Your most recent customers are not your only source of Google reviews. Every job you completed last year, the year before, even three years ago represents a real person who experienced your work firsthand. Many of those customers were satisfied. They just never got a clear, convenient ask.
A reactivation campaign is a focused way to reach those past customers and ask now. Done carefully, it can add new reviews to your profile without pressuring customers, offering incentives, or creating the kind of sudden spike that looks unnatural.
Here is the practical version.
Quick Answer
Build a clean list of past customers from the last one to three years, remove anyone who already reviewed you or had an unresolved issue, send a short personal message with your direct Google review link, follow up once after five to seven days, then stop. Keep sends in batches so the campaign looks like normal customer follow-up, not a blast.
How Is a Google Review Reactivation Campaign Different from a Standard Ask?
A standard review request goes out shortly after a job is completed. The work is fresh, the customer is still thinking about the experience, and the ask feels natural.
A reactivation campaign is different because the relationship is colder. You are contacting customers you never asked, or customers who were asked once and did not respond. They may remember you immediately, or they may need a quick reminder of the work you did.
That is why the tone matters. You are not chasing people. You are reconnecting politely with customers who already trusted you once. A smaller response rate is normal, but even a modest response from a real past-customer list can make your review profile feel more current.
Who Should You Include in Your Reactivation List?
Before you send anything, pull together a clean list of past customers. Your sources will depend on how your business operates, but common places to look include:
- Your invoicing or job management software
- Your CRM if you use one
- Email records from completed jobs
- Old booking confirmations or estimate follow-ups
Focus on customers from roughly the past one to three years. Contacts older than that tend to have outdated email addresses or phone numbers, and the response rate usually drops.
Remove anyone who already left you a review, anyone who had a disputed or unresolved issue, and anyone who explicitly asked not to be contacted. That last point matters both legally and for your reputation.
What Should You Say in a Reactivation Review Request?
Keep the message short. Past customers do not need a long explanation. They need to know who you are, why you are reaching out, and how to leave the review if they are willing.
A good reactivation message does three things:
- Reminds them who you are and what work you did
- Explains briefly why reviews matter to your business
- Gives them a direct link so leaving a review takes less than a minute
Here is a simple structure that works:
Subject: A quick favor from [Your Business Name]
Hi [First Name], this is [Your Name] from [Business Name]. We took care of [type of work] for you back in [approximate timeframe]. We hope everything is still holding up well.
We are trying to grow our Google reviews so more local homeowners can find us. If you were happy with the work, we would really appreciate a quick review. It only takes about a minute.
[Direct Google Review Link]
Thanks for your time.
Notice there is no pressure and no incentive offered. Google policy does not allow businesses to offer rewards in exchange for reviews, so keep the ask clean and honest.
Should You Use Email or SMS for a Reactivation Campaign?
Email and SMS both work for reactivation campaigns, but they behave differently.
Email gives you a little more room and tends to feel less intrusive for older contacts. SMS gets higher open rates, but the message needs to be even shorter. If you use SMS, get to the point quickly and include the link near the top.
If you have both email and a mobile number for a contact, start with email. If there is no response after five to seven days, a single follow-up SMS is reasonable. Do not keep chasing across both channels. That crosses from helpful into annoying quickly.
How Many Times Should You Follow Up in a Reactivation Campaign?
Send your initial message once. Wait five to seven days. Send one follow-up if there was no response. Then stop.
Two touchpoints per contact is the right ceiling for a reactivation campaign. Past customers gave you their contact information to receive service updates, not ongoing marketing. Respecting that boundary keeps your reputation intact and reduces unsubscribes.
For timing within the day, mid-morning on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday is usually a sensible starting point for both email and SMS. Avoid Friday afternoons and weekends unless your customer base clearly behaves differently.
Should You Send All Reactivation Requests at Once?
Do not blast your entire list at once. Google has warned businesses against review practices that look manipulative, and a sudden unnatural spike can create moderation risk.
A safer approach is to send your reactivation campaign in batches over two to four weeks. If you have 300 contacts, sending 75 per week is more sustainable than sending all 300 in one day. It also gives you time to respond to incoming reviews as they post, which looks better to anyone reading your profile.
How Does Ongoing Review Automation Fit Into a Reactivation Strategy?
Running a reactivation campaign manually is doable once. The bigger problem is that many local businesses do not have a consistent process for asking new customers either. The reactivation campaign fills a gap, but it does not fix the system that created the gap.
Automated review collection handles the ongoing ask so you never build up another backlog of customers who were never contacted. When every completed job triggers a review request without anyone on your team having to remember, your review count grows more steadily over time.
A reactivation campaign is a good reset. Automation is what keeps you from needing another one six months from now.
What Should You Do When Reactivation Reviews Start Coming In?
When reviews come in, respond to each one. Keep responses brief and genuine. Thank the customer by name if possible and mention the type of work. This signals to Google and to potential customers that there is a real person behind the business.
If a negative review surfaces during your campaign, do not ignore it. Respond calmly, acknowledge the issue, and invite the customer to contact you directly. A thoughtful response to a negative review can do more for trust than pretending every job was perfect.
Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a potential customer sees. Keeping it active, accurate, and well-reviewed is one of the most practical things you can do for your business right now. BrightLocal's local consumer review research has repeatedly shown how heavily consumers lean on reviews when evaluating local businesses, and Moz's local search ranking work reinforces that review signals are part of the broader local visibility picture.