7 questions to ask before paying for any reviews tool this month

Seven questions will tell you whether a reviews tool is worth paying for this month – and any supplier worth your money should answer all seven without flinching. They cover Google’s rules, how patient data is handled, what the contract really commits you to, and what you keep if you ever leave. Ask them in the sales call, before the invoice, and in this order.

1. “Does it stay within Google’s review policy?”

This is the question that protects everything else. Google prohibits incentivised reviews and review gating – selectively inviting only patients you expect to be positive while diverting the rest. Tools built on either tactic put your reviews, and potentially your listing, at risk of removal. Under the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act – in force for reviews since April 2025, with CMA guidance in CMA208 – hiding negative reviews or selectively soliciting positive ones is a banned practice in its own right, not just a Google-policy issue. A legitimate tool invites everyone equally and never pays, discounts or rewards a review. If the salesperson is vague here, stop the call.

2. “What happens to a patient who isn’t happy?”

The right answer: their feedback reaches your manager privately, quickly, so someone can respond while it can still be fixed. There is a genuine difference between gating – hiding unhappy patients from Google – and offering every patient a direct private route to tell you something is wrong, alongside a public one. The first breaks the rules; the second is simply good complaint handling. Make the supplier explain which one they do.

3. “How is patient data handled?”

You are a healthcare provider; the tool will touch patient names and contact details at minimum. Ask where data is stored, who can access it, whether the supplier acts as your processor under UK GDPR, and whether they will sign a data processing agreement. “We’re fully compliant” is not an answer – a written agreement is.

4. “What does the contract actually commit us to?”

Get three things in writing: the monthly price, the minimum term, and what notice ends it. Some tools quote a friendly monthly figure that turns out to sit inside a long auto-renewing contract. Neither model is wrong, but you should know which you are signing – and what the total commitment is – before you pay.

5. “What do we keep if we leave?”

Your Google reviews live on your own Google Business Profile, so no honest supplier can take those away – confirm they agree. Then ask about the rest: the review link you have printed on cards and posters, the QR codes, the feedback history. If everything points at a domain the supplier owns and switches off on cancellation, every printed card dies with the contract. Prefer tools where the assets you distribute keep working, or are cheap to replace.

6. “Who replies to reviews – and who is alerted when a bad one lands?”

Collecting reviews is half the job. Businesses that respond to reviews are seen as 1.7× more trustworthy (Google/Ipsos), so ask whether the tool helps you reply, and whether a named person at the practice is alerted the moment low-star feedback arrives. A dashboard nobody checks is where complaints go to age.

7. “What work does it actually take off our team?”

The quiet failure mode of most tools is not the software – it is a stretched reception team that stops using it by week three. Ask precisely what your staff must do each day, who sets everything up, and who you call when it breaks. The right tool should reduce the daily job to almost nothing.

Why the diligence is worth an hour

Reviews now carry real weight for practices: 71% of patients check online reviews as the first step in finding a new doctor (Software Advice), and since NHS.uk closed its public star-ratings in 2025, Google is where that checking happens for UK practices. A tool that helps you ask properly is worth paying for; a tool that cuts corners can cost you the very reviews it gathered. Seven questions, one phone call, and you will know which kind you are looking at.