Text, Email, or In Person: How to Test Which Review Ask Works for You

Should you ask for reviews by text, by email, or in person? We haven't found public data that compares the channels for contractors, and a claim that one wins would be a guess. What you can do is run a fair test on your own jobs. This guide sets out what is known, how to design the test, and how to keep it inside the rules. For the rules themselves, see asking customers for reviews.

What Is Known

• Google says you can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code, and its help page suggests putting the link or code on receipts, in thank-you emails, at the end of chats, or displaying the QR code in-store (create a review link or QR code). Google says review QR codes can currently be generated only on a computer browser.
• BrightLocal's 2026 survey reports that 83% of people asked to leave a review went on to leave one, and that 28% say they'll always write one if asked (Local Consumer Review Survey 2026). These are consumers' own reports across all local businesses, so they say nothing about which channel works best.
• The rules are the same whichever channel you use: no incentives, no selecting who to ask, and no telling customers what to write.

Design the Test

The test only works if it's fair to the customers and to the results.

• Pick two or three channels. For example, a text with your review link, an email with your review link, and a card or QR code handed over at the end of the job.
• Assign the channel by a rule that ignores how the job went. Alternate by job number, or rotate by week. Don't choose the channel based on whether the customer seemed happy. Google prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews, so everyone gets asked, and only the channel varies.
• Keep everything else identical. Use the same wording, the same link, and the same timing after the job.
• Ask every customer. A test that skips some customers is selective solicitation, however good the reason.

What to Record

For each job, note the date, the channel, and whether a review appeared within a fixed window, such as seven days. At the end, count reviews divided by asks for each channel. Judge the channels by how many customers leave a review, not by the ratings they produce. Google's policy prohibits attempting to influence the rating, so a result you might be tempted to act on shouldn't come from steering ratings.

How Long to Run It

Small samples mislead. If you finish 30 jobs a month, a split across two channels gives about 15 asks each, and a difference of a few reviews between them is probably noise. As a rule of thumb, not a statistical standard, run the test for at least two months, and treat results that are close as a tie. If it's a tie, use the channel that is easiest to do consistently, because a habit you keep beats a channel you drop.

Notes on Each Channel

• Text or email: you can send it at a consistent time after the job with the same link every time. Keep a record of when you send.
• In person: hand over the link or QR code and ask the same way for every customer. Print the QR code from a computer, since Google says it can't be generated on mobile.
• Any channel: never offer a discount, a gift, or a favor in return. Google's policy names incentives for a review or for removing a negative one, and the FTC's review rule has its own limits (FTC guidance). This is general information, not legal advice.

What to Do With the Result

Adopt the channel with the higher share of asks that turn into reviews, or the easiest one if it's a tie, and use it for every customer. Keep counting. Your own numbers also feed the monthly target in how many reviews a contractor needs.

Related Guides

• The Contractor's Guide to Reviews That Actually Convert
• Asking Customers for Reviews: What Google and the FTC Allow
• How Many Reviews a Contractor Actually Needs
• How to Respond to a Bad Google Review Without Making It Worse