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Your online reputation matters - here's why
Everyone is a food critic today. When we’re looking for somewhere to eat, stay, or shop we are influenced by reviews on Tripadvisor, Google, Facebook or elsewhere.
Restaurants, hotels and pubs cannot afford to ignore what is being said about them online. How should you manage your business or brand’s online reputation?
Everyone is a food critic today. When we’re looking for somewhere to eat, stay, or shop we now are much more likely to be influenced by reviews on Tripadvisor, Google, or Facebook than we are by a business’s website, social media or even reviews by professional critics.
Reputation Economy
We’re living in the ‘Reputation Economy’ where choosing where to eat has been democratised. Online reviews are the new word of mouth - just a bit more public than a chat over a drink with friends.
Don’t bury your head in the sand.
Restaurants, hotels and pubs cannot afford to ignore what is being said about them online (and that includes social media). Making time to track and respond to online reviews and customer feedback is crucial to all hospitality businesses.
Your online presence on sites from Tripadvisor or Facebook to specialist sites like Squaremeal or OpenTable is just as, if not more important than your website and social media.
Why responding to reviews matters
Keep your finger on the pulse and your business will reap the rewards. Responding to reviews, listening to the voice of the customer, and resolving their issues will go a long way in helping you protect your restaurant’s online reputation; more importantly, review management will provide you with the insights that you need to consistently deliver great dining experiences.
Prove it to me
- 87% of consumers in Europe and US say they are influenced by online reviews
- 53% 18-34s say online reviews play an important role in their decisions
- 7 in 8 diners will go online to choose where to eat
- 86% will check menus online before eating out
- 44% turn to their mobiles to find somewhere to eat while they are out and about
- 80% make reservations online
- People look at 6-12 reviews before making a decision
- 53% expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week
- 94% say an online review has convinced them to avoid a business.
What does this mean for my restaurant?
Start by Googling your business and go through all the results to see what people are saying about you and which sites are having the most influence on your reputation.
Pay most attention to the first page of results, but don’t stop there….
If you have Google Analytics set up on your website, look at which sites are driving the most traffic to your website.
Do an audit
Start by making a list of all the places your business is mentioned online. Is all the information up to date - opening hours, contact information, menus and photographs up to date? What’s your star rating and general feedback like? Make an action plan to update each listing and add your current menus and fresh quality photos.
Follow these 10 simple steps to manage your online reputation >
Which review sites are most important and where should I focus?
Tripadvisor, Google, Facebook, SquareMeal, OpenTable, Zomato, Yelp, Hardens, AA, Instagram, Twitter, your website - understandably it can seem overwhelming to manage reviews and listings and share fresh content in all these places.
Which review sites are the most influential and where should you focus your effort.
It goes without saying that Google is the world’s biggest and most powerful search engine but it’s also increasingly becoming the most influential restaurant review platform. While Google Business means that we can access all the key information we want from the home page without even visiting a website.
Google Maps is even starting to role out showing customers queuing times for a table or service, although it’s not arrived in the UK yet, it won’t be long.
63.6% of consumers say they are likely to check online reviews on Google before visiting a business — more than any other review site.
Google’s dominance is only going to grow and to eclipse other sites. In addition, user reviews will start to heavily influence search engine optimisation (SEO) results as Google’s algorithms take into account positive and negative reviews, prioritising positively reviewed businesses.
TRIPADVISOR
Is the world’s biggest travel site. It launched in 2000 and every month 456 million people – about one in every 16 people on earth - visit TripAdvisor.com to plan or review a trip. According to Tripadvisor’s own “Diner Decision Making Survey”
UK consumers surveyed:
- 87% said online reviewers influence their decisions about where to eat
- 87% say Tripadvisor inspires them to try new restaurants
- 52% say online photos influence them
- 95% say Tripadvisor is the most accurate review site - 2% Facebook and 3% Google.
OTHERS YOU CAN'T IGNORE
And don’t forget to monitor what people are saying about your brand on Twitter and Instagram and thank or respond to them there too.
Trends to consider
Reviews are getting shorter, simpler and more to-the-point reviews. The average review is 65% shorter since 2010 and is now roughly the size of a tweet.
There are more and more positive reviews. Reviews are increasingly shifting from being a place where consumers air their grievances to being a place to recommend businesses after a positive experience.
For more recommendations on how to manage your online reputation follow these 10 simple steps >
10 Steps to manage your restaurant’s online reputation
Follow these 10 simple steps to manage your business or brand’s online reputation.
Today we're all critics. Your busiesss's online reputation matters. Follow these 10 simple steps to managing your online reputation.
1. Claim or update your business list on Google My Business.
Make sure that your opening hours, contact details, and map location are correct.
2. Do an audit
Make a list of everywhere you business appears online and make sure the information is up to date and accurate. Some listings you will be able to easily update, others like AA or Squaremeal you will have to contact to request an update.
3. Share your menus
Don’t just put your menus on your website. People check menus online before making a decision to visit so make sure they can find current menus easily at least include a link to the menus on your website. [Share menus on social media too and tell people when you introduce a new dish or seasonal menu].
Since early 2018 Google has enabled restaurant owners to upload menus straight on to the information pages of their listing.
4. Update your photos
Photos say a 1000 words so make sure your online listings and your website have up to date and good quality photos. Include some of the exterior, the interior, garden if you have one, as well as food and drink.
5. Set up Google Alerts
Google Alerts send out daily or weekly updates on specific keywords so you can keep track of what’s new online. Set up alerts on your business name, your head chef or even some of your competitors.
6. Make time for managing your online reputation
Set aside a set time every week (Monday mornings can be a good time to do this) to monitor and respond to reviews. If you give the task to someone in the team make sure that they are briefed about how to respond consistently and using the right tone and language for your brand.
7. Thank people for their feedback
Positive reviews can transform your business. Researchers studying Yelp, one of TripAdvisor’s main competitors, found that a one-star increase meant a 5-9% increase in revenue - so thanking people for positive reviews is just as important as responding to bad ones!
8. Don’t hide from bad reviews
Consumers expect brands to respond to reviews—and are disappointed when they don’t. Responding within 48 hours of negative reviews can turn a bad experience into a positive one. 45% of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business if it
responds to negative reviews.
How to respond to bad restaurant reviews.
- Be polite and factual - try not to get angry or emotional.
- Prioritise those that need a factual explanation or apology rather than emotional rants.
- Be brief
- Respond from a senior manager
- Reflect the personality of your restaurant
- Address specific comments
- Invite guests to return and give you a second chance
9. Share feedback with your team
Motivate your team by share compliments as well as investigating issues highlighted.
10. Act on feedback
Use both positive and negative reviews to improve your operations and customer experience.