On this page 9 sections
- Why customers do not leave reviews without being asked
- How NorthBot’s Review Chaser works
- Tracking who has clicked and who has not
- The branded experience
- What the numbers look like
- Who the Review Chaser is for
- Good reviews do more than rank you
- Asking for reviews on WhatsApp with NorthBot
- Start the Review Chaser
You already know Google reviews matter. You have heard it before. More reviews, better Google Maps ranking, more trust from new customers.
The problem is not knowing it. The problem is doing it consistently.
Most tradespeople ask occasionally - usually when they finish a job and the customer says something nice. They send a WhatsApp with the link, the customer says they will sort it, and 80% of the time they never do.
The tradespeople with 90 reviews are not asking more persuasively. They are asking every single customer, every single time, with a follow-up if the first message gets ignored.
That is not something a busy sole trader can realistically do manually. Which is why automating it changes the result completely.
Asking once versus chasing automatically
Asking when you remember
- Job finished
- WhatsApp link sent once
- No follow-up
80% of the time, no review
Automated review chasing
- Job finished
- Review request every customer
- Follow-ups if ignored
Every customer asked, every time
Why customers do not leave reviews without being asked
It is not that they are unhappy. Most happy customers think about leaving a review for about ten seconds after a job, then life gets in the way. They forget. They mean to do it later. Later never comes.
The review request is the nudge that closes the gap between intention and action. Research consistently shows that simply asking - in a personalised, low-pressure way - is enough to convert a happy customer into a reviewer.
The follow-up matters too. The second message converts a significant proportion of the people who ignored the first. Not because they were annoyed - because they forgot.
How NorthBot’s Review Chaser works
After a job, you open the Review Chaser screen in NorthBot and enter the customer’s name, email, and the job you did. That is it.
NorthBot sends a branded review request from your business, personalised with the customer’s first name and the job you completed. The email has your logo, your colours, and links directly to your Google review page with a tracked link.
How a review request runs
-
Enter the customer details
Name, email and the job.
-
Branded request sent
Your logo, colours and link.
-
Follow-ups if ignored
Up to three emails in total.
-
Chasing stops
When they click or unsubscribe.
The chase sequence runs automatically from there:
| Step | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| First request | Immediately | Branded email sent to your customer |
| First follow-up | 3 days later | Second email if they have not clicked |
| Final chase | 7 days after job | Third and final email |
| Stops | The moment they click | No further emails sent |
| Stops | If they unsubscribe | Removed immediately, never contacted again |
Tracking who has clicked and who has not
This is where the Review Chaser goes beyond just sending emails. Every review link in every message is tracked individually. When a customer clicks it, NorthBot records it against their request and stops all further chasing automatically.
On the Review Chaser screen you can see the status of every request you have ever sent:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Scheduled | Request is queued - first email not yet sent |
| Sent | At least one email has gone out, waiting for a response |
| Clicked | Customer clicked your Google review link - chasing stopped |
| Completed | All three messages sent, no response |
| Stopped | Customer unsubscribed |
The stats strip at the top of the screen shows your totals at a glance - how many requests you have sent, how many customers have clicked through, and your overall click rate. If your click rate is low, it is usually a sign that the job details or the email wording need adjusting.
The branded experience
The review request does not look like it came from a generic system. It comes from your business name, with your logo and brand colours, written in plain English.
The default message sounds like a real person sent it:
Hi [first name], thanks for choosing [your company] for the [job]. If you were happy with the work, a quick Google review would mean a lot. It takes 30 seconds.
You can customise the subject line, the body, and the sender name to match how you communicate with your customers.
What the numbers look like
Most trade businesses that start asking consistently see their review count grow significantly within a few months. The compounding effect matters: more reviews improve your Maps ranking, which brings more traffic to your Google Business Profile, which means more calls.
| Reviews | What it signals to a new customer |
|---|---|
| 0-5 | New or inactive business - many customers will hesitate |
| 10-25 | Established, enough social proof to build basic trust |
| 25-50 | Strong reputation, competitive in local Maps results |
| 50-100 | Dominant in most local searches for your trade |
| 100+ | Market leader - very hard for competitors to displace |
A plumber with 80 reviews at 4.6 stars will beat one with 5 reviews at 5.0 stars in the Maps pack almost every time. Google weights quantity and recency, not just rating. The number you need depends on your competition - search your trade and area to see what the top-ranked businesses have. That is your target.
Who the Review Chaser is for
Any tradesperson who has done good work and is not getting the reviews they deserve. Which is most of them.
If you have 15 Google reviews and you have been trading for five years, you have happy customers who simply were not asked in the right way at the right time. The Review Chaser fixes that going forward. It will not magic up reviews for jobs you did three years ago, but from the moment you start using it, the pipeline runs automatically.
Good reviews do more than rank you
Beyond the Maps ranking benefit, reviews are the first thing a new customer reads before calling you. For tradespeople especially - where customers are letting someone into their home - trust is the deciding factor.
A steady stream of recent, genuine reviews from real customers tells the story of your business better than any website copy can.
Asking for reviews on WhatsApp with NorthBot
Most of your customers already message you on WhatsApp, so a review request from your own number gets read. NorthBot now works inside WhatsApp, and asking for a review is one message:
ask Sarah Whitfield for a review
NorthBot finds the job, writes a short, personal review request message with your Google review link in it, and gives you a link that opens WhatsApp with the message ready to send to Sarah. It comes from your number, one she recognises, so it does not look like a marketing email.
The first time, NorthBot asks for your Google review link. Find your business on Google Maps, tap Share, and send it the link. After that it is saved.
Prefer email? Say “email Sarah for a review” and it sends it by email instead.
Start NorthBot on WhatsApp and send your first quote, invoice or review request today. It is included with our Growth and Pro plans, or £39.99 a month on its own.
Start the Review Chaser
The Review Chaser is part of NorthBot’s Pro plan. Start your 14-day free trial and see the full product first.
Start your free trial at tools.localsearchnorth.uk
Want to pair automated review chasing with a properly optimised Google Business Profile? Book a free call and we will walk you through both. The combination is one of the most effective things a trade business can do for local search visibility.
You might also want to read our guide on how to get more Google reviews for the manual approach and the thinking behind why reviews matter so much for Maps rankings.