Where to Place QR and NFC Review Stands in Your Branch

To set up a Google Maps review stand: create the branch link and QR code, print a ready design (a card, table stand, business card or poster), place it where customers wait or pay, write an open invitation on it with no reward and no request for stars, and test it with two phones before displaying it. A customer will not search the map for your shop's name to write a review, but may scan a code in front of them that opens the review form directly.

This article is about setup, places and wording. The strategy of collecting reviews, meaning when to display, what staff say and how to measure, is in collecting reviews in-store with QR codes and NFC.

Prepare the design with the free tool

The Google review link and QR tool creates the link and the code, and offers four print-ready designs:

• An A6 card.
• A table stand: A5 landscape folded in the middle so it stands.
• A business card of 85 by 55 mm, ten to an A4 sheet.
• An A4 poster for the door or the cashier.

Choose Save as PDF from the print window if you want a file. Google itself suggests printing the QR code and displaying it in your shop, but review QR codes can only be created from your Google profile in a computer browser, so the tool is easier for anyone working from a phone.

Places that suit most businesses

1. Beside the payment device: the customer waits for the receipt and has a minute.
2. On the table in restaurants and cafes: after the order is served, not before.
3. On the takeaway bag or the invoice: for the customer who eats at home.
4. In the waiting room for clinics, salons and car centres.
5. At reception in hotels, serviced apartments and gyms.
6. In the e-invoice message or the thank-you message after the visit.

A line for each place

Lines we wrote for you to adapt, all open invitations that ask for no stars:

Table: "Your experience matters to us. Scan the code and share your view on Google Maps."

Cashier: "Your view helps us and helps others choose. Scan the code if you like."

Waiting room: "If you would like to write about your experience, the code is in front of you."

Takeaway bag: "How was your order? Share your view by scanning the code."

Google review NFC card

A Google review NFC card is a card or stand with a small chip holding your branch's direct review link. When the customer holds their phone to the card, the phone opens the link and the review form appears without searching for your shop's name. The card only works if the customer's phone supports NFC and has it switched on, so print a QR code beside it that opens the same link.

• Create the branch link and store it on the card. You can copy the link from your business profile or from the tool mentioned above.
• Test the card with two different phones before displaying it, and check it opens the review form for your branch.
• Put a line on the card showing how to use it, such as "hold your phone here to rate your experience", and draw a touch symbol on it.
• Give each branch its own card and link, so reviews reach the right branch.
• Do not require or press the customer to write a review while on the premises. Google's policy says merchants should not ask users to leave reviews while on the premises or pressure them to, so a quiet invitation that whoever wishes can answer is best.

The invitation line

Avoid "rate us five stars", since asking for a particular number of stars goes against the spirit of Google's policies. Write an open invitation:

Your opinion matters to us and helps us improve. Scan the code and write your experience on Google Maps.

Test before you print the quantity

1. Scan the code with an iPhone and an Android phone, and check it opens the review form for your branch.
2. Print one copy first and scan it from the distance the customer will stand.
3. Print on matte paper, and leave white space around the code.
4. Write the branch name small on the stand, so one branch's stand is not mixed with another's.
5. Note the print date, and replace a damaged or dirty stand.

What to avoid

• Tying the code to a discount or gift.
• A device in the branch for customers to write reviews on.
• Showing the code only to happy customers.
• Staff urging the customer to scan while standing in front of them.
• One stand for all branches.
• A line that asks for five stars or names a trainer or a dish.

For the wider plan to raise reviews legitimately read the guide to raising Google Maps reviews.

In SMTAK each branch gets its own review link and QR code, and you see the scan count for each campaign. The scan count does not equal the review count, so compare the two numbers yourself in your Google profile.