Every email should urge the reader to take some action.
Usually, that’s buying from you. But it doesn’t have to be.
Some email sequences are “supporting flows” — they handle non-sales tasks that contribute to the effectiveness of your sales efforts.
One of those non-sales tasks:
Getting reviews/testimonials/feedback.
Positive reviews and testimonials give you marketing ammunition for emails, website copy, case studies, and even sales conversations.
All reviews — even negative ones — offer you valuable market research.
The Review Request Flow is the “supporting flow” that gathers these.
Below is a guide to the Review Request Flow. Keep reading to learn more about this flow’s benefits, typical structure, and some best practices. Plus, learn which metrics/KPIs to track and discover pitfalls to avoid when building this flow.
Understanding the Review Request Flow
Defining The Review Request Flow
The Review Request Flow triggers at some point after your customer has purchased a product. It consists of a few emails asking the customer about their experience with the product and requesting that they leave a review.
The Review Request Flow can consist of emails and SMS messages.
NOTE: Your Post-Purchase Sequence can include a review request within it. However, a Review Request Flow should still be in your business for those not qualifying for the Post-Purchase Sequence.
Goals and Role
The Review Request Flow aims to help you collect testimonials and reviews from customers so you can place these reviews and testimonials wherever relevant.
Customers tend to trust other customers more than the brand. Even if they like the brand. The Review Request Flow ensures you have more “voice of the customer” across your brand and third-party review sites.
How the Review Request Flow Helps Your Business
The Review Request Flow helps your business in several ways:
- Gains social proof: Each testimonial or review you gather gives you another piece of marketing ammunition. Put those on your product pages and website to bolster your marketing copy.
- Provides content for other channels: Reviews aren’t limited to your website or review sites. Use them in your emails (as testimonial barrages or stories/case studies), share them on social media, and more. You can even turn them into stories.
- Strengthens customer loyalty: Customers who write why they like the product must think about why they like it. Thus, they remind themselves why they like it. Also, asking people for favors and giving a reason for the favor is a classic persuasion technique (just read some Cialdini and you’ll know what I mean).
- Offers sales opportunities: When customers are gushing about your product, they’re in a good mental state to have another offer presented before them. Thus, Review Request Flows create additional sales opportunities. Particularly if you offer a discount for leaving a review (but that’s not necessary).
- Gathers valuable insights: Reviews and testimonials tell you a LOT about what your customers care about and how they talk about their problems. Also, of course, the biggest selling points of your products.
- Enhances SEO and online visibility: Dominating review sites with positive reviews grabs you some third-party territory. It also helps you show up and rank higher when people are searching for your brand or brands that offer what you offer.
The Key Components of the Review Request Flow
Review Request Flow structure depends on how you gather the reviews. Some brands will create forms/surveys to fill out. The reader then clicks through to the other side.
Others will just ask the customer to reply with their review.
The structure for each will be quite similar, but I’ll point out the differences in the Review Request Flow “skeleton” below:
The Review Request Email
This email checks on the customer’s experience with the product and asks for the review.
Subject Line
Grab their curiosity with the subject line. Make it “intensely personal” since you’re just asking for feedback.
Here are some ideas:
- help me out here??
- quick favor, [firstname]
- would you do this for me?
- I have a question, [firstname]…
Body Copy
The body copy should ask the customer how their product/service is treating them or how their life is with their product/after experiencing your service.
If you’re offering an incentive to give you a review, tell them what that incentive is and the details about using it.
Don’t be too pushy or wordy.
The Reminder Email
This email gently reminds customers to leave a review if they haven’t yet.
Subject Line
This email will send long after the first one, so a “reminder” subject line isn’t your only option. You can take a “curiosity” approach similar to the Review Request Email.
Here are some ideas:
- Heard about you…
- checking in
- about your [PRODUCT]
- about your [RESULT]
- How are things, [firstname]?
Body Copy
The body copy should be more concise than the first email in the sequence. Remind the customer to share the results they’ve enjoyed.
Insert a couple of quick questions to jog their review-writing brain if it’s a reply-style review request. Skip these if it’s a click-through to a form.
Throw in a “reply if you have questions,” just in case.
This is a great opportunity to spring an incentive on them if the first email didn’t. If itdid, reiterate the incentive.
The One Last Ask Email
This email piques the reader’s curiosity, then gives one last chance to leave a review.
Subject Line
At this point, the same “reminder to leave a review” subject line won’t cut it. Time to get more creative.
Two approaches here:
- The intensely personal curiosity-piquing subject line
- The “time flies” subject line
Here are some examples of each:
- everything ok?
- Wow, [TIME SINCE PURCHASE] already??? (For example: “Wow, one month already???”)
- [firstname], [TIME SINCE PURCHASE] later and… ???
- I can’t believe this…
- Time flies when you’re [MAJOR BENEFIT OF OFFER]
- Holy schnikes, [firstname]
Body Copy
Express disbelief that it has already been X days/weeks/months since they purchased and “check in” on the customer.
Let them know you’re there to help, and then tell them that if they’re loving their offer/their life after getting/experiencing the offer, to leave a review.
People who have waited this long need as little friction as possible to leave a review. So even if you have a form to gather reviews, asking for a reply-style review/testimonial might be worth it. Ask for brief sentences about what kind of results/benefits they’ve felt after buying/experiencing the offer.
The Thank-You Email
This email thanks the customer for leaving a review/testimonial. It only sends after the customer leaves that review/testimonial.
Subject Line
Just thank the reader in the subject line. Little else is needed. Examples:
- Wow, thanks for the review!
- Thanks for the feedback, [firstname]
- Thank you, [firstname]
You could also hint at the referral program via the subject line or preview text.
Body Copy
Express sincere thanks for leaving the review. Don’t make it sound like a boilerplate thank-you.
Maybe “Wow. Thanks for leaving us a review, [firstname]! Glad to hear about your experience with [product customer bought].”
If you want to get fancy, you can segment based on review sentiment and other factors (this may take some back-end work to get right), but it’s not necessary.
This email is a great place to ask for referrals. It’s the next logical step after leaving a review.
And hey, assuming you have a fantastic brand and offer, and thus got an excellent review from this customer…
They’re in a great state of mind to refer. They just gushed about your product, so why not give them a nudge to share it with others?
Make sure to mention the reward they and their referrals get. For example, “As a token of our appreciation, you’ll get [incentive X] for each friend/family you refer who buys from us, and they’ll get [incentive Y].”
SMS
I’d recommend sending an SMS with each email. Send the SMS several hours after the email. Make the SMS very concise and casual, gently asking for the review.
You could try an SMS between emails if you get the time spacing right.
Best Practices For the Review Request Flow
Let’s look at some tips and best practices for each aspect of the Review Request Flow:
Triggers and Filters
The Review Request Flow should trigger (but not send; more on that next) right after the customer buys a product.
However, you should filter out people who have received this flow recently. Someone might purchase several times in a short period — no need to hit them with a bunch of review requests.
That will annoy them, and any additional reviews they provide you will offer diminishing returns regarding social proof/other insights.
Subscription brands (or brands with subscription-able offers) may get more advanced by triggering additional Review Request flows at various points throughout the customer’s lifetime with the company. The customer may accomplish new goals as they stay with the company, offering additional review-gathering opportunities.
For instance, you sell meal kits. You might get a taste-related review in Week 1 or 2. But by Week 8, you might ask for a fitness-related review after they lost weight.
Time Delay
The first email in this flow should not send until the customer has had a chance to enjoy the benefits and life changes your offer provides. This can vary by product and shipping times.
For instance, if you can deliver overnight and your product relieves a problem fast, you could send the first email by, say, day 3 post-purchase.
On the other hand — maybe you sell a course teaching businesses how to grow their revenue. Delivering the first email the day after the customer buys the course wouldn’t make sense. They have to take the course and apply the knowledge to achieve results.
So you’d send your first Review Request email further out.
Ultimately, this requires more A/B testing than something with more obvious timing best practices, such as an Abandoned Checkout Sequence.
As for the “Reminder” and “One Last Ask” emails:
- Reminder email — Give it at least several days to avoid being too pushy.
- One Last Ask email — This one should go out around day 30 after the purchase.
Copy
Customers may struggle with where to start their reviews. The more eager will write “this product is great!” which is better than nothing, but generic. Others will be too busy and too mentally preoccupied with other things to think about how to start their review.
Offer a few prompts to get them started. Here are some broad examples:
- What led you to purchase this product/service in the first place?
- Is there anything about this product/service that stands out?
- What would you say to someone considering buying this product/service for the first time?
- How has this product or service made your life easier or more enjoyable?
You can narrow these as necessary, such as “Has this product/service freed up your time?”
Prompts are vital for reply-style reviews. However, if you gather reviews on a form, offer prompts here as well. Use multiple choice and “free response” questions to gather the necessary info.
Your customer must take time out of their day to write the review. So remove as much friction as possible.
Aside from that, don’t be too pushy. Be conversational and use “checking-in” style copy in the latter emails.
Design
These emails should have almost no design. The only element besides logo and signature block could be a button urging them to click through to a form. And that’s only if you have a form.
If you don’t have a form, 100% plain-text email works well here. These make customers feel more comfortable sharing their feelings because plain-text, non-HTML emails look the most like person-to-person communications.
Other
Replies… When You Do Forms
If you collect reviews via a form, customers will inevitably send reviews as replies anyways. That’s fine. Thank them for their testimonial like usual and transfer it to your testimonial bank.
Incentives
A discount or account credit is a nice little gift… putting them in a more positive mood… meaning you might get a more positive review.
Oh, and it facilitates another sale.
No way your Review Request Flow will out-earn your Welcome Sequence. But sales are sales are sales. Why not pitch to a customer in a positive state of mind?
Review Types
Some reviews are more valuable than others. For instance, a video testimonial could be quite powerful since potential customers see and hear the happy customer themselves instead of just reading their reviews. They could also see your product (if it’s a physical product) in real use.
Plus, some customers prefer to give testimonials/reviews in certain ways.
Consider adding multiple ways to submit a review. For more effort-intensive methods, such as a video testimonial, throw in a bigger incentive.
Measuring Success for the Review Request Flow
Below are some key metrics to track for the Review Request Flow and how to improve them. Keep in mind that some Review Request metrics have less to do with the emails and more with your offer and/or customer service.
Review/Testimonial Submission Rate
First and foremost, track how many recipients are leaving reviews. You can calculate this for X period by dividing the number of testimonials received by the number of Review Request flow sends.
How to improve:
- Streamline and simplify the review submission process
- Personalize review requests
- Offer an incentive (or A/B test incentives)
- A/B test subject lines, copy, and time delays
Review Sentiment
Next, analyze trends in sentiment. Weigh the number of positive reviews to negative reviews. Look at the number of neutral reviews, too.
There are ways to improve Review Sentiment purely through email. However, this is primarily an offer and customer service thing.
How to improve:
- Address feedback promptly and constructively
- A/B test incentives (to inspire positive emotions pre-review)
- Revisit and refine your offer
- Revisit and refine your target market
Review Content
After analyzing sentiment, analyze content. This can offer a few insights.
First and foremost — if you have few to no detailed reviews, you could have a problem in your review submission process.
If that’s not an issue, the next step is to look for patterns in reviews. What do customers like most about your offer? What do they dislike? Are there trends in how they describe the offer’s impact on their life?
These give you clues about how your customer talks. This is gold for future copywriting and marketing efforts.
How to improve:
- Revisit and beef up your review submission process (consider adding prompts, for example)
- Thank customers for leaving detailed reviews
Review Request Flow Pitfalls to Avoid
Watch out for these mistakes when crafting your Review Request Flow:
Complicating the Review Process
Incentives certainly help secure a customer review/testimonial. However, it won’t overcome a complex or confusing review process. This alone could lose you tons of excellent reviews from happy customers.
The fewer the steps and the more guided the process is, the more customers will leave the reviews. Clarity + incentive = success.
Not Gathering Enough Information
We did just discuss simplicity, sure.
But you must balance simplicity with sufficiency of the information you gather. Vague, three-word reviews are nice to have, but they won’t do the job on their own. You must round them out with more elaborate testimonials.
Reply-style review requests are the simplest. The customer does not have to click through to a form.
However, offer prompts to get the customer’s wheels turning. Have someone on hand to sift through the replies and organize them to your liking.
Making the customer click through to a form naturally creates friction, so make that up by structuring the form well.
Get in enough questions to get the general “problem, agitation, solution” framework… but make sure these questions are easy to answer and offer prompts if necessary.
Improper Timing
Trigger the Review Request Flow too early: The customer hasn’t received the product or had a chance to truly feel its impact.
Trigger the Review Request Flow too late: The customer is no longer in the “honeymoon phase” of the product benefits.
Failing to Personalize
Review emails asking “how is your purchase?” fall flat. It can lose you what would otherwise be valuable reviews.
The most basic layer of personalization is simply mentioning the product or service they bought. If you have the time and resources, you could get deeper by personalizing copy for different product categories or individual products.
Failing to Follow Up
You don’t want to bombard the customer with follow-up… but you do want to gently remind them that you’d love to hear their feedback. And remind them of their incentive if you offer one.
Without follow-up, customers might miss the email entirely. Or they might be too busy/tired at that particular time to leave the review.
Beating Around the Bush
The Review Request emails should get to the point. It’s ok to have a bit of “check-in” copy, but don’t use tons of “hedge language.”
You aren’t afraid to sell. So there’s no reason to fear politely asking for the review.
Excessive Review Requests
Yes, it’s ok to ask for the review. And even remind the customer to leave one. But don’t harass them.
At best, you’ll get no review and minorly annoy them. At worst, they might send you a strongly-worded email and unsubscribe. This is a valuable, paying customer that you lose… not a “they wouldn’t buy anyways” person.
So don’t have too many emails in the Review Request Flow. And don’t squeeze the emails too close together.
The Bottom Line on Review Request Flows
Testimonials and reviews are among your most powerful and versatile marketing assets. The more you collect, the more material you have to work with for emails, website copy, a testimonials page, and more. Not to mention the market research gold that reviews offer.
Thus, the importance of a Review Request Flow is clear.
Not only does it gather these testimonials for you…
But it helps solidify customer loyalty, can bring you more warm traffic (through referrals), and helps you dominate SEO by getting your brand on third-party review sites. You can even tack on a few sales if you do it right.
Just remember not to be pushy and to time things correctly. Think about how you want to collect reviews (reply vs. form) and whether/how large an incentive is worth it. Remove as much friction as possible. Make it easy for the customer to leave the review.
Do it right, and you’ll be collecting powerful marketing ammunition on autopilot.
What to Do Next
- Implement this flow into your business if you don’t have it/Optimize your flow with insights from this post if you DO have it.
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- Work with me if you want to earn more revenue, widen your margins, and improve retention through email and SMS… so you can quit worrying about acquisition.
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