Reviews reduce their risk

Turns out a lot of you wanted the deeper-dive on the 5 underrated assets I touched on last week. So let’s kick it off with reviews.

Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes for a second… They’re about to drop serious money with a stranger.

They can’t read your code, they can’t critique your design system, and they can’t tell good SEO from keyword stuffing. But the choice they make is going to have a massive impact on the future of their business. That’s honestly pretty scary.

That risk (or perceived risk) is greatly reduced when they can read the stories of dozens of other people who were once in their shoes and not only lived to tell the tale, but have gone out of their way to praise you after all was said and done.

Where should we collect reviews?

Google Business Profile is the obvious choice, and for good reason. They’re easy for clients to submit, they show up right there in Google search results, and they’re (mostly) trusted.

But they’re not the only game in town.

• Clutch still ranks well in search and (more importantly now) gets cited by LLMs when prospects ask AI for agency recommendations. The barrier is a lot higher on Clutch, but so is the weight.
• LinkedIn recommendations is smart because buyers research the person, not just the company. A recommendation from a happy client shows up when someone googles your name.

The trick is making it part of your process.

Most of us collect reviews in spurts with long stretches of nothing in between. You’re better off making the ask a standard part of how you finish projects, and an automask ask anytime a client thanks you for great work.

It’s totally normal to ask more than once (so don’t let silence stop you). And it’s perfectly reasonable to ask the same client for reviews on a different platform a year later.

What about clients you worked with a year ago and never asked?

Late last year I pulled my client list and flagged everyone who hadn’t left me a review. Sent them all a quick email saying I was trying to hit 50 reviews by year-end (I was 6 or 7 short) and asked if they’d help .

I hit 51 by the end of the day.

People want to help. Give them an excuse.

What do I do with all these reviews?

The obvious answers: put them on your website, in your proposals, and across your social channels.

But reviews are more than social proof. They’re a free marketing research document written by the exact people you want more of.

Throw them into Claude and ask what stands out, what comes up most often, what sets you apart. Pay attention to how your clients describe your work, your process, and your communication. Then use that language in your own marketing.

It’s the language your future clients already speak.