Local Business Surveys
Build a survey, collect answers by QR code in person, and get the themes summarised for you.
Reviews are a self-selected sample skewed heavily toward the extremes. Surveys sample the middle, which is where most of your customers and most of the actionable information actually sit.
What it does
Reviews are not a representative sample of your customers. They are a sample of the customers motivated enough to write something publicly, which selects almost entirely for the delighted and the annoyed. The large middle — satisfied, unremarkable, entirely typical — is essentially absent.
This matters because the middle is where the actionable information lives. Extremes tell you what went spectacularly right or wrong, both of which are usually already known internally. The undramatic feedback about a wait being slightly too long, or a form being confusing, is what actually changes operations, and reviews systematically exclude it.
Surveys sample differently. Asking at the point of service, briefly, catches people who would never have written anything publicly, which means the responses cluster around the typical experience rather than the memorable one. That is a different dataset answering a different question.
It also arrives earlier. A problem surfaced privately, on the day, can be fixed before it becomes a public review — which is not a way of suppressing criticism but of resolving it while resolution is still possible. Asking everyone for reviews regardless is what keeps that distinction honest.
Everything Local Business Surveys gives you
Point-of-service collection
QR-based collection while the experience is immediate rather than days later by email.
Assisted survey building
Generate a draft from your goal and edit, rather than starting from an empty form.
Short-form bias
Encourages three to five questions, which is where completion rates hold and the sample stays representative.
Theme summarisation
Free-text grouped into themes so the results are read rather than filed.
Low-score routing
Responses below a threshold sent straight to a manager while the situation is still recoverable.
Per-location attribution
Separate surveys and results per site, so findings are actionable rather than pooled.
Response tracking
Volume, completion rate and score trend per location.
Anonymity control
Choose whether responses are attributable, which materially changes what people are willing to say.
Exportable data
Raw responses and summaries for deeper analysis.
From setup to first result
- 1
Decide what you want to learn
One thing you would change based on the answer. Surveys asking everything produce data nobody acts on.
- 2
Keep it to three to five questions
Beyond that completion falls and the sample skews back toward the motivated.
- 3
Generate a code per location
So findings are attributable to a specific site rather than pooled.
- 4
Place it where the interaction ends
The counter, the receipt, the invoice — wherever the experience concludes.
- 5
Route low scores immediately
A problem surfaced privately can still be fixed. That window is short.
- 6
Read the theme summary
Not the raw responses. Summarisation is what makes the exercise repeatable past month one.
- 7
Change something and say so
Feedback collected and visibly ignored costs more goodwill than never having asked.
What changes with Local Business Surveys
- Writing a long survey
- Collecting and then ignoring
- Emailing days later
- Pooling results across locations
- Using surveys to filter review requests
- Reviews sample the extremes
- The middle holds the actionable information
- Timing determines who responds
- Private surfacing allows resolution
- Pooled results are not actionable
Reviews sample the extremes
Public writing selects for the delighted and the annoyed, excluding the typical customer almost entirely.
The middle holds the actionable information
Undramatic feedback about waits and confusion is what changes operations; extremes are usually already known.
Timing determines who responds
Asking at the point of service reaches people who would never write publicly days later.
Private surfacing allows resolution
A problem raised on the day can be fixed while fixing it still matters.
Pooled results are not actionable
Knowing something is wrong somewhere cannot be acted on; per-location attribution can.
Length changes the sample
A long survey is completed only by the motivated, which reintroduces the bias you were escaping.
What it measures
- Responses per location
- Completion rate
- Average score and trend
- Low-score alerts triggered
- Recurring themes
- Response rate against footfall
What you get out of it
A representative sample
The middle, not just the extremes.
Actionable detail
Undramatic feedback that changes operations.
Higher response
Point-of-service beats delayed email.
Readable results
Themes rather than raw lists.
Attributable
Per-location findings.
Early resolution
Problems surfaced while fixable.
What Local Business Surveys produces
Every output is exportable and white-label, with your branding and none of ours.
Responses
Raw answers per location.
Theme summary
Grouped themes across responses.
Score trend
Satisfaction over time per site.
Low-score alerts
Responses routed for attention.
Completion metrics
Response and completion rates.
Export
Data for further analysis.
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
- Keep it to three to five questions. Length reintroduces the self-selection bias surveys exist to escape.
- Collect at the point of service, because delayed collection samples the motivated all over again.
- Attribute per location, since knowing something is wrong somewhere cannot be acted on.
- Route low scores immediately, while the problem is still recoverable.
- Read theme summaries rather than raw responses, or the exercise lapses after the first month.
- Ask everyone for public reviews regardless — using surveys to filter who is asked is review gating.
Writing a long survey
Completion collapses and only the motivated finish, which restores exactly the bias you were trying to avoid.
Collecting and then ignoring
Customers who took the trouble see nothing change, which costs more goodwill than never asking.
Emailing days later
The experience has faded, response falls, and the responses that arrive skew back to the extremes.
Pooling results across locations
You learn something is wrong somewhere, which is not actionable at any site.
Using surveys to filter review requests
Directing unhappy customers to a private form and happy ones to Google is review gating and breaches policy.
Manually vs with Local Business Surveys
| Doing it manually | With Local Business Surveys |
|---|---|
| A sample skewed to extremes | A sample including the typical customer |
| Emailed days later | Collected at the point of service |
| Raw response lists | Themes summarised |
| Pooled across the business | Attributed per location |
| Problems found as public reviews | Surfaced privately while fixable |
| Long forms, poor completion | Short surveys people finish |
- Decide the one thing you want to learn
- Write three to five questions only
- Generate a code per location
- Place it where the interaction ends
- Configure low-score routing
- Read theme summaries monthly
- Change something and tell customers
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
Why not just rely on reviews?
Reviews are a self-selected sample skewed to the delighted and the annoyed. The typical customer is almost entirely absent.
Where is the actionable information?
In the middle of the distribution — undramatic feedback about waits and confusion, which reviews systematically exclude.
How long should a survey be?
Three to five questions. Longer surveys are completed only by the motivated, which restores the bias you were escaping.
Why collect in person rather than by email?
Because delayed collection samples the motivated again. Point-of-service reaches people who would never write publicly.
Can low scores alert a manager?
Yes, and they should. A problem surfaced privately can be resolved while resolution still matters.
Is this a way of filtering reviews?
No, and using it that way would be review gating, which breaches policy. Ask everyone for reviews regardless.
Should responses be anonymous?
It changes what people say. Anonymity increases candour; identification allows follow-up. Choose deliberately.
How are results summarised?
Free-text responses grouped into themes, which is what makes the exercise repeatable beyond the first month.
Can surveys differ per location?
Yes, and results are attributed per site, which is what makes them actionable.
What response rate should I expect?
Considerably higher than emailed surveys, though placement matters most — position it where the interaction ends.
Can I export the data?
Yes, raw responses and summaries, for deeper analysis or inclusion in reporting.
What should I ask about?
One thing you would actually change based on the answer. Surveys asking everything produce data nobody acts on.
Where should the code go?
Wherever the interaction concludes — counter, receipt, table, invoice.
Should I incentivise responses?
Small incentives are acceptable for surveys, unlike public reviews where incentives breach policy.
How often should I review results?
Monthly. Theme summaries make this quick, which is what stops the exercise lapsing.
What if responses reveal an operational problem?
That is the most valuable outcome. Fix it and tell customers — closing the loop is what makes feedback worth collecting.
Can I track satisfaction over time?
Yes, per location, which shows whether changes actually improved the experience.
Does it work for B2B?
Yes, though collection is usually by link after a milestone rather than by code at a counter.
How does this relate to reviews?
It samples a different population and arrives earlier. The two answer different questions and both are worth having.
What is the biggest mistake?
Collecting feedback and changing nothing. Customers notice, and it costs more than never having asked.
Every tool. One price. No add-ons.
$5.33 per location per month gets you Local Business Surveys and the other 41 tools.