Your Next Big Booking Will Come From A Review, Not An Advert

Your Next Big Booking Will Come From A Review, Not An Advert

You want more private bookings, weddings, corporate events and festival invites. It is tempting to think the answer is a bigger ad budget. In reality, your next big booking is most likely to come from a happy customer who took 60 seconds to leave a review. Reviews create instant trust, reduce the risk for new customers and help event organisers choose you before they have even met you. In this guide, you will learn how to collect more reviews, what to say when you ask, where to send people, and how to turn every great review into a steady stream of enquiries.

If you are building a repeatable system to win bookings for your food truck or coffee shop, you will find more practical marketing support at Born & Raised Collective.

Why Reviews Beat Adverts For Trust

• Proof beats promise: An advert is your claim. A review is the customer’s evidence.
• Low friction: Decision makers scan reviews on Google, Facebook and your website. Seeing recent, specific feedback removes doubt and speeds up decisions.
• Local visibility: Regular new reviews help your profiles stay active, which can improve visibility for searches like food truck near me or coffee cart hire in your town.
• Social amplification: Review content can be reused on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and in proposals to warm up leads at zero extra media cost.

The Core System In One Look

Keep this simple three step rhythm:

1. Ask within 24 hours of each event.
2. Make it easy with a direct link.
3. Post your best reviews regularly.

That rhythm compounds. If you complete ten small events this month and capture six reviews, that is six new reasons for your next client to trust you. Repeat it each month and you have a review engine that grows on autopilot.

Step 1: Ask Within 24 Hours

Timing matters. When guests are still talking about your food and the organiser is relieved everything went smoothly, they are most likely to respond. Send a short message the same day or the morning after.

Use one of these message templates:

Step 2: Make It Easy With A Direct Link

Never make people hunt for where to leave feedback. Put a single clear link in your message and on a QR card at service. Here are useful destinations to prioritise:

• Google Business Profile reviews: Most event planners check Google first. Create a short link to your review form and reuse it everywhere.
• Facebook Page reviews: Good for social proof and community reach.
• Your website: A testimonials page backed by screenshots or embedded widgets adds credibility and keeps people on your site.

Tip: keep one master link list in your phone notes so your team can paste the right link in seconds.

Step 3: Post Your Best Reviews Regularly

Do not let great feedback gather dust. Put your reviews to work so new prospects see them repeatedly.

• Weekly social proof post: Share one review as a feed post and story. Add a photo from the event with a caption that highlights the outcome, such as served 220 guests in 90 minutes for Acme Ltd.
• Website placement: Feature three recent reviews above the fold on your hire page and longer testimonials on a dedicated page.
• Proposals and quotes: Add two relevant reviews to every quote PDF or email you send. Match the review to the client type, for example, wedding, corporate, community fundraiser.

For practical content ideas and templates you can copy and paste, visit Born & Raised Collective.

How To Get Specific, High Quality Reviews

Specific reviews are more persuasive than generic praise. Nudge customers to include useful details by asking a gentle follow up:

• What stood out about the service or food presentation
• How guests reacted or how quickly service moved
• What problem you solved, for example, dietary requests, queue management, late venue access
• Whether they would book again or recommend you

Prompt you can add under your link: If you are not sure what to say, a sentence on what you ordered, how the service felt and whether you would book again is perfect.

Responding To Reviews The Smart Way

Reply to every review. It shows you care, adds fresh content to your profile and gives future clients more reasons to trust you.

• Positive review reply: Thank by name, reference the event, and mention one specific detail. Example: Thanks Sarah for trusting us with your summer party at the marina. Delighted the gluten free churros went down so well.
• Neutral review reply: Thank them and invite them back, while offering a private line for any suggestions.
• Negative review reply: Acknowledge, apologise if appropriate, explain your fix, and move offline. Keep it short. Future readers care more about how you handled it than the score itself.

Dealing With The Fear Of Asking

Some owners avoid asking because it feels awkward. Remember, you just worked hard to deliver a great experience. Many customers are happy to help if you make it quick. You are not begging. You are offering them a chance to support a local business they already like. Set a team rule that the ask is standard practice, the same as cleaning the grill or closing the till.

Build Review Habits Into Your Operations

• Assign ownership: One person is responsible for sending the review message within 24 hours.
• Use a checklist: Add Review request sent to your post event checklist.
• Automate where possible: Many booking systems and POS tools allow follow up messages. If not, calendar reminders work well.
• Track weekly: Keep a simple tally of events completed, review requests sent and reviews received.

Where To Showcase Reviews For Maximum Impact

Put social proof in the places that matter most to buyers:

1. Hire or catering enquiry page: Add a short quote near your enquiry form to reduce friction.
2. Menu or product pages: Pair review snippets with best selling items.
3. Instagram Highlights: Create a Reviews highlight with short clips and screenshots.
4. Printed materials: Add one killer review line to banners, pull ups or menus at events.

Turn Reviews Into Story Posts And Reels

Three easy content formats you can repeat:

• Before and after: Show the empty space, then the queue and service in flow, overlay the review text.
• Client name and result: For example, Acme Ltd summer social, 180 staff served in 75 minutes, zero waste left behind, five star review from events manager.
• Voiceover: Read a short review over clips of your team serving. End with a simple call to book.

What To Do If You Have Few Or No Reviews

Start where you are. Line up your next three events and commit to asking all three organisers. If you are light on events, reach out to past customers and say you are building your reviews to help future clients. Provide the direct link and keep it short. One new review a week is 52 per year, which is more than most local competitors.

Mini Swipe File You Can Copy

Simple Metrics To Watch

• Review request rate: Requests sent divided by events completed. Aim for 90 percent plus.
• Review conversion rate: Reviews received divided by requests sent. Aim for 30 to 60 percent depending on audience.
• Recency: At least three reviews in the last 60 days.
• Relevance: Reviews grouped by event type on your site so prospects can skim the ones that match their need.

FAQ

Should I incentivise reviews

It is better to avoid monetary incentives. A simple thank you, a quick link and a clear explanation of why reviews help is enough. Keep it clean and genuine.

What if a client is unhappy

Invite private feedback first. Ask what went wrong, fix it if you can and only ask for a review once they are satisfied. If a negative review appears, reply calmly, state the fix and move on.

How many review platforms do I need

Start with Google because it is the most visible, then add Facebook if your audience is active there. Mirror your best reviews on your website for a complete story.

Can I shorten long reviews

Yes, when resharing. Use a short excerpt with quotation marks and keep the full version available on the original platform or on your site.

Action Checklist For This Week

• Create or find your direct Google review link and save it to your phone notes.
• Design a small QR code card for your counter or serving window.
• Add Ask for a review to your post event checklist.
• Schedule one weekly social post that features a recent review.
• Add three reviews to your enquiry page above the form.

Bring It All Together

Your food sells the experience. Your reviews sell the next event. Keep your system simple. Ask within 24 hours, make it effortless to respond and show your best feedback wherever decisions are made. If you want more templates, examples and done for you assets to plug into your business, visit Born & Raised Collective for resources built for food trucks and coffee shops that want steady bookings without relying on paid adverts.

Ready To Collect More Reviews

If this guide helped, save it, share it with your team and take five minutes to build your review flow today. The results compound. One strong review can be the difference between a cold enquiry and a confirmed booking.

For more guides, swipe files and booking systems that work in the real world, head to Born & Raised Collective.