If a small business owner tells me they have one hour a week for marketing, I tell them the same thing every time: spend it on Google reviews. Nothing else at that budget moves the needle as much.
Reviews influence whether you show up in local search, and they heavily influence whether people choose you once you do. A business with 150 recent reviews and a 4.7 rating beats a competitor with 12 reviews from 2019 almost every time.
The system is simple. Ask every happy customer, at the moment they're happiest, with a direct link that makes it take thirty seconds. Not everyone says yes — that's fine. Consistency beats intensity.
Where to start
Respond to every review, good and bad. Thank the happy ones briefly and specifically. For the occasional negative review, respond once, professionally, and offer to make it right offline. Future customers read your response more carefully than the complaint.
A few things to avoid: never buy reviews, never offer incentives for positive ones, and don't get into arguments in public. Google's filters are good, and your reputation is the asset.
We build review requests directly into the customer communication systems we set up — automated, timed after a purchase or visit — so the asking happens even when you're busy.