TIPS FOR MANAGING YOUR RESTAURANT'S ONLINE REVIEWS

Tips for Managing Your Restaurant’s Online Reviews

Online reputation management for restaurants is an important practice for all restaurant owners/operators

Managing your restaurant’s online reviews has become an important part of your marketing strategy as a restaurant owner/operator. Over the past several years, we’ve seen an increase of online searches for dining options, as well as the increase in online reservations. If online reviews are not carefully managed, it can greatly affect your restaurant’s online reputation.

There are three main areas that are changing the impact of online reviews:
  1. 1. Word of mouth traditionally impacts the performance of restaurants. It is now playing out online in the form of reviews and dining experiences shared on social media.
  2. 2. At the pub and restaurant facility level, Google My Business pages are increasingly becoming their shop window. This is especially important to restaurants where online reservations have also grown dramatically.
  3. 3. Expectations of dining guests are on the rise. They expect to communicate with restaurants via any number of channels and gain a quick response, whether via Facebook, Instagram, Tripadvisor, Google, OpenTable, Yelp or any number of other channels.

Today, the biggest opportunity for restaurants is to ensure that all customer feedback is seen as valuable and that guests always receive a response and assurance that their feedback is acknowledged and addressed. After all, restaurant customers are much more likely to be a brand advocate when they can see that they are valued.

Here are some best practices restaurants can follow to manage online reviews

Google has claimed the top spot in review volume. In fact, according to a Review Trackers survey, 63.6 percent of consumers say they are likely to check online reviews on Google before visiting a business. Recently, Google has leapt ahead of other review sites such as Yelp and Tripadvisor. Given its dominance in review volume, restaurants should focus on soliciting reviews on Google. They can request this verbally, using a QR code, your website, or through a platform that automates review requests.

You can make managing reviews easier by using a reputation management platform like Reputation.com to view and manage your reviews across multiple platforms. Then, respond to as many as possible (including all negative reviews) in a timely fashion. This not only enhances restaurants’ online reputation and social sentiment, but it also clarifies what needs to happen to improve service and dining experiences at your restaurant.

Managing online reputation is imperative to the overall operation of your restaurant. When you read every review, it should lead to many small changes that improves the dining guests’ experiences. Ultimately, listening to customers and gaining insight will not only ensure they’ll be back to your restaurant for seconds, but that they’ll spread the word about your restaurant to their family and friends.

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