If you can only run one review request channel, a QR code at the counter will out-convert a texted link, and a texted link will out-convert an email. That ranking holds up across most local businesses. But picking a single winner is the wrong question, because each channel fits a different moment in the customer's day, and the businesses collecting the most reviews aren't the ones that chose correctly. They're the ones running two or three channels in sequence.
Why one channel alone leaves reviews on the table
A customer who doesn't scan the counter code isn't necessarily uninterested. They might be rushing, mid-conversation, or simply not in the habit of scanning things. That doesn't mean they won't leave a review later that evening if a text or email reminds them. Treating "didn't respond to channel one" as "won't respond" throws away customers who just needed a second nudge at a different moment.
QR codes: highest conversion, but only right then
A QR code works because it catches the customer at the exact second they're already holding their phone, usually while paying. There's no app to open, no number to type, just a camera pointed at a square. That's why it's the highest-converting single ask available to a local business, provided the code opens straight to a rating screen instead of a homepage. We've covered the placement details and the common mistakes that quietly kill scan rates in our guide to QR review cards.
The catch: a QR code only works in the room. It can't follow up with someone who paid and left without scanning.
Review links: weak in print, fine in a text
A bare URL printed on a receipt is nearly useless. Nobody types a 40-character link into their phone from a paper slip. But the same link sent inside a text message removes almost all of that friction, since tapping a link on a screen that's already open takes one motion. That's the entire reason SMS review requests work as well as they do. Our SMS template guide covers the wording that keeps a texted link from reading as spam.
Email: the right second touch, not the right first ask
Email open rates lag well behind texts, and a review request sitting in an inbox competes with everything else that landed there that day. Where email earns its place is as a follow-up: sent two to four hours after the visit, once the customer has had time to reflect and the experience is still fresh enough to act on. It's also the easiest channel to personalize with specific details from the visit, which a one-line text can't match. Our email template guide has ready-to-send versions for the first ask and the one follow-up worth sending.
The sequence that actually works
Put the three together and a pattern falls out: QR at the counter first, since it's the highest-converting single moment you have. An email that afternoon or evening to anyone who didn't scan, while the visit is still memorable. One SMS a couple of days later to anyone who hasn't responded to either. Stop there — a third or fourth nudge reads as nagging, not persistence.
The one rule that applies across all three channels, without exception: every customer who had a transaction gets the same ask, on the same schedule, regardless of how happy they seemed. Filtering the list down to customers you expect will respond well is review gating, and it's against Google's policy whether it happens over text, email, or a hand-picked QR handout. Our guide to review gating covers exactly where that line sits.
Where attribution changes the comparison
A generic email blast can't tell you which staff member earned which review. A QR code tied to a specific person or counter can, which is the difference between "reviews happened" and "reviews happened because of Maria at register two." Starboard's rating flow builds that attribution in from the first scan: the customer taps a star rating, then chooses where it goes, and every rating reaches the business either way, public or private.
Pick a sequence, not a favorite
None of these three channels is wrong to use. They're wrong to use alone. Start with the QR code because it wins the moment you have the most control over, then let email and SMS catch the customers that moment missed. Most businesses that switch from "one channel we picked" to "three channels in order" see the difference in a month, not because any single ask got more convincing, but because fewer customers fell through the gap between visiting and being reminded.