Local Business Surveys
Build a survey, collect answers by QR code in person, and get the themes summarised for you.
Surveys open a private channel that captures a complaint before it becomes a public review. This is legitimate exactly because it is offered to everyone than used to filter who gets asked.
What it does
There is a narrow, solid use for asking customers what they thought before they write publicly: catching a problem while it can still be fixed. A dissatisfied customer who tells you directly can be answered, compensated or corrected. The same customer who writes publicly first has already made the judgement permanent.
The line between this and review gating is not subtle, and it is worth being precise about. Gating is asking everyone privately and then only inviting the satisfied ones to review publicly. That is against the rules and it is detectable. A survey that everybody receives, alongside a public review request that everybody also receives, is a different thing entirely.
The second use is the one businesses tend to underrate. A survey collects structured feedback about specific things. Waiting time, a particular step, a member of staff — which reviews rarely do. Three reviews mentioning slowness tell you there is a problem. Thirty survey responses tell you which part is slow.
That structure is what makes it operational than reputational. Reviews are a public record you respond to. Surveys are an internal instrument you act on. And treating the second as a substitute for the first is where this goes wrong.
Everything Local Business Surveys gives you
Sent to everyone
No selection by expected sentiment, which is what keeps it compliant.
Structured questions
Specific steps rated separately than one overall score.
Immediate routing on low scores
A poor response reaching someone who can act while it still matters.
Per-location results
Feedback attached to where it happened.
Trend over time
Whether a fixed problem stayed fixed.
Free-text capture
The comment, which is usually where the actual cause appears.
Response rate tracking
Because a survey nobody completes tells you nothing.
Separate from the review request
Both sent to everyone, so neither gates the other.
Theme detection
Recurring subjects across responses, which is the operational finding.
From setup to first result
- 1
Decide what you want to know
A survey without a question you intend to act on produces data nobody uses.
- 2
Ask about specific steps
Overall satisfaction is not actionable; the step that failed is.
- 3
Send it to everybody
Selection by expected sentiment is gating, whatever the survey is called.
- 4
Send the review request too
To everybody, separately. The survey is not a filter in front of it.
- 5
Route low scores immediately
The value is in reaching someone while the problem is still fixable.
- 6
Read the free text
The rating says there is a problem; the comment says what it was.
- 7
Track themes, not individual responses
Recurring subjects are the operational finding.
What changes with Local Business Surveys
- Using the survey to decide who gets a review request
- Asking only for an overall score
- Collecting responses nobody reads
- Treating surveys as a substitute for reviews
- Reacting to single responses
- Private feedback can still be acted on
- Structure produces causes
- Volume exceeds reviews
- Themes are operational findings
- Gating is detectable and prohibited
Private feedback can still be acted on
A complaint you hear first can be resolved. The same complaint published first is permanent.
Structure produces causes
Ratings on specific steps identify what failed; an overall score does not.
Volume exceeds reviews
Far more people complete a short survey than write a public review, so the sample is better.
Themes are operational findings
Thirty responses about one step is a process problem, not a reputation problem.
Gating is detectable and prohibited
Using a survey to decide who gets asked publicly breaches the rules and risks review removal.
Response rate qualifies everything
A survey with a very low completion rate is a biased sample, not a measurement.
What it measures
- Surveys sent
- Response rate
- Scores per step
- Recurring themes identified
- Low scores actioned
- Trend after a change
What you get out of it
Problems caught early
Before they are public.
Causes, not symptoms
Specific steps rated.
A larger sample
More responses than reviews.
Operational findings
Themes across responses.
Compliant by design
Everyone asked, both channels.
Verifiable improvement
Trend after a fix.
What Local Business Surveys produces
Every output is exportable and white-label, with your branding and none of ours.
Response data
Ratings per step, per location.
Free-text comments
Where the cause usually appears.
Theme report
Recurring subjects across responses.
Low-score alerts
Routed immediately.
Trend view
Whether a fix held.
Response rate
Per location and per period.
Who uses Local Business Surveys
Handle review response across a client base with consistent tone and measurable response rates.
See reputation by location and catch the branch dragging the average down.
Ensure every franchisee responds, without head office writing every reply.
Answer every review quickly without it becoming a daily chore.
Get more out of it
- Send the survey to everybody and the review request to everybody. Anything else is gating.
- Ask about specific steps than overall satisfaction, because only the specific version is actionable.
- Route low scores to a person immediately; the value decays quickly as the experience recedes.
- Read the free text. The rating establishes that something failed and the comment says what.
- Act on themes than individual responses, since one complaint is an incident and thirty is a process.
- Watch the response rate, because a very low one turns the results into a biased sample.
Using the survey to decide who gets a review request
That is review gating. It breaches the rules, risks review removal, and is detectable.
Asking only for an overall score
It tells you there is a problem and nothing about which part of the experience caused it.
Collecting responses nobody reads
A survey with no one acting on it consumes customer goodwill and returns nothing.
Treating surveys as a substitute for reviews
They are an internal instrument. Public reviews are a separate and necessary channel.
Reacting to single responses
One complaint is an incident. Themes across many responses are the finding worth acting on.
Manually vs with Local Business Surveys
| Doing it manually | With Local Business Surveys |
|---|---|
| Feedback only after it is public | A private channel first |
| One overall satisfaction score | Specific steps rated separately |
| Sent to selected customers | Sent to everybody |
| Used to filter review requests | Run alongside them |
| Individual responses actioned | Themes actioned |
| Response rate unmeasured | Response rate tracked |
- Decide which question you will act on
- Ask about specific steps, not overall feeling
- Send to every customer without selection
- Send the public review request separately to everyone
- Route low scores to a named person
- Read and categorise the free text
- Track themes and the response rate
Local Business Surveys is 1 of 42 tools you get
Every tool below is on the same plan at the same price. Nothing here is an add-on, an upgrade, or a separate subscription.
Rank & Visibility
Manage Profiles
Posts & Automation
Reviews & Reputation
Reports & White-Label
Others vs Local Rank Checker
How the usual pricing and packaging in this category compares with ours.
“Other tools” describes the common pattern across the category, not any one named product.
Local Business Surveys is included on every plan
One flat price per location covers all 42 tools. There is no higher tier, no add-on, and no per-seat charge.
- All 42 tools on every plan
- No per-seat charges
- No setup fee and no contract
- Cancel or change locations any time
Local Business Surveys questions
Is a survey the same as review gating?
No, provided everybody receives both the survey and the public review request. Gating is using one to decide who gets the other.
Why not just read the reviews?
Reviews are few, unstructured and written after the fact. Surveys produce a larger, structured sample about specific steps.
What should a survey ask?
About specific parts of the experience you could change. Overall satisfaction identifies a problem without locating it.
How long should it be?
Short enough to be completed. Three or four questions plus a comment field outperforms a longer form nobody finishes.
What response rate is reasonable?
It varies widely. What matters is that it is high enough not to be a biased sample. That you know what it is.
Should low scores be escalated?
Immediately, to someone who can act. The chance to resolve something decays quickly after the experience.
Can I offer an incentive to complete a survey?
For a private survey this is generally acceptable; for a public review it is not. Keep the two clearly separate.
Do surveys reduce negative reviews?
Sometimes, by resolving problems first. Using them deliberately to suppress reviews is gating and is prohibited.
What is the most useful field?
The free text. Ratings establish that something failed; the comment explains what.
How do I identify a theme?
Recurring subjects across many responses. A single complaint is an incident and should be treated as one.
Should results be per location?
Yes. Aggregated feedback cannot be acted on by anyone with responsibility for a specific site.
When should the survey be sent?
Close to the experience, while detail is still recalled. Delay reduces both response rate and usefulness.
Can survey responses be published?
Only with clear consent, and they are not a substitute for genuine public reviews.
What if scores are consistently high?
Then use the free text and the step-level detail. High averages hide specific failures routinely.
Does this replace review generation?
No. Both channels are needed and both should go to everyone.
How is a theme different from a trend?
A theme is what recurs across responses. A trend is whether it improved after you changed something.
Should staff see the results?
The themes, yes. Individual responses about individuals need handling carefully and privately.
What is the commonest failure?
Collecting responses nobody reads. It spends customer goodwill and returns nothing at all.
How often should the questions change?
Rarely. Changing them breaks comparability, which is what makes a trend readable.
What single rule keeps this compliant?
Everybody gets both. The survey never decides who is invited to review.
Every tool. One price. No add-ons.
$5.33 per location per month gets you Local Business Surveys and the other 41 tools.