When is the ideal moment to ask for customer reviews?

When should you ask your customers to leave a positive review? Immediately after their visit? A few hours, days or weeks later? Instinctively, the first option seems to be the right one. But is this really the case? A recent study conducted by the Universities of Nevada and Arizona State analyses the impact of the timing of the request on the likelihood of a customer leaving a review.

What is the best timeframe?

The researchers tested 4 timeframes for their research: the next day, five and nine days later, and 2 weeks later. Here are the results:

After 24 hours: 6% left a review
After 5 days: 3% 
After 9 days: 3%
After 14 days: 2% 

Logically, the percentage of reviews left declines over time. However, it is worth sending a request after 9 days and 2 weeks. If you don’t send a reminder, your customers are very unlikely to leave you a review so long after their visit. The figures in the study prove it: without a request, the number of reviews left is close to 0 after such a long time.