Why Most MSPs Are Leaving Review Gold on the Table

I’ve been working with MSPs for over a decade, and I’ve seen the same pattern repeat itself countless times. You provide excellent service, solve complex problems, and keep businesses running smoothly. Your clients love you. But when potential customers search for your services online, they find… crickets. Maybe a handful of reviews, mostly from years ago.

Here’s the thing: you’re not lacking happy clients, you’re lacking a system to capture their satisfaction.

The traditional approach to getting reviews is fundamentally flawed. Most MSPs wait until contract renewal time or major project completion to ask for testimonials. They send a generic email to the company owner or IT director asking for a review. This approach misses 90% of your review opportunities.

Think about it: How many individual end users do you interact with at each client company? The receptionist whose computer you fixed, the accountant whose printer you got working, the sales manager whose email you restored from backup. Each of these interactions is a potential 5-star review, but most MSPs never tap into this goldmine.

The Hidden Cost of Missing Reviews

Every uncaptured positive interaction costs you money. In 2025, 93% of consumers read online reviews before choosing a service provider. For B2B services like MSPs, this number is even higher. When prospects can’t find recent, authentic reviews from real users, they move on to competitors who have better social proof.

I learned this lesson the hard way early in my career. We had a client, a 50-person accounting firm, where we’d helped dozens of employees over the years. Everyone loved working with us. But when they finally left one review, it was from the grumpy office manager who was having a bad day. That single 2-star review sat there for months, representing our entire online reputation for that relationship.

The Smart MSP Way to Get More 5-Star Reviews: The Multi-Touch Strategy

The secret sauce isn’t in the ask; it’s in the frequency and timing. Every time you close a support ticket, you have a warm lead for a review. The person you just helped is experiencing peak satisfaction with your service. They remember your name, they appreciate what you did, and they’re most likely to say positive things about the experience.

But here’s where most MSPs go wrong: they either don’t follow up at all, or they send people directly to Google Reviews or Facebook without any filtering system.

Why Direct Public Review Requests Are Dangerous

Let’s be honest about something every MSP knows but rarely admits: we don’t hit home runs on every single ticket. Sometimes the fix takes longer than expected. Sometimes the client had unrealistic expectations. Sometimes there are complications beyond our control.

In the tech world, even when you solve the problem, the client might be frustrated about the downtime, the time it took, or the fact that the issue happened in the first place. If you send these mixed-satisfaction clients directly to public review platforms, you’re rolling the dice with your online reputation.

I remember one MSP owner telling me about a ticket where they successfully recovered critical data from a failed server, saving the client thousands of dollars. But the client was still annoyed about the 4-hour downtime. When asked for a review, they left 3 stars on Google with a comment about “slow response times.” The MSP did excellent work, but the public review didn’t reflect that.

The Two-Path Review Funnel Solution

This is where The Smart MSP Way to Get More 5-Star Reviews really shines. Instead of sending everyone directly to public platforms, you create a filtering system that protects your reputation while still capturing valuable feedback.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Send a follow-up email after every ticket closure. “Hi [Name], we just closed your support ticket regarding [issue]. How satisfied were you with our service today? Please rate your experience from 1-5 stars.”

Step 2: Create two different paths based on their response

• 4-5 Star Path: Redirect happy customers to your public review platforms (Google, Facebook, industry-specific sites)
• 1-3 Star Path: Redirect unsatisfied customers to a private feedback form where you can address their concerns and improve your service

This approach gives you the best of both worlds: you protect your public reputation from negative reviews while still learning from dissatisfied customers and maximizing positive review collection.

Building Your Review Funnel: The Technical Implementation

Now, you might be thinking, “This sounds great in theory, but how do I actually build this system?” The good news is that most modern PSA (Professional Services Automation) platforms have the basic functionality you need. The challenge is setting it up correctly and making it seamless.

Essential Components of Your Review Funnel

1. Automated Email Triggers Your PSA should automatically send a follow-up email when a ticket status changes to “Closed” or “Resolved.” This email should come from the technician who worked on the ticket, making it personal and relevant.

2. Star Rating Landing Page Create a simple landing page with five clickable stars. This page should be mobile-friendly since many users will access it on their phones. The page should clearly identify your company and reference the specific ticket or service they received.

3. Conditional Redirects Based on the star rating clicked, users should be automatically redirected to different destinations:

• 4-5 stars → Public review platforms
• 1-3 stars → Private feedback form

4. Feedback Collection Form For lower ratings, create a form that captures:

• Contact information
• Company details
• Specific feedback about what went wrong
• How can you improve
• Permission to follow up

PSA Integration Strategies

ConnectWise Users: Set up automated workflows in ConnectWise Automate that trigger email sequences when tickets are closed. Use custom fields to track which clients have been contacted and their response rates.

Autotask Users: Leverage Autotask’s workflow rules to send follow-up emails automatically. Create custom forms for feedback collection and integrate with your CRM for follow-up tracking.

ServiceNow Users: Use ServiceNow’s business rules and email notifications to create automated follow-up sequences. The platform’s robust reporting can help you track review funnel performance.

Other PSA Platforms: Most modern PSA tools have similar automation capabilities. Look for workflow automation, email templates, and custom field functionality.

The MSPhubHQ Shortcut

If you’re thinking, “This sounds like a lot of technical work,” you’re right. Setting up effective review funnels requires time, testing, and ongoing optimization. That’s where solutions like MSPhubHQ come in handy.

MSPhubHQ has already done the heavy lifting of creating proven review funnels specifically designed for MSPs. You can see an example of what this funnel looks like at: https://mspexample.com/review

The advantage of using a pre-built solution is that it’s been tested with thousands of MSP interactions, optimized for conversion rates, and designed to integrate with popular PSA platforms. Instead of spending weeks building and testing your own system, you can implement a proven solution and start collecting more reviews immediately.

Maximizing Review Collection: Advanced Strategies

Once you have your basic funnel in place, there are several advanced strategies you can use to maximize your review collection and improve the quality of feedback you receive.

Timing Optimization

Immediate Follow-up: Send your review request within 2-4 hours of ticket closure while the positive experience is fresh in the client’s mind.

Day-of-Week Testing: Track which days generate the highest response rates. Many MSPs find that Tuesday through Thursday work better than Mondays or Fridays.

Time-of-Day Optimization: Test different send times to see when your clients are most likely to respond. For B2B clients, mid-morning (10-11 AM) often works well.

Personalization Strategies

Technician-Specific Emails: Have the follow-up email come from the actual technician who worked on the ticket, not a generic company email address.

Ticket-Specific References: Include specific details about what was fixed or accomplished in the follow-up email.

Company-Specific Customization: Tailor your email templates for different types of clients (law firms, medical practices, manufacturing, etc.).

Multi-Channel Approaches

Don’t limit yourself to just email follow-ups. Consider:

SMS Follow-ups: For urgent or high-touch clients, a brief SMS can be very effective.

Phone Calls: For major issue resolutions or VIP clients, a quick phone call to ensure satisfaction can lead to enthusiastic reviews.

In-Person Requests: When you’re on-site, mention that you’ll be sending a quick satisfaction survey and encourage participation.

Incentive Programs

While you should never pay for reviews (it violates most platform policies), you can incentivize participation in your feedback process:

Service Credits: Offer small service credits for completing satisfaction surveys (not specifically for positive reviews).

Priority Support: Give review participants priority in your support queue.

Educational Resources: Provide valuable IT resources or training to clients who participate in your feedback program.

Ready to Transform Your Review Collection?

Stop leaving 5-star reviews on the table! See how MSPs are using automated review funnels to collect 300% more positive reviews while protecting their online reputation.

Measuring Success: KPIs and Optimization

Implementing The Smart MSP Way to Get More 5-Star Reviews is just the beginning. To truly maximize your results, you need to track the right metrics and continuously optimize your approach.

Essential Metrics to Track

Review Collection Rate: What percentage of closed tickets result in review requests being sent? This should be close to 100% for an automated system.

Response Rate: What percentage of review requests get responses? Industry benchmarks suggest 15-25% is good, 25%+ is excellent.

Star Distribution: Track the breakdown of 1-5 star responses to identify service quality trends.

Public Review Conversion: Of the 4-5 star responses, how many actually leave public reviews? This is typically 30-50% of positive responses.

Feedback Resolution Rate: For negative feedback collected privately, track how many issues you successfully resolve and convert to positive experiences.

A/B Testing Opportunities

Email Subject Lines: Test different approaches like “How did we do?” vs. “Quick favor?” vs. “Your feedback matters.”

Email Timing: Test sending immediately after ticket closure vs. 24 hours later vs. end of business day

Star Rating Page Design: Test different layouts, colors, and messaging to improve click-through rates

Follow-up Sequences: Test single emails vs. 2-3 email sequences for non-responders

Case Study: Regional MSP Success Story

Let me share a real example of how this strategy transformed one MSP’s online presence. TechSupport Solutions (name changed for privacy) was a 12-person MSP serving about 80 clients in the Pacific Northwest. When they started, they had 14 total Google reviews accumulated over 5 years.

Their Challenge: Despite excellent client relationships and low churn, they struggled to compete with larger MSPs who had dozens of recent reviews. New prospects often chose competitors based on social proof alone.

Implementation: They implemented a review funnel system integrated with their ConnectWise PSA. Every closed ticket triggered an automated email 3 hours later asking for satisfaction feedback.

Results After 6 Months:

• Total reviews increased from 14 to 127
• Average rating improved from 4.1 to 4.8 stars
• Review velocity increased to 15-20 new reviews per month
• Lead quality improved as prospects mentioned positive reviews in sales calls
• Close rate increased by 23% as social proof reduced sales cycle friction

The Secret to Their Success: They focused on volume and consistency rather than perfection. Not every review was 5 stars, but the steady stream of authentic, recent feedback built tremendous credibility.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Over-Automation: Don’t make the process so robotic that it feels impersonal. Include specific ticket details and technician names in follow-up emails.

Review Platform Overload: Don’t send people to 5 different review sites. Pick 2-3 primary platforms (usually Google and one industry-specific site) and focus your efforts.

Ignoring Negative Feedback: The private feedback from 1-3 star responses is gold for service improvement. Create a process to address these issues and follow up with the clients.

Inconsistent Follow-through: If you collect negative feedback privately, you must follow up and attempt to resolve the issues. Ignoring this feedback damages client relationships.

Advanced Integration: CRM and Marketing Automation

The Smart MSP Way to Get More 5-Star Reviews becomes even more powerful when integrated with your broader marketing and client management systems.

CRM Integration Strategies

Client Satisfaction Scoring: Use review funnel data to create satisfaction scores for each client account. This helps identify at-risk accounts and advocates.

Upsell Opportunity Identification: Clients who consistently give 5-star ratings are prime candidates for additional services or referral requests.

Service Quality Tracking: Track satisfaction ratings by technician to identify training opportunities and top performers.

Marketing Automation Enhancements

Segmented Follow-up Campaigns: Create different email sequences for different types of clients or service categories.

Referral Request Automation: Automatically send referral requests to clients who have given multiple 5-star ratings.

Case Study Development: Identify highly satisfied clients for potential case study development based on their review history.

Sales Process Integration

Social Proof in Proposals: Include recent, relevant reviews in your sales proposals and presentations.

Objection Handling: Use specific review quotes to address common objections during sales calls.

Reference Customer Identification: Clients with high satisfaction scores become ideal reference customers for prospects.