| Everyone's got an opinion. And in the internet age, | | | | both positive and negative reviews. No matter how |
| everyone can and does voice their opinion online. A | | | | you respond, do it with a healthy dose of common |
| short search online will bring back at least one person's | | | | sense: e.g. don't insult people, don't act defensively, |
| opinion about every kind of business under the sun, | | | | don't act like a jerk, don't pat yourself on the back, etc. |
| from eye doctors to painters. Restaurants are | | | | Basically, all the things that annoy you about people at |
| particularly targeted by the masses of opinion makers | | | | a dinner party are the same things that are going to |
| out there, since the very nature of making and serving | | | | annoy your customers online. So avoid them. |
| food is so subjective. | | | | The most important thing here is the creation of a |
| So do you have any idea what people are saying | | | | dialogue. When you interact with customers, you |
| online about your restaurant? I have talked about Yelp | | | | cement loyal fans in place and you blunt the negative |
| in previous posts, the restaurant review site that has | | | | effects of the critics. You also appear open and |
| had a tenuous relationship with restaurant owners at | | | | engaged, which will earn you serious points with all |
| best since its inception. But Yelp is only the tip of the | | | | your existing and potential online customers. |
| opinion iceberg, and the restaurateur who ignores the | | | | Step 3: Take the initiative. Don't let the naysayers |
| behemoth that is social media is doomed to the same | | | | define your restaurant's reputation online. If you're not |
| fate as the Titanic. | | | | offering an alternate narrative, then people will start to |
| This is not to say that the opinion machine driven by | | | | think everything they read about you is true. Here's |
| social media is all bad. It is, however, a decidedly | | | | where Twitter and Facebook come in. As I already |
| double-edged sword. On the one hand, positive | | | | said, if you're not an active member of these two |
| reviews and feedback coming from your happy | | | | sites, then stop reading this blog post and go create an |
| customers can bring new customers in droves. On the | | | | account with both. |
| other, one jerk who may or may not have actually had | | | | The reasons for this are simple. These services are |
| a bad experience can pick up the megaphone and | | | | free. These services are popular. These services are |
| start screaming nasty things about your restaurant. | | | | also considered culturally important. Take the time to |
| 84% of American consumers say online reviews | | | | learn how to use them and then start talking about |
| affect their decisions on products and brands. That's a | | | | how great your restaurant is. You'll be amazed how |
| number you simply cannot ignore. So what should you | | | | many people want to listen. All this costs you is your |
| do? 4 steps to manage your restaurant's reputation | | | | time, and the potential for new customer development |
| online: | | | | is virtually unlimited. |
| Step 1: Listen to what people are saying. You can't | | | | Step 4: Gather intelligence. This goes hand in hand with |
| manage something if you don't know what you're | | | | Step 1, but you can't really gather effectively until |
| dealing with. So tune in to the internet and start listening. | | | | you've started the conversation that follows from |
| Some places to start: Yelp, OpenTable, and | | | | Steps 2 and 3. Once you've established your own |
| UrbanSpoon are just a few of the myriad websites | | | | presence online, you can start to really learn exactly |
| that post restaurant reviews. An even better option is | | | | who your customer is and what they want. This is the |
| to use Google Alerts, which will scour the entire | | | | revered Holy Grail of marketing: knowing customers |
| internet for new content with your restaurant's name in | | | | better than they know themselves. You can achieve |
| it and send you a report on what it finds. | | | | this through effective online reputation management. |
| Of course, don't forget about the social media | | | | That's because when you converse with your |
| behemoths either: you should be on Twitter and | | | | customers in the realm of social media, you are going |
| Facebook anyway, talking about your restaurant, but if | | | | to start noticing trends and patterns. If you are careful |
| you're not, go there today and get started! | | | | about tracking and analyzing this data, you'll be able to |
| Step 2: Respond to your critics and thank your fans. | | | | learn the habits of your customer, which means you'll |
| The new internet (a.k.a. Web 2.0) is all about | | | | be able to serve them better, which in turn means |
| conversation. You've listened. Now it's time to answer. | | | | they'll write nice reviews about you online.... |
| Yelp gives some helpful tips on how to respond to | | | | You get the point. |