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1
Online Reviews:
The New
Word of Mouth
Natalie Montalvo
December 11, 2013
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The New Word of Mouth
Today, word of mouth is more pervasive and
powerful than ever due to the increasing
popularity of online reviews and social media.
Over half (53 percent) of 18- to 34-year-olds
report that online reviews factor into their dining
decisions, as do 47 percent of frequent fullservice customers.
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What does that mean for your
restaurant?
An online search for your restaurant is likely to
find not only your website, but also your
restaurant’s profile page on Yelp, Urbanspoon,
TripAdvisor and other review sites.
Online reviews can help make or break your
business.
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What you’ll learn:
We’ve developed a guide designed to help you optimize
your presence on review sites.
Our tips fall into the following categories:
• Enhancing your presence on online review sites
• Monitoring/responding to online reviews
• Measuring trends to leverage sites as a business tool
• Best practices for problematic reviews
• Advertising to/targeting customers through review sites
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How can I optimize my restaurant
presence online?
We identified 10 steps to help you take advantage of your online
presence and manage your brand online:
1. Check out the sites
2. Get listed
3. Claim your page
4. Check the facts
5. Link to more information and services
6. Tell your story
7. Remember: A picture tells a thousand words
8. Keep the content fresh
9. Make an announcement
10. Consider discounts and deals
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How can I monitor online reviews?
Keep on top of what customers are saying about you online. Delegate
the responsibility to someone who will make the time to follow the
information flow.
Monitoring strategies include:
• Sign up for instant notifications
• Set up Google Alerts
• Manually check the sites
• Monitor the metrics
• Consider enrolling with a monitoring or reputation management
service
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How can I use online reviews as a
business tool?
Tracking your reviews is a great way to keep
your finger on the pulse of your restaurant. Use
the review sites as an opportunity to accentuate
the positive and get feedback from negative
experiences.
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Accentuate the positive:
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Highlight favorite shout-outs
Celebrate successes
Use feedback to guide expansion efforts
Publicize your popularity
Announce awards
Hook into social media
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Brace yourself for negativity
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Be prepared
Look at the big picture
Take feedback to heart
Concentrate on the customer’s message, not
tone
• Make sure the feedback trickles down
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How should I respond to reviews?
Some sites, like Urbanspoon, Yelp or TripAdvisor, let restaurants
respond publicly or privately to reviews for free once they “claim their
page.”
Crafting an appropriate reply can be challenging, so we mapped out
three steps for serving up satisfying responses.
1.
2.
3.
Prep work
Recipe for successful responses
Finishing touches
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Should I pay for advertising
and other services?
While it won’t eliminate negative reviews, advertising is an option to
consider. Review your business plan to determine whether you should
invest in online marketing, taking a close look at your budget, your
target audience, your goals and the ROI of your current advertising
efforts.
Some paid marketing strategies to consider:
• Enhance your profile page
• Facilitate reservations
• Offer a deal, when appropriate
• Sponsor a link
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How can I target mobile customers?
Given the explosion in smartphone usage, consumers are increasingly
accessing restaurant information on the go. Check-in offers provide a
great way to entice mobile customers. Using their mobile devices,
customers can “check in” to your restaurant on Foursquare or Yelp.
Consider creating incentives for them to do so.
Check-in tips:
• Bring in new customers and keep the regulars coming back for more
• Create a buzz about your restaurant
• Invite the whole gang
• Train your servers
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Download Online Reviews:
The New Word of Mouth
Visit Restaurant.org/Reviews to download the guide and get more
detailed information on the following:
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Claiming your page on online review sites
Monitor and response plans to online reviews
Business tool suggestions for leveraging sites
Best practices for problematic reviews
Advertising/targeting customers through review sites
Yelp health scores in select cites
Detailed information about popular review sties
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@WeRRestaurants
/RestaurantDotOrg
/NationalRestaurantAssociation
Restaurant.org
15