Email review follow-up, explained simply

Use this as a plain-English call script for CDC Draincare and Grease Guru. The solution is a small email follow-up service connected to the BigChange REST API, using clear rules for commercial and domestic customers.

ELI10 Client Script

  1. BigChange already holds the job data: the REST API can give us the completed jobs, customer details, job card fields and brand/customer-type information we need.
  2. The engineer still leaves the QR card: the card asks for the review in person and sends the customer straight to the correct Google review page.
  3. The job card controls eligibility: if BigChange says the business card was not left, the system does not send review emails.
  4. The service checks the rules: it looks at brand, customer type, card-left flag, email address, opt-out status, previous sends and whether the review has already been dealt with.
  5. Commercial follow-up is stronger: commercial customers can receive up to 3 polite review emails over 3 months, then the system stops for that job.
  6. Domestic follow-up is lighter: domestic CDC customers receive one review email only, and only if they were clearly offered an opt-out when their email was collected or next updated.
  7. The two businesses stay separate: CDC Draincare and Grease Guru need separate Google links, sender details, email wording, rule sets and reports.
  8. The system keeps an audit trail: every eligible, sent, skipped, failed and opted-out customer should be recorded so the client can prove what happened.
  9. We still avoid review gating: every eligible customer gets the same fair opportunity to leave an honest Google review.

Best Opening Line

“This is an email follow-up system powered by BigChange data. We use the REST API to find eligible completed jobs, apply the agreed rules, and only send review emails where the customer type, card-left flag and opt-out status allow it.”

Email only Card-left trigger Separate brands

Client-Friendly Analogy

“Think of BigChange as the source of truth, and our system as the traffic light. Each completed job comes through the API, the rules turn it red or green, and only the green ones get the right review email sequence.”

Two Separate Campaigns

CDC Draincare commercial

Email-only follow-up after the card-left flag. Up to 3 emails across 3 months, subject to opt-outs and suppression.

CDC Draincare domestic

One review email only. Requires evidence that review/marketing opt-out was offered when the email was collected or next updated.

Grease Guru

Commercial clients only. Send up to 3 polite review emails across 3 months after an eligible job, then stop until a later eligible job.

Shared system

One REST API integration and rules engine, with separate sender names, templates, Google links, suppression lists and reporting.

Proposed Email Rules

Eligibility

Job completed, correct brand identified, business card marked as left in BigChange, usable email present, no opt-out, not already completed.

Commercial cadence

Email 1 shortly after the job, email 2 around 1 month later, email 3 before the 3-month window closes. Stop after that job campaign.

CDC commercial cadence

Can match the commercial cadence, but keep CDC wording separate and confirm whether the contact is corporate/commercial.

CDC domestic cadence

One polite follow-up only, with a clear opt-out. Do not put domestic contacts into the 3-email sequence.

Discovery Questions

  • What exact BigChange field will engineers use to mark “business card left”?
  • Can BigChange reliably identify CDC Draincare versus Grease Guru on every job?
  • How will CDC distinguish domestic, sole trader, commercial and corporate contacts?
  • Where will opt-out offered/opted-out status be recorded for domestic customers?
  • What should count as campaign complete if a Google review cannot be reliably matched to the customer?
  • What email address should each brand send from, and who monitors replies?
  • What should happen when someone opts out, complains, or says the engineer did not leave a card?

What a Custom Build Adds

  • Separate CDC Draincare and Grease Guru Google links.
  • BigChange REST API polling or sync for completed job data.
  • Eligibility based on the BigChange card-left flag.
  • Different reminder cadence by brand and customer type.
  • Suppression once the 3-month/job campaign is complete.
  • Opt-out, bounce, reply and complaint handling.
  • Reporting by brand: eligible jobs, emails sent, reviews gained and failures.

Pricing Conversation Points

Why this is separate

The earlier SEO proposals included a manual QR/review process only. Automated BigChange email follow-up was explicitly a paid add-on.

Safer first step

Start with paid discovery/scoping before a fixed build price. Confirm BigChange fields, email sending and review-detection limits first.

Full-build reality

The robust version could still be 84-148 hours at £35/hour, roughly £2,940-£5,180, depending on API and email complexity.

Monthly support

Separate hosting and maintenance from the build. A sensible guide is £150-£230/month, including light support and monitoring.

Lower-Risk Pricing Options

Discovery

Small paid scoping phase: confirm BigChange API fields, email setup, opt-out storage and review-status approach before quoting the build.

Lean MVP

Lower upfront build: card-left flag, basic rules, email sending and manual reporting. Add dashboard/review detection later.

Full build

Complete API sync, scheduling, audit trail, reporting, suppression, brand rules, domestic/commercial handling and operational dashboard.

Payment shape

If upfront cost is the issue, offer split payments or a reduced build fee recovered through a slightly higher monthly support fee.

Cost Pushback Line

“I appreciate this is different from the SEO retainers because it is a software build rather than ongoing marketing work. The earlier proposals included the QR review process, but not automated email follow-up. The reason this is a separate project is that it needs BigChange API integration, email-provider setup, suppression rules and an audit trail.”

“If the full build feels too much upfront, we can start with a smaller discovery or MVP version and only expand once the workflow has proved itself.”

Scope Protection

  • Quote the build after confirming BigChange API fields, email-provider method and review-status detection.
  • Make the build fee separate from monthly hosting/support.
  • Include exactly what maintenance covers: hosting, monitoring, bug fixes caused by this system and a small support allowance.
  • State that upstream changes by BigChange, Google, the email provider or IT systems are chargeable change work.

Important Cautions

  • No review gating: do not send happy customers to Google and unhappy customers to a private form only.
  • No incentives: do not offer rewards, discounts or prizes for reviews.
  • No pressure: ask for honest feedback, not five stars or specific wording.
  • No SMS assumption: this project is email-only unless the client changes the brief.
  • Treat opt-outs seriously: review emails may need to be handled like marketing unless legal advice says otherwise.
  • Be careful with domestic CDC customers: requested service follow-up does not automatically mean three review reminders are appropriate.

Domestic CDC Position

For domestic customers, the safest practical line is: one neutral post-job review email may be reasonable if the customer was clearly offered an opt-out when their email was collected, or the next time CDC dealt with a returning customer and updated/confirmed their contact details. Three reminder emails should be reserved for commercial customers.

Close the Call With

“My recommendation is to build a BigChange REST API follow-up service. It pulls eligible completed jobs, checks the card-left flag and opt-out status, then sends the right email sequence: up to 3 emails over 3 months for commercial customers, and one email only for domestic CDC customers.”

BigChange Support Questions

  • Can engineers add a required “business card left” flag on the job card?
  • Can that flag be reported or accessed through the BigChange API?
  • Can each job reliably expose the trading brand: CDC Draincare or Grease Guru?
  • Can customer type be stored clearly enough to separate CDC domestic from CDC commercial?
  • Can email automations filter on the card-left flag, brand and customer type?
  • Can BigChange expose the customer email, opt-out fields and job-card custom fields through the REST API?
  • Can BigChange handle the 3-month, 3-email reminder sequence, or should the external service own scheduling?
  • Are outbound webhooks available, or should external integrations poll the REST API?