Effectively review and respond to online comments

In a recent Livebookings survey we found that nearly half of diners always check for reviews before visiting a restaurant and 80% would be put off visiting if they read anything bad. The fact is that consumer power is taking over how people make buying decisions. People trust other people more than they do businesses. This means you need to respond to online comments as part of your restaurant marketing strategy.

Along with Facebook and Twitter there’s specialist review sites, like Yelp and TripAdvisor, where people can share their opinions with 100s of people before they’ve even left the restaurant. This means it’s important to monitor what people are saying by checking your listing on these sites and setting up Twitter and Google alerts for when you’re name is mentioned. You can find tips on how to do this in this previous post.

Positive reviews are always good for the soul and let you know your hard work is appreciated. However, there will always be the odd occasion when something’s gone wrong and the comments are less pleasing to the eye.

Negative reviews can offer valuable restaurant marketing feedback

Firstly, don’t do what one hotel did and throw out your guests because they’ve criticized you online. Taking such an aggressive approach will only backfire and worsen your online reputation.

Whilst the instinctive reaction is to get defensive, the sensible approach is to treat negative comments as constructive feedback. Assess them objectively and consider whether there is a way you could improve in certain areas. Sometimes it’s difficult to know where changes are needed unless someone tells you.

The way you respond online is also often more important for your restaurant’s marketing than the review itself. People will be more interested in how you respond than in what the customer wrote. If you’re polite, objective and say how you’re going to put right whatever went wrong, people will look upon you in a favourable light.

Who knows, the person who posted the negative review might even feel guilty about something they wrote in the heat of the moment, and amend their review accordingly.

Useful links

How to protect your restaurant’s reputation on the internet

A bad online review earns couple an early checkout

Why you need to persuade customers to post reviews online

Livebookings survey on influence of online reviews

By Magnus Hultberg in Blog, Restaurant Marketing, Social Media Marketing