By David Lukić, Contributor
The COVID-19 pandemic has already lost an estimated $120 billion in lost revenue and is projected to lose twice this amount by the end of 2020, according to QSR Magazine. If restaurants hope to survive – and thrive – through the pandemic, they will need to be able to adjust to the new normal. One way to do this is by focusing on your restaurant’s reputation management.
Some restaurants have taken steps to adjust to the pandemic, but they neglected reputation management, which has put them in dire straits. If you are in this group, read on to learn more about reputation management and monitoring and how you can use it to help your restaurant.
What Is Reputation Management?
97% of consumers learn more about local businesses online than through any other channel and more people write reviews about restaurants than about any other type of business. Furthermore, a recent survey revealed that consumers read restaurant reviews more than any other type of review and 85% of consumers report that they trust these reviews as much as they would trust a personal recommendation from a friend. For good or bad, that can lead to a huge impact on your restaurant.
Reputation management and monitoring is the proactive approach of managing the reviews users leave for your restaurant in order to improve the likelihood of a customer choosing your restaurant over competitors.
How Reputation Management Affects the Restaurant Industry
Reputation management can affect all aspects of your restaurant, including:
How current and potential customers perceive your restaurant
Whether a consumer will select your restaurant over a competitor’s
How much revenue your restaurant will receive
What problems you need to address at your restaurant
Whether your business stays open
According to EHL Insights, user reviews can redirect potential customers to higher-quality restaurants, causing those with no or poor reviews to close or improve their quality. When demand is lower due to a global pandemic, the need to focus on customer service and reputation management is even greater than ever before.
Steps Involved in Restaurant Reputation Management & Monitoring
The most important steps involved in restaurant reputation management and monitoring include:
Ask for Reviews
Sometimes, having no reviews is worse than having a mix of good and bad reviews. No one wants to be the one to test out a restaurant. Take initiative and ask your customers to leave reviews about their experience. Having reviews can improve your local SEO ranking and add credibility to your restaurant.
Jeff Jacobson, the COO of Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill, was not satisfied with infrequent and unverifiable reviews he found on review sites like Yelp or Google, so he took matters into his own hands by using a customer reputation management tool, according to his story featured FSR Magazine. This allowed the restaurant to gather an average of 738 reviews per location over the last six months, much more than the mere 12 reviews per location that were made on Yelp.
This also gave more contemporaneous information to the owners of the restaurants since the reputation management tool’s reviews were more recent than Yelp reviews. Scores for the restaurant also tended to be higher when using the reputation management tool and provided a more accurate representation of the customer’s experience.
Since many people will only write reviews when they are unhappy with a business, actively requesting reviews can help highlight the positive experience your customers had when dining at your restaurant.
Monitor Reviews
Actively monitoring your restaurant’s reviews can allow you to see what is working and what needs improvement. You can set up alerts to notify you when your restaurant is mentioned online so you can respond to reviews.
Respond to Negative Reviews
Although no one wants a bad review about their restaurant, look at this as an opportunity to satisfy a customer, as well as to show off your commitment to customer service. Let the reviewer know that you are taking their complaint seriously and provide a solution offline. This professional attitude can help overcome negativity directed towards your restaurant.
Don’t Forget the Good Reviews
Reward your loyal customers who brag about your new menu, fast service, greater sanitation practices, or social distancing policies by responding to their reviews, too. Let them know you appreciate their positive comments and are happy they are satisfied.
Conclusion
While the pandemic has presented some additional challenges to the restaurant industry, it has also provided you with the opportunity to recreate your restaurant’s image. Reputation management and monitoring can help ensure that your customers are aware of these changes and responding to them in a positive light.
About the Author:
David Lukić is an information privacy, security and compliance consultant at IDstrong.com. The passion to make cyber security accessible and interesting has led David to share all the knowledge he has.
