Podium alternative · Reviews and texting for service businesses
More Google reviews, straight from the finished job.
Mark a job done and the customer gets a text asking how it went. Happy customers go to Google, unhappy ones come to you, and every text, call and invoice sits in the same app.
From a finished job to a Google review.
Watch a job get marked done, the survey go out by text, a happy customer head to Google and the reply go back from Alori.
- 1Mark the job done
- 2Nathalie answers with one tap
- 3Her review lands in Reviews › Google
- 4Send the reply Alori wrote
What changes on Monday.
- 01
Before
With AloriA text goes out on its own 2 hours after you mark a job done
- 02
Before
With AloriTexts, calls, quotes, jobs and invoices on the same customer
- 03
Before
With AloriA low answer opens their conversation, marked Needs you
What’s in your app.
Alori starts from ready-made modules, then shapes them to the way you work. Add or remove one any time by asking.
Jobs
A survey goes out when a job is marked done
Conversations
Texts, email and chat, one thread per customer
Calls
Your business number, phone menu and voicemail
Invoices
A Pay by card link on every emailed invoice
Unhappy customers come to you first.
A low answer opens the customer's conversation, marked Needs you, with what they wrote. The teammate who did the job gets a bell, and Reviews shows who still waits.
- Answer by text, email or a call from the conversation.
- Reviews marks it Handled once someone answers.
- Ask Alori "which unhappy customers are still waiting?"
You set when and how customers are asked.
Ask after a job is done, after an invoice is paid or after you close a conversation. Texts go out during the day only, with one reminder the next day.
- Customers without a mobile number get an email.
- Ask the same customer at most once a week, a month or every 3 months.
- Show the Google button to happy customers only, or to everyone.
Change it by asking.
Your app isn’t frozen on day one. Write what you need, the way you’d text it. Alori makes the change and shows you before anything goes live.
- Ask Marie Tremblay for a review
- Reply to the latest Google review
- Which unhappy customers are still waiting?
- Also ask for a review after an invoice is paid
The full guide
Everything above, in detail: how it works, what it replaces and what it does not.
Podium alternatives: more Google reviews from the app that runs your jobs
Short answer: If you are comparing Podium alternatives, look at where your jobs live. Podium is a messaging and reviews platform for local businesses, with texting, review invites, website chat, payments by text and text marketing. Alori is the all-in-one app for service businesses: when you mark a job done, the customer gets a text asking how it went, happy customers go to your Google review page, and the texts, calls, quotes and invoices sit in the same app.
Who Podium fits well
Podium is a strong fit when:
- You run several locations and want reviews and messages for all of them in one place.
- You send text marketing campaigns to your customer list.
- You want customers to pay by text, at the counter or on the spot.
For a retail or multi-location business that lives on texting, Podium is built for the work.
Why service owners look for alternatives
A service business asks for a review after a job, and the job lives in another tool:
- Someone has to send the invite. The review request waits for a person to remember, or for an integration to pass the finished job along.
- Two places for one customer. Texts are in Podium, the quote and the invoice are in the field service app.
- Unhappy customers slip through. A low answer needs a call the same day, from someone who can see the job.
- One more subscription. Reviews and texting become another monthly bill next to the CRM.
Side by side
| Podium | Alori | |
|---|---|---|
| Main idea | Messaging and reviews for local businesses | An all-in-one app for a service business |
| Review requests | Yes, by text | By text 2 hours after a job is done, with one reminder |
| Answer Google reviews | Yes | Yes, with a reply Alori writes that you send |
| Other review sites | Yes | No, Google only |
| Texting | Yes | Yes, from your business number, in one thread per customer |
| Calls | Yes | Phone menu, ring groups, recordings, voicemail written out |
| Website chat | Yes | Yes, with a bot that answers first and hands off |
| Payments | By text and in person | A Pay by card link on every emailed invoice |
| Text marketing | Yes | No; campaigns are by email |
| Quotes, jobs, invoices | Through integrations | In the same app |
What Alori replaces, and what it does not
For a service business, Alori replaces review requests, the review inbox and texting:
- Review requests on their own. In Reviews, pick your business on Google once. Two hours after you mark a job done, the customer gets a text asking how it went, during the day only. One tap answers. You can also ask after an invoice is paid or after you close a conversation.
- Happy customers to Google. Customers who answer 4 or 5 stars see a button that opens your Google review page. You can show the button to everyone, as Google's rules ask.
- Unhappy customers to you. A low answer opens the customer's conversation, marked Needs you, and the teammate who did the job gets a bell.
- Answer every Google review. Connect Google Business Profile and each review shows with a reply Alori wrote, in the review's language. Press Send and it is on Google. A review of 3 stars or less rings your bell.
- Conversations. Texts, emails, website chats and calls with a customer in one thread, with internal notes for the team.
- Calls from your business number, or bring your current one.
- Website chat answered by your support bot first, or by you.
- Get paid. Every emailed invoice has a Pay by card link, and it turns Paid by itself.
What it does not replace: reviews on Facebook, Yelp and other sites, text marketing campaigns, payments by text or in person, and reports across many locations. Alori's campaigns go by email. If you run many locations or sell by text, Podium is likely the better fit.
How to switch
- Describe your business. Alori builds the app with customers, jobs, invoices and Reviews.
- Get your business number. Get a new number or bring your current one. For a US number, fill in your business details once so carriers let your texts through.
- Pick your business on Google. In Reviews, click Find my business. Then connect Google Business Profile in Connectors to answer reviews from Alori.
- Bring your customers. Paste a list into Ask Alori, or use the HubSpot move. Mark your next job done, and the first survey goes out.
Start on the free plan, no card needed. See pricing.
Questions
Another question? Ask it when you start.
Yes for service businesses that want Google review requests sent after each job, with texts, calls, quotes and invoices in one app. For businesses that need several review sites, text marketing or payments by text, Podium fits better.
No. Surveys go out on their own after a job is done, at most once in the period you pick per customer. To ask one customer now, open them, click New, then Ask for a review.
By default only happy answers see the Google button. Google's rules ask businesses to invite every customer, so you can turn that off in one switch.
Service businesses such as plumbing, HVAC and cleaning companies.
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