Improving response rates for review requests is an ongoing challenge for businesses. That’s often more likely to be the case if you’re delivering great products and great services, since many customers may only want to leave a negative review when something goes wrong, or they aren’t happy with the product.
The average survey response rate in the UK is just 33%.
Low response rates mean that you can’t use reviews to demonstrate how great your products and services are, or rely on customer insights contained in the data if more people replied to reviews.
As the world’s largest verified reviews platform, we know the benefit of receiving detailed customer feedback and how it can feed into your business – from improving processes, to informing your entire strategy. In this blog post, we’re sharing some of the most effective ways to boost your review response rates.
What are the benefits of having a high response rate?
You already know the benefits of collecting reviews from your customers – it is one of the easiest ways for you to understand how your customers are feeling.
But when it comes to collecting feedback, more is more. Reasons to aim for a high response rate include:
- A more detailed understanding across your entire customer base.
- More valuable insights that you can use to retain existing customers or attract new ones.
- More content to utilise as a conversion tool.
Collecting customer feedback can be done through a range of methods, like surveys, reviews, and social comments, and positive reviews can be used throughout your marketing. They can be displayed on product pages, where they will also benefit your SEO efforts, and can count towards a website’s Google Stars. Including them in your social media posts can improve trust, and encourage further comments that will drive more sales, especially if your products are available to purchase from your posts.
How to improve your response rate
While most businesses are unlikely to ever reach 100% response rates to review requests, there are a number of things you can do that will improve your response rate.
Send your emails to the right people
No matter what product or service you’re selling, not all your customers’ journeys will be the same, so there’s no reason why their emails should be.
Creating multiple campaigns to target different types of customers can help you provide the best customer journey, and give you better business insights.
With Feedback Request Manager, you can segment your customer data and create bespoke campaigns, so you can target specific customers with tailored requests and even adapt questions to specific customer journeys.
Send feedback requests at the right time
Optimise the time that your emails are sent to improve your click-to-open rate and your response rate is likely to improve.
If you’re building a calendar, the highest open and conversion rate tends to be in the middle of the week: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. According to Hubspot, emails sent at 1 pm have the highest click-to-open rates (22%), followed by 10 am (21%). There is a third spike in the evening, around 6 pm – when many people get home.
Businesses that operate in multiple territories will need to take into account various time zones and build out separate emails that target the optimal feedback request time of their customers.
Customer journey
Consider at which points in the customer journey you want to reach out to your customers. For example, do you want them to provide feedback on the ordering process, delivery, or the actual product or service itself – or maybe you want to give them an opportunity to leave a review at every point? Within Feedback Request Manager, you can set up email flows so customers have the opportunity to leave reviews at relevant points.
You’ll need the email to arrive at exactly the right time so that the experience is fresh in their minds, which should improve the chances of getting a reply.
CV Villas automatically sent review requests at multiple stages of the customer journey, rather than just the end. Customers could review their experience just after they had booked their trip, while they were at their destination, and when they returned back home. The insights that CV Villas gained from the extra feedback were invaluable, and they achieved a record year after implementing Feefo.
Craft effective subject lines
Your feedback request is an extension of your brand’s relationship with the customer. The subject line for your review request email should reflect your brand’s tone, be instantly recognisable, and feel like a natural continuation of your other communications. Data shows that personalised and relevant subject lines can increase open rates by up to 50% and drive higher engagement.
Best practices for survey email subject lines
- Be clear and direct: Straightforward subject lines consistently outperform clever or ambiguous ones. Recipients should instantly know what’s being asked of them – clarity builds trust and sets expectations.
- Personalise the email: Including the recipient’s name or referencing their recent interaction (e.g., a purchase or event) makes your email feel tailored and increases open rates. For example: “[Name], how was your recent purchase?” or “Your opinion matters, [Name]!”.
- Keep it short and mobile-friendly: Most emails are opened on mobile devices, so aim for fewer than 10 words. Short, punchy subject lines are less likely to be cut off and more likely to grab attention.
- Ask a question: Subject lines that pose a question (“How did we do?” or “What did you think of your experience?”) naturally engage recipients and invite participation.
- Create urgency or exclusivity: Adding a time-sensitive element (“Limited time to share your thoughts!”) or making the recipient feel part of an exclusive group (“Help shape our future – your feedback needed!”) may prompt faster action.
- Stay on-brand: Ensure the tone matches your brand voice. Consistency builds recognition and trust, making recipients more likely to engage.
Use an ethical way to incentivise reviews
Offering money off or extra products in return for a review generally isn’t advisable today. That’s especially true if you’re selling through eCommerce platforms such as Amazon, who penalise merchants that offer monetary rewards for reviews. However, offering customers a way to feel good about leaving a review that doesn’t benefit them can increase your response rate.
Our solution is Treefo, which donates funds to tree planting projects for every review collected. Why including Treefo in your review requests works:
- Customers feel like they’ve done something good for the planet by leaving a review – so they’re more likely to actually complete it.
- It shows that your business cares about meeting sustainability targets and supporting environmental causes, not just ticking boxes.
- Feefo’s partnership with Ecologi means that there’s genuine, real impact, and because it is provided by a third party, there isn’t any accusations of greenwashing that can be linked.
Feedback reminders
It is always worth following up on your feedback request with a quick reminder email, which provides another chance for customers who may have forgotten to respond to the initial request.
It’s key that your reminders aren’t sent too soon after your initial feedback request, as customers may find multiple emails annoying. As a general rule, a delay of five to seven days before sending a gentle reminder to leave their feedback is about right.
Your review collection platform should allow you to automate sending of surveys and follow-up emails.
Monitor performance
Make sure you’re monitoring performance effectively by measuring the right metrics. Recent privacy updates from email providers like Apple have made traditional open rate metrics less reliable. Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) now pre-loads email content, which can artificially inflate open rates and make it harder to measure genuine engagement.
The key metrics to monitor are:
- Open rates: The number of emails opened compared to the total number of emails sent. Still useful, but may be inflated due to privacy settings, so interpret with caution.
- Form conversion: Tracks how many users complete your feedback form; a direct measure of engagement.
- Click-through rate: Shows the percentage of recipients clicking links in your email, indicating real interest.
- Click-to-open rates: Measures clicks as a proportion of actual opens, giving insight into how compelling your content is.
Reviewing these metrics together helps you spot trends and see which aspects of your email requests are working best. Be sure to make one change at a time to your requests, so you can identify exactly what’s driving performance shifts.
Start collecting more customer feedback with Feefo
Boosting your review response rate isn’t just about collecting more feedback; it’s about unlocking deeper insights, building trust, and showcasing the true value of your products and services. By applying these proven strategies, you’ll increase engagement and strengthen your brand’s reputation to drive growth.
Ready to collect get number of reviews your business deserves? Start optimising your review requests with Feefo today. Get in touch with our team and discover how easy it is to make every customer voice count.
