The Psychology of Review Requests: A Simple Method to Get More Reviews and Repeat Customers

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard business owners say they think they need to create incentives in order to get reviews. But here’s the thing: you really don’t need to incentivize reviews. There’s a lesson in psychology that makes one simple method WAY more effective… and it may even reduce negatives reviews and create repeat customers.

The Ben Franklin Effect: A Counterintuitive Approach to Reviews

There’s something in psychology called the Ben Franklin Effect. It suggests that people like you more when you ask them for a favor. It’s believed to be caused by cognitive dissonance. (People like to be helpful, but they can’t help someone they don’t like!)

Therefore, to rationalize helping you, they tend to adjust their perception of you.

Ben Franklin famously used the tactic with a bitter rival who later became a friend. Over a century later, multiple university studies confirmed the phenomenon.

Now I’m not suggesting this simply to manipulate your customers! I’m sharing this because fear of negative reviews is the top reason clients either don’t ask for reviews, or are just way too picky. The reality is that, ironically, asking customers for reviews could actually prevent negatives reviews – and may even help create repeat customers, too!

I recently shared about this on LinkedIn, and the concept was also discussed on the Whitespark Local Update Podcast:

The Myth of “Poking the Bear”

“I don’t want to encourage the unhappy ones!” 😨

I hear this all the time. Business owners are terrified that asking for reviews will somehow unleash a flood of negativity.

In all my years of doing this with countless clients, I have NEVER seen an uptick in negative reviews when you start asking every customer.

Here’s the truth: People who are going to leave a bad review will do it anyway. Asking them isn’t what will push them over the edge. In fact, it just might do the opposite.

Real Results: A Case Study

We have a current client who started asking every single customer over SMS. In a year, they went from around 180 reviews with a 4.4 rating to nearly 400 reviews with a 4.8 rating.

Their rate of negative reviews has also declined: they have had just ONE 1-star review in the past year, texting hundreds of customers… compared to 6 in the prior year (with some 2-3 star reviews, too).

Let that sink in. More asks = better ratings, not worse.

The Hidden Benefit: More Repeat Customers

Here’s something most business owners don’t realize: asking for a review doesn’t just get you reviews… it could also gets you repeat customers, another benefit emphasized by Darren Shaw on LinkedIn

When a customer does you a favor by leaving a review, the Ben Franklin Effect kicks in again. They’ve now invested time and effort into your business. They’ve publicly endorsed you. And psychologically, they need to justify that investment.

The result? They’re more likely to come back.

Think about it: once someone has told the world how great your business is, they’re not going to turn around and go to your competitor. That would create cognitive dissonance. Instead, they double down on their decision and become more loyal to you.

I’ve seen this play out over and over. Customers who leave reviews tend to have higher lifetime values. They come back more often, spend more money, and refer more people. The simple act of asking for a review strengthens the relationship, not just the review count. I suspect this may also be because customers probably feel more personally addressed, and that the business truly does care about their experience.

So you’re not just building social proof with reviews. You’re building customer loyalty at the same time!

The Formula That Works

👉 Here’s what I see consistently works best:

1. Use SMS for the best success rate

Email gets ignored. SMS gets read. It’s that simple.

2. Ask personally or with the owner/staff’s name in the text

Generic automated messages feel like spam. Personal messages feel like… well, a personal request.

3. Ask for a FAVOR (this is important)

This is where the Ben Franklin Effect comes in. Don’t just tell people where/how to leave a review. Specifically acknowledge that the review only helps you, so you are asking the customer bluntly to help you out.

4. Ask every customer

Consistency is key. No cherry-picking. No second-guessing. Just ask.

The Text Template That Actually Works

Here’s the text template that works best for me:

“Hi [Client_Name], this is [Owner_Name], owner of [Business]. Just wanted to send a personal thank you! Would you do me a small favor and leave a review? {{Google_Review_URL}}”

That’s it. Simple, personal, and effective.

Take Action Today

So give it a shot. It’s one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways to grow your business.

Stop overthinking it. Stop worrying about the negative reviews that probably won’t come. Start asking every customer, and watch your ratings climb!