Get Those Good Online Restaurant Reviews from Customers
Any restaurant owner knows that online restaurant reviews can either increase restaurant reservations or close it down. So in a world where anyone can be an online food critic, it is crucial to get good restaurant reviews.
However, it is not that easy to get good online reviews from customers. According to several pieces of research, people are more likely to leave a bad review when they are not satisfied with the service, than to leave a good one when they are happy. This is why it is important to use little tricks to make your customers leave a good review online when they visit your restaurant. If you are ready to encourage your customers to leave good restaurant reviews, here is what you should do.
Ask them to write a review
Even though this sounds so simple, it is very effective. If you politely ask your customers to leave an online restaurant review, there is a good chance that they will do it. The main reason why this simple tactic works is that people sometimes forget that they can leave an online review and all they need is a simple reminder. So the next time your customers finish their meals and you start chatting about the service and whether they are satisfied with their order, ask them politely whether they would be interested in leaving an online restaurant review. You will be surprised how many people will be ready to do it as soon as possible.
Offer different rewards
Sometimes it is not enough to just ask your customers to give a good online review. Sometimes you will have to offer small rewards to encourage them to do it. These incentives can be coupons for something bigger such as free meals or something smaller such as free appetizers or free drinks. You can also use discounts, specials and points (if there is a reward system in your restaurant).
When it comes to incentives, you can adjust them to suit your needs. People love rewards, and if you offer them something nice in exchange for a restaurant review, it is less likely that they will leave a bad review. So find a reward system that works for you, and offer it to your customers.
Write an answer for each review
Good or bad – online reviews should be answered. This will show that you do care about your customers and that you truly listen to them. If the review is a negative one, you can find out how to improve your service or offers thanks to it and you can also try to build a better relationship with that customer. A recent study showed that almost 70% of customers were ready to change their bad opinion about a business if their customer service responded to their review. This builds a relationship between you and your customer, and it also gives you the opportunity to change their opinion.
You should also write an answer to positive reviews as well. These customers already love your restaurant, so why not thank them for saying something nice about it?
Make it easy to leave a review
Not everyone will be ready to search for different websites where they can leave a review of your restaurant. So what you can do is to decide where you would like to collect reviews and make it easily accessible for your customers. If you prefer online reviews on social media, promote these channels on your website and when asking customers for reviews. If you prefer some other websites, promote them. Just decide where you want the majority of reviews to be and stick to it.
Getting good online reviews doesn’t have to be too hard, but it does require a bit of effort. If there isn’t enough online reviews of your restaurant, you should try asking your regular customers to leave one. And after that, you can offer different incentives to encourage other customers to leave a good restaurant review as well. Slowly, you will have a lot of good reviews which will certainly help you get more and more customers.
If you need any help with adjusting your website design to get more reviews or if you need help with your social media channels, Orders2me experts are here to help. Get in touch today and boost your business efforts.