Does your restaurant's star rating need a boost? Taking your star rating from a 3 to a 4 can have a bigger impact than you may realize.
In fact, research shows that 46% of diners say that positive Google restaurant reviews make them more likely to dine at a restaurant.
But how do you budge your average rating from 3 to 4 or even 5 stars?
These strategies are a great place to start.
Use the Feedback in Your Negative Reviews to Make Positive Changes
Bad restaurant reviews are an opportunity to improve your service and menu. Check your emotions at the door (as difficult as that may be), and take an honest look at negative feedback.
- Is your service too slow?
- Is there an issue with your customer service?
- Does your menu need some improvements?
If customers tend to have the same complaints, then these are red flags that you can't ignore.
Let's say that four guests complain that they had to wait 15 minutes for a server to take their drink order. This may be a sign that your team is stretched too thin. Hiring more staff might reduce your service time.
Maybe your servers aren't attentive enough. Investing in training can fix this problem.
It's never easy to hear negative feedback - especially when you've put your heart and soul into building your restaurant. But every complaint is an opportunity for improvement.
Remember that negative reviews are direct windows into your customer's preferences. So, leverage that to make improvements and enhance the guest experience.
And one more thing: online reviews aren't the only thing to consider.
You can also use feedback from surveys, feedback cards and social media to find gaps in your service and areas to improve.
Ask Customers to Leave Reviews - And Do It Consistently
Are you actually asking guests to leave reviews? If not, it's time to start.
More often than not, satisfied customers are more than happy to leave reviews. They just need some encouragement or a reminder.
But how do you ask guests to leave feedback on restaurant reviews sites?
The simplest way is to train your staff to ask customers about their experience and to leave a review if they enjoyed their time at your restaurant.
If you take online orders for pickup, you can also ask guests to rate your restaurant after they've picked up their food in a "thank you" text message or email.
Asking for reviews doesn't have to be complicated. The key is to be consistent.
If your staff is consistently asking satisfied guests to leave reviews, your rating is sure to tick upward.
Reply to Negative Reviews - But Keep it Professional
Want to impress potential customers and transform unhappy guests into satisfied ones?
Reply to negative comments.
Negative reviews are just par for the course when you own a restaurant. You can't please everyone - even when you try your hardest.
But it's how you respond to that negative feedback that matters - and it can actually improve your restaurant rating.
It may be tempting to ignore bad reviews or even appeal to have them removed. But it's better to reply and try to make things right with the customer.
Let's say that a customer complained about an error with their order. First, their server brought the wrong appetizer. Then, their drink orders were mixed up.
Rather than ignore this review, respond with a genuine apology and an attempt to make things right.
- Offer a discount or a free meal.
- Encourage them to reach out to you directly to talk more about their experience.
At the end of the day, most customers understand that we are all human and make mistakes. Offering a genuine apology and correcting the issue may change the customer's perspective - and potentially their review.
And if you do make changes based on their feedback, you can update your reply to inform that customer. They may just return to your restaurant to see how the experience has changed.
Responding to negative reviews will also show other customers that you:
- Value their feedback
- Care about creating a positive customer experience
- Want to make improvements
A professional and prompt response to a negative review can sway customers to change their minds about skipping your restaurant.
Don't Ignore Positive Reviews Either
We tend to fixate on negative reviews, but it's important to acknowledge those happy customers who leave their feedback.
Thank them for their time. Address them by name. Use your response as an opportunity to start building a relationship with that customer.
Make it Easy to Leave Feedback
Why don't more customers leave reviews for restaurants? Because they often have to jump through hoops to do it.
Remove the friction and make it as easy as possible to leave feedback for your restaurant.
How?
By integrating requests into your existing touchpoints to grab their feedback at ideal moments.
- Ask for reviews after customers place orders. Add a call-to-action to your "thank you" email template asking the customer to leave a Google review. All they have to do is click the link to add their feedback.
- Add QR codes to your receipts. When customers scan the code, you can send them to review sites or a custom feedback page. Try offering a discount or other incentive for leaving an honest review.
If you offer reservations, your platform may automatically send reminders to leave reviews after the dining experience. Make sure that you're leveraging this feature to accumulate more positive reviews.
Final Thoughts
Making an effort to improve your star rating will do more than just increase sales; it will improve the customer experience and help you identify areas of improvement.
Small changes may be all you need for customers to leave your restaurant happy and satisfied.
Use the strategies above to encourage more restaurant rating comments and get more customers through your doors. To ensure your efforts are paying off, make sure you have a way to track your review progress. Review your progress and processes regularly and make changes as needed to stay on track to reaching your goals.