When it comes to succeeding in the food and beverage industry, restaurant reputation management is more necessary and vital than ever. It can spell the difference between a packed house teeming with orders, deliveries, and reservations — and a slow Friday night with empty tables and no one on the waitlist. Put it another way: the level of participation and engagement that restaurants have in digital platforms can impact how customers perceive your business.
To overcome external challenges while delivering improved customer experiences, restaurants must be able to manage their online reputation in five ways:
- Monitor online reviews
- Respond to negative reviews
- Ask for reviews from customers
- Keep your listings updated
- Look at the competition
Restaurant Reputation Management Tip 1: Regularly Monitor Online Reviews
Online reviews are a driving force in restaurant reputation management. According to customer reviews data 94% of diners choose restaurants based on their online reviews.
Regularly monitoring your reviews gives you a better understanding of what customers think after they dine in or order from your restaurant. By also adding a customer experience analytics tool with your reputation management software suite, you can get valuable insights that lead to operational improvements.
This comprehensive review monitoring and analysis can also refine your marketing communications by highlighting the positives from customers’ experiences. Meanwhile, negative feedback helps you identify areas of improvement.
It’s not easy to stay efficient if you’re managing multiple restaurant locations. This is where reputation management software can benefit your business. Using a software tool like ReviewTrackers allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of your restaurant reputation with customized email alerts and review notifications.
Restaurant Reputation Management Tip 2: Respond to Negative Reviews
Now that you’re monitoring customer feedback, the next step is to learn how to respond to negative reviews and leaning on positive review response examples. It’s more important than ever to listen to and engage with your customers.
According to online reviews statistics:
- 94% of consumers said a bad review convinced them to avoid a business.
- Seeing a business respond to negative reviews is enough to convince 44.6% of customers to choose the business.
It’s important to avoid boilerplate responses. Address feedback directly, provide an explanation for any issues customers may have had with their experience and when applicable, pitch a solution that can win critics over.
By crafting a well-written and on-brand response, you can show the reviewer and potential customers that your business cares about feedback. With just a few words, you can turn a negative aspect of your online brand into a positive factor that attracts more customers.
For more tips, read our guide on how to respond to negative restaurant reviews.
Restaurant Reputation Management Tip 3: Ask Customers for Reviews
Want your restaurant to rank higher on Google search results pages? Start by asking for reviews on your restaurant profiles.
This helps your local SEO ranking while also enticing diners to visit or order from your restaurant, especially as the industry settles into a “new normal” and finds ways to recover from the pandemic. Asking for reviews also benefits your business from a reputation management standpoint.
Going out of your way to ask for reviews can also result in higher overall ratings. A number of research studies on shopping decisions even suggest that verified reviews posted by actual buyers are perceived as more credible than unprompted reviews.
Using tools within your reputation management software, such as ReviewTrackers’ Ask Tool, you can send out campaigns to customers via SMS or email. By doing so, you remind customers to share their experience online, at a time when they might be more inclined to help businesses out with their testimonials.
Once you aggregate a plethora of positive reviews, it’s time to show them off. Displaying reviews on your website instills consumer confidence and can even lead to more conversions. Using a review widget suite like Amplify enables you to handpick and display a carousel of various reviews, location-based reviews, or your highest-rated feedback.
Restaurant Reputation Management Tip 4: Keep Your Listings Updated
New hours, protocols, and holidays can disrupt operations. Having a local listing management plan not only ensures that your online listings are attracting customers; it’s also informing them of any operational changes within your company and restaurant locations.
Over the past few years, the need for local SEO software has skyrocketed to the top of brand reputation priorities thanks to the rise of “near me” searches. Ensuring that your listings have up-to-date information on hours, menus, reservation options, and COVID-based protocols helps fuel purchase decisions and deepen trust with the consumer.
Restaurant Reputation Management Tip 5: Take a Look at Your Competition
To be successful in this industry, you need to take a look at the competition. New ideas and trends are frequently implemented in the restaurant space to attract customers, and everyone is working to keep their business going strong during this unprecedented time.
To stay on top of constant changes, you’ll need to plan and execute an effective competitor analysis strategy to stay in the game and retain your customer base.
Competitive intelligence is already such a vital part of business that customer reviews data shows 41% of consumers “strongly agree” to the major role it plays in the organization’s success.
With a software tool like ReviewTrackers, you can utilize the built-in competitor analysis tool called Competitors Report, which shows data comparing your brand to specific competitors within your local markets. The data provided shows deeper insight into industry trends and market shifts to help you make actionable decisions about the future of your restaurant.
The Benefits of A Great Restaurant Reputation Management
97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else, and a glowing reputation for your restaurant makes it easier for them to make a purchase decision.
Creating a positive reputation isn’t easy, especially in the competitive restaurant industry, but getting started with the five steps mentioned above can pay off in the long run with great reviews, more customers, and higher revenue.
