Research revealed that 55.5% of consumers see online reviews as influential when choosing a restaurant, which makes it crucial to learn how to get customer feedback in restaurants.
Doing so not only increases exposure but also helps improve operations within the restaurant staff.
The growing reliance on technology, especially in times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, means that digital solutions will serve as your main guides to getting valuable customer feedback.
How to Get Customer Feedback in a Restaurant Through Digital Channels
Today’s customers interact with brands primarily through technology. Using the latest innovations to your advantage allows you to stay on the forefront of every consumer’s mind long after they asked for the check.
- Send an email or text
- Interact on social media
- Have a feedback form on your website
- Hand out physical request cards or reminders
- Include a question in your POS system
Send an Email or Text
Food needs time to settle in the stomach, and so do the opinions of each of your diners. An effective way to get feedback from your well-fed patrons is to be proactive and start asking for reviews. Doing so shows customers that their feedback is important to you and that it can contribute to more exposure, customers, and revenue.
A great way to request feedback is by sending customers an email or SMS message. Keep the messages personalized so that consumers are compelled to leave a review that doesn’t take too much effort or time.
You can write these email or SMS messages yourself, but there are a few review generation tools that make the request process easier for you.
Interact on Social Media
Social media is already a popular channel for individuals and brands alike, but community management is also another way to gather vital customer feedback. Due to the public nature of sites like Facebook and Twitter, it’s easier for a customer and a business to interact with each other on these platforms.
When people sing praises about a restaurant on social media, make sure you ask them to submit it as an official review on your website or on one of the restaurant’s (hopefully many) online listings. You should also make sure that you share rave reviews from time to time on multiple social media channels.
It doesn’t take much to respond to a customer or display a favorable review. When done right, these interactions and posts amount to free marketing that can attract more people to your restaurant.
Have a Review Form in Place on a Website
A restaurant’s website includes vital contact information, appealing photos, and a helpful menu page. However, it should also include a place to submit and show off reviews.
This isn’t just convenient for all customers who visit your site; it also helps you convert visitors into customers. Simply displaying reviews increases conversions by 270 percent, and you only need to show one to eight reviews before you see a rise in online conversions.
There are plenty of third-party review widgets available, but they might only feature reviews from one site. To show off reviews from multiple sites, you can use the Amplify widget.
Provide Physical Request Cards or Reminders
In the age of digital technology, a physical reminder to provide feedback can make the restaurant stand out long after guests leave the table. You can give out these reminders when you return the customer’s credit card, provide the receipt, or include them in the delivery service bag.
Just like the emails and SMS messages, the contents of the card should be short and quick to the point. Make sure to list out some of your most popular online listings as well. If you’re adding a URL to the card make sure that it’s an easy address to type out. A complicated string of numbers and letters will only deter customers from writing a review on any site.
You can get a head start on creating these request cards by using these handy review request templates.
Include a Question in Your POS System (If Available)
The modern point of sale (POS) system is vastly different from its predecessors in terms of presentation and functionality. Aside from taking payment info and allowing the customer to opt for a digital receipt, some of these systems also allow guests to immediately rate their experience.
This approach allows you to get immediate feedback from customers, especially from those that had a less-than-favorable experience. You can nip problems in the bud and solve them immediately rather than wait for a customer to leave a public complaint about your business online.
Customer Feedback Is Valuable Social Proof
Data from Upserve shows 90% of consumers research a restaurant before making their choice, and they’re using reviews to influence their dining decisions which puts the onus on you to gather as much customer feedback as possible on a regular basis. These reviews are valuable social proof to show that other people tried your restaurant and deemed it worthy of their feedback.
With the strategies above, you can create a system that keeps reviews flowing in, which you can use to improve the restaurant’s service, upgrade the dining experience, and attract new customers.
