5-Star Review Automation

What the review automation does

Most contractors ask for reviews twice: when they hand over the keys (homeowner is exhausted and irritable about punch-list) and 90 days later (homeowner has moved on and won’t open the email). Both are wrong moments. The automation hits the one moment that converts: 24 hours after punch-list sign-off.

• Punch-list-sign-off trigger — the workflow listens for the punch-list pipeline stage moving to completed-signed, then waits 24 hours.
• 5-star gate — homeowner gets an SMS asking “on a scale of 1-5, how was the project?” A reply of 5 routes to Google. A reply of 4 or less routes to a private feedback form for the PM.
• One-tap Google review — 5-star responders get an SMS with a deep link directly to your Google review form, pre-loading the star rating.
• Photo prompt — second SMS 30 minutes after the first asks if they’d share a “before/after” photo for the review. Photos roughly 2x review credibility for future homeowners reading them.
• Auto-thank-you + referral nudge — once the Google review posts, an auto-thank-you fires and the contact moves into the referral program drip.

How it works under the hood

The flow is two workflows: the review request and the rating gate:

1. Stage trigger — project pipeline moves to punch-list-signed.
2. 24-hour wait — gives the homeowner one full night of sleep in the finished space; the emotional state shifts from “I want this over” to “I love this kitchen.”
3. Rating SMS — “How was your experience with [Company]? Reply 1-5.”
4. Branch on reply — 5 → Google review link. 4 → private form thanking them and asking what would have made it a 5. 1-3 → urgent SMS to the PM, do not send a public review request.
5. Track to outcome — workflow watches the Google profile via the GHL reputation integration and confirms the review posted (or didn’t), and reports weekly.

What it’s NOT

• Not review suppression. The 1-5 gate routes private first, but no homeowner is blocked from leaving a public review. Anyone can leave one any time. The gate just controls which direction the GC’s own outreach pushes them.
• Not paid review generation. Nothing is offered in exchange for a review. No gift cards, no discounts, no entries into a raffle. That violates Google’s TOS and tanks your profile if caught.
• Not Yelp-focused. Default is Google because Google reviews drive Local Service Ads, Maps placement, and 80%+ of organic discovery. Yelp can be added as a secondary destination on request.
• Not a substitute for a real reputation strategy. If you have a structural quality problem, the workflow can’t paint over it. It captures the legitimate happiness that’s already there; it doesn’t manufacture happiness.

Why 24 hours after punch-list

Day-of-handover is the worst day to ask. The homeowner is mentally tracking the last 3 things on the punch list, the dust is still settling, and a $40,000 wire transfer just left their account. Their emotional state is “relief,” not “celebration.”

24 hours later, they’ve slept in the new space, made coffee in the new kitchen, taken the first shower in the new bath. They’re texting friends photos. That’s the moment. The Google review SMS that lands then converts at roughly 3-4x the day-of equivalent.

Wait too long (past 7 days) and you’ve missed the peak. The workflow’s exact window is 24-72 hours.