with us did not meet your expectations. Our goal is to provide 5-star service, and we clearly missed the mark.

We would be very grateful for the opportunity to learn more about what happened and how we can make things right. Please use the private feedback form below to share the details with our management team directly.

[Link to Private Internal Feedback Form or Survey]

Thank you for giving us the chance to improve.

Sincerely,
[Manager’s Name]

4. For Repeat or Loyal Customers

Goal: Acknowledge their loyalty and get a high-quality review from a brand advocate.
Tone: Familiar and appreciative.

Subject: Your opinion means the world to us!

Hi [Customer Name],

As one of our most valued customers, your perspective is incredibly important to us and to others considering [Your Business Name].

Since you know our [service/product] so well, we were hoping you might be willing to share your experience in a quick online review.

[Link to Google/Yelp/Facebook Review Page]

Thank you for being such a key part of our community!

All the best,
The Team at [Your Business Name]

5. For B2B or Professional Clients

Goal: Get a professional testimonial or review that speaks to business outcomes.
Tone: Professional and respectful of their time.

Subject: Feedback on our partnership

Hi [Client Name],

I hope you’re doing well.

We’ve truly valued our partnership with [Client Company Name]. As we continue to grow, testimonials from respected partners like you are incredibly helpful for others evaluating our services.

Would you be open to sharing a few sentences about your experience working with our team on a platform like [G2, Capterra, or Google]?

[Link to B2B Review Platform]

We appreciate you considering it.

Best regards,
[Your Name/Account Manager’s Name]

Channel-Specific Review Request Templates

The perfect message also needs to be optimized for the channel you are using.

Email Review Request Templates

Email allows for more detail and a more formal tone. Use a clear subject line, personalize the greeting, keep the body copy concise (2-4 sentences), and have a single, clear call-to-action link. The examples above are perfect for an email review campaign.

SMS Review Request Templates

An SMS review message must be short, friendly, and to the point. Always include a shortened link to avoid a long, messy URL.

• Example: “Hi [Customer Name]! Thanks for choosing us. We’d love it if you could share your experience with a quick review: [Short Link]. Thank you!”

In-App Review Prompts

In-app prompts should be triggered after a moment of success. Keep the copy minimal and the options clear.

• Example: “Enjoying [App Name]? A quick rating on the App Store helps us a lot. [Rate Now] [Not Now]”

QR Code and Receipt Review Requests

The request needs to be a very short, scannable headline. The QR code itself is the call to action.

• Example: “How did we do? Scan here to share your feedback in 60 seconds!” This message on a receipt or table tent is a great prompt for an in-store review link.

How to Automate Review Requests Using Templates

Using templates is a great start, but true power comes from automating them within a professional review generation tool.

Use Triggers Based on Purchase or Service Completion

A sophisticated platform uses trigger-based automation. By mapping your customer journey, you can set up an automated review workflow that sends the appropriate template when a specific event occurs—like a product being delivered, an appointment being completed, or a support ticket being closed.

Personalize at Scale With Customer Data

The best platforms offer CRM review integration. This allows you to pull customer data—like their name, the service they received, or the employee they worked with—directly into your templates. This personalized automation ensures every message feels one-to-one, even when you’re sending thousands.

A/B Test Your Templates for Higher Conversion Rates

Don’t just set your templates and forget them. Use review response analytics to A/B test different subject lines, body copy, and calls to action. This review message testing provides the data you need for conversion optimization, allowing you to continually refine your approach for higher and higher response rates.

Compliance and Best Practices for Automated Review Requests

As you automate, it’s critical to adhere to legal guidelines and best practices to protect your brand and your customers.

Stay FTC-Compliant — Ask for Honest Feedback

Your templates should always ask for honest feedback, not just positive reviews. This is a core component of FTC review compliance. A neutral, transparent feedback solicitation ensures you are gathering authentic opinions and staying on the right side of the law.

Avoid Over-Messaging or Incentivizing Customers

Establish a clear review request frequency to avoid spamming customers. A good rule of thumb is one initial request and one polite reminder. Also, never offer incentives for reviews, as this violates the policies of Google, Yelp, and other major platforms. Adhering to these anti-spam best practices is essential for ethical review collection.

Let Automation Help Without Losing the Human Touch

The goal of automation is efficiency, not the elimination of empathy. Humanized automation means using technology for the heavy lifting while keeping a human in the loop for oversight and for engaging with complex customer feedback. This blend of AI + empathy is at the heart of a modern customer engagement strategy.

Expert Reputation’s Review IQ: Pre-Built Templates and Smart Automation

Expert Reputation’s ReviewIQ platform is a complete review management software with a powerful template engine and intelligent automation designed to get you more reviews, effortlessly.

Ready-to-Use Email, SMS, and QR Templates

Our platform comes loaded with prebuilt review templates for every channel and scenario. These professionally written, automated review messages are ready to use out of the box or can be easily customized to fit your brand’s unique voice.

AI-Powered Personalization That Adapts to Customer Sentiment

We go beyond basic templates with AI review personalization. Our platform can use internal feedback scores or sentiment analysis to trigger different messages. This sentiment-aware outreach ensures your happy customers are asked for public reviews while less-satisfied customers are routed to a private feedback channel.

Built-In Analytics to Track Review Request Performance

Our analytics dashboard gives you a clear view of your review performance tracking. You can monitor open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates in real time, giving you the data you need to optimize your campaigns and prove your ROI.

Try It Free — Automate Review Requests That Work

The best way to see the power of our templates and automation is to experience it firsthand. We invite you to schedule a no-obligation review management demo. A review software free trial will show you how our online reputation tool can transform your review generation process.

Write Less, Earn More Reviews With Automation

Stop staring at a blank screen trying to figure out what to say. With the right templates and the power of automation, you can build a review generation system that is both highly effective and incredibly efficient.

Templates Save Time — Automation Multiplies Results

Templates provide the foundation for consistent, high-quality messaging. But it’s the automation that multiplies your results, allowing you to execute your strategy at scale without sacrificing personalization. This combination is the key to review generation success.