The problem
Parents choosing a tutor compare reviews, and a tutor with 3 reviews loses to one with 40. If better reviews bring just 1 extra weekly student at $53£40€48A$77C$75 that's $229£172€205A$330C$323 a month, and a tutor without them never sees the inquiries they missed.
What the AI does
TutorBird's portal has a Reviews feature: parents and students submit feedback through their portal, and you choose whether to publish each one on your website with the Reviews Widget or keep it as private feedback. Pair it with your free Google Business Profile, which shows reviews on Google Search and Maps and lets you reply. Ask at the moments families are happiest, such as after mock exams improve or results day, and send them the Google review link as well.
A worked example
A home-visiting maths tutor in Nottingham has taught 30 families over 3 years but has only 3 Google reviews. They ask every family after the summer results and again after each set of mocks.
Before
3 reviews and few inquiries from people who don't already know a current family
After
If more reviews bring 1 extra weekly student at $53£40€48A$77C$75: about $229£172€205A$330C$323 a month more in fees
What it's worth
About $184£138€164A$265C$259 a month in profit, at an assumed 80% margin on $229£172€205A$330C$323 of extra fees (1 extra weekly student at $53£40€48A$77C$75 times 4.3), against $19£14€17A$27C$26 for TutorBird. Google Business Profile is free. The extra student is an assumption; track where new families say they found you.
How to set it up
- Claim or update your free Google Business Profile with your subjects, areas and photo.
- Switch on Reviews in the TutorBird portal and add the Reviews Widget to your website.
- After results day and after mocks, message each family thanking them and asking for a short review in the portal or on Google, with both links.
- Ask parents not to name their child in a public review.
- Reply to every Google review briefly, without naming the student.
What goes wrong
- Don't offer discounts or free lessons in return for reviews; it makes them worthless to readers and can breach consumer law on fake or incentivized reviews.
- Reviews that name a child or their school put that child's details online; ask parents to leave names out and don't publish any that include them.
- Asking too often annoys families. Twice a year, at good moments, is plenty.
- Reviews don't fill gaps on their own; your Google profile needs your current subjects, levels and areas to match what people search for.