The short answer: 75% of consumers always or regularly read reviews before choosing a local door company. Every 10 new Google reviews generates a 2.8% improvement in Google Business Profile conversion. A systematic post-install review request sequence — automated, three-touch, sent within the pre-appointment experience week after installation — is the highest-ROI marketing investment most door companies haven't built. The cost is near zero. The compounding return is permanent.
Review Generation at Scale: The Post-Install Sequence Every Door Company Should Be Running
Your installation crews are doing good work. Doors are installed correctly. Homeowners are happy. And none of that happiness is showing up in your review count.
75% of consumers always or regularly read reviews before choosing a local business. Your future customers are deciding whether to call you based on what your past customers wrote — and most of your past customers, even the happy ones, were never asked.
The number of satisfied customers who review without being asked is approximately 10-20%. The number who review when asked directly, immediately after a positive experience, with a single-tap link, is 40-60%.
That gap is a marketing decision. Here's how to close it.
The typical post-install experience for a homeowner: the installation crew leaves. They get a follow-up call from accounts receivable about the remaining payment balance. Then nothing.
The homeowner who is satisfied has no prompt, no reminder, and no easy path to leaving a review. They intend to do it. They forget. Their 5-star experience becomes a 0-contribution to your reputation.
The homeowner who is dissatisfied — even with a minor issue — has no resolution channel and eventually finds their way to Google, Yelp, or BBB. Their negative experience gets documented. Your satisfied customers don't.
The result, at scale: your review profile is disproportionately negative relative to your actual customer satisfaction rate.
This sequence triggers automatically upon installation completion — a flag in your CRM or scheduling system that fires when an install is marked done.
Touch 1: Immediate thank-you (within 24 hours of installation)
Channel: Text (for speed and open rate). Email backup if no mobile number.
"Hi [Name], this is [Company] — your new [door type] installation was completed today! Thank you for choosing us. If anything needs attention in the first 48 hours, call us directly at [number] — we want to make sure everything is exactly right."
This text accomplishes two things: it opens a service channel before any dissatisfaction has time to become a review, and it starts a positive interaction sequence with a text that doesn't immediately ask for anything.
Touch 2: Review Request (3 days after installation)
Channel: Text with direct Google review link.
"Hi [Name], hope you're loving your new door! If you have a moment, we'd really appreciate a Google review — it helps homeowners like you find us. Here's a direct link: [link]"
The 3-day window is deliberate. Too early and the homeowner hasn't had time to appreciate the installation. Too late and the momentum fades. Three days is the sweet spot — the door has been used, noticed by neighbors, and commented on enough to generate genuine positive feeling.
The direct link matters. "Please leave us a review" produces friction. A link that opens directly to the Google review form removes all friction. Tap once, see five stars and a text box, tap submit. The ask should take under 90 seconds.
Touch 3: Referral Ask (7 days after installation)
Channel: Email (longer form than text).
Subject: "Your door is one week old — do you know anyone who'd love one?"
"[Name] — it's been a week since we installed your [door type] and we hope you're still loving it. A few things:
- Here's your warranty card and maintenance guide for [material] doors [link].
- If you know anyone looking for door installation, we'd love to help them — and we'll send you a $75 gift card for any completed installation that comes from your referral. Here's your referral link: [link].
- If anything needs attention, reply directly to this email."
This email does three things in one: delivers the warranty/maintenance information (useful, trust-building), makes the referral ask with a specific incentive (revenue-generating), and keeps the service channel open (relationship-protecting).
What a Review System Does to Your Numbers
Let's be concrete about the math.
If you do 20 installations per month and convert 40% of your post-install text recipients into reviews, that's 8 new Google reviews per month. In 12 months: 96 new reviews.
Every 10 new reviews generates a 2.8% improvement in GBP conversion. At 96 reviews over 12 months, your GBP conversion improves by approximately 26.9%.
That's not a small number. At 100 monthly GBP profile visitors with a current 5% conversion rate, that's 5 calls per month. At 26.9% improvement, it's 6.3 calls per month — and each of those is a first-party, high-intent lead.
Compound that effect across 24 months and see how you benchmark against others in the industry and the review system is generating leads at near-zero cost per acquisition.
The Referral Multiplier
Referral customers convert at 40-60% and spend 16% more on average than leads from paid sources.
The week-7 referral email is not a gimmick. It's a systematic activation of the referral capacity that every satisfied customer has but almost never uses, because no one asked with a clear incentive and an easy mechanism.
One home improvement company that implemented a structured referral program saw a 50% increase in referral sales. That's not from a huge incentive — it's from asking systematically.
At the manufacturer level, there's an additional visibility play. Manufacturers deploying Threekit across their dealer network can track which dealers are converting Threekit leads effectively and which aren't. A manufacturer who knows Dealer A is generating strong reviews and Dealer B isn't can intervene with coaching, incentives, or system changes at the specific dealer level. Threekit's AI Lead Intelligence gives manufacturers this dealer-by-dealer visibility - showing which partners are moving leads through to sold jobs and which are bottlenecking. That visibility enables precision in dealer development, not just broad network complaints.
A $75 gift card per completed referral is a meaningful incentive for the referring homeowner and a trivial acquisition cost relative to any paid channel. At your average job value, $75 is less than 1% of revenue.
Handling the Rare Negative Experience Before It Becomes a Review
Touch 1 in the sequence — the 24-hour thank-you text with a direct service number — is the catch. A homeowner with a concern who receives this text immediately has a path to resolution that doesn't involve Google.
"Actually, there's a small gap at the base of the door I'm a little worried about" is a manageable, addressable issue. If you catch it in 24 hours, a crew visits, it's fixed in 30 minutes, and the homeowner's experience ends with a "they were so responsive" story instead of a negative review.
If no one asked, the homeowner spends three days looking at the gap, deciding not to bother calling, growing more frustrated, and finally going to Google to warn others.
The 24-hour service text is not just relationship management. It's reputation management.
If you're building the full post-install sequence as part of a broader marketing automation stack, Threekit's AI Agent handles the pre-appointment leg of this journey — the product exploration and lead qualification that sets the whole experience on the right foot.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get more Google reviews as a door company?
A systematic three-touch post-install sequence: 24-hour thank-you text (opens service channel), 3-day review request text with direct Google review link, and 7-day referral email with incentive. The direct review link is critical — it reduces friction from "intending to review" to actually reviewing. 40-60% of homeowners will review when asked immediately after a positive experience.
When is the best time to ask for a review after door installation?
3 days after installation. Too early and the homeowner hasn't had enough time with the door. Too late and the enthusiasm fades. The 3-day window captures peak satisfaction — the door has been used, noticed by neighbors, and commented on. A direct link in the text is essential.
How much do Google reviews affect a door company's local search ranking?
Significantly. Every 10 new Google reviews generates a 2.8% improvement in Google Business Profile conversion, per BrightLocal research. Review volume and recency are among the factors Google uses for local three-pack ranking. A door company with 200 recent reviews outranks a competitor with 40 older reviews in most local markets.
How do you handle a negative review situation before it becomes public?
Send a 24-hour post-install thank-you text with a direct service contact. Homeowners with concerns who have a clear, easy path to resolution use it — resolving the issue in 24-48 hours before it turns into a frustrated Google review. This requires the text to arrive before dissatisfaction has had time to calcify into a complaint.
What is the right referral incentive for a door company?
$50-$100 per completed installation from a referral is the most common range — high enough to be meaningful for the referring homeowner, low enough to be sustainable at scale. A gift card is more effective than account credit because it feels tangible and immediate. Referral customers convert at 40-60% and spend 16% more than average, making even a $100 referral incentive a very low acquisition cost.