Review Management for Restaurants: How Ratings Impact Footfall

Got a restaurant and want a lot of customers? Well, it takes a lot to get a good number of people enter your place. It goes beyond good food and great ambience. These days, people don’t just walk on streets to check which restaurant is best; they go online to review platforms. They compare prices, check photos and see what other people are saying about your restaurant. This has made review management for restaurants a crucial component. Read this blog to learn more about restaurant reputation management and how it impacts the footfall. 

Why Is Review Management Critical for Restaurants Today?

Review management is a strategic approach to managing reviews of a restaurant. When done correctly, it helps the restaurant build a positive image in front of new diners. Review management helps your restaurant to stand out from the competition, builds trust among potential diners, and improves your reputation. 

How Online Reviews and Ratings Influence Restaurant Footfall?

Here are some ways in which online reviews affect restaurant footfall

• Positive online reviews build trust among potential customers, which compels them to choose a particular restaurant.
• Positive online reviews increase local search visibility, which increases a restaurant’s footfall.
• Positive reviews act as a good word of mouth for a restaurant and lead to a rise in footfall.
• Negative online reviews show ignorance by management and can adversely affect footfall.
• Bad online reviews worsen the image of restaurants and push back potential customers.

What Are the Common Review Management Mistakes Restaurants Make?

Now that we know why review management is critical, let’s see some of the mistakes you should avoid when doing review management for restaurants:

1. Late Responses – Timing matters a lot when it comes to restaurant review management. Once you think that you will reply to this review tomorrow and it might escalate into something worse. The best way to avoid this mistake is to create a system for answering all reviews within 24 hours. 
2. Defending Negative Reviews – Another mistake many restaurant owners make is defending their negative reviews. It’s important to understand that the response to a particular review is not just for the person who put that review, but for all future diners. So you need to be professional while responding to bad reviews. 
3. No Real Solution – Negative reviews demand a meaningful response along with an actual solution that will solve the problem. Replying generically with “sorry for the inconvenience” is the least you can do, which changes nothing for the customer. Provide a real solution to show that you care for your customers.
4. Discard Positive Reviews – While working on restaurant reputation management, many owners make the mistake of ignoring positive reviews. This is actually a golden opportunity. The happy diners who put good reviews can be easily converted into repeat customers with a simple “thank you” note. 

How Can a Review Management Agency Help Restaurants Improve Ratings and Footfall?

Followers Rich Review management agency consists of professionals who have knowledge of managing online reviews for restaurants. Here is how they can help your restaurants get more customers, and for more information, you can also check out the other blogs, such as how followers rich works for a better understanding.

1. Improved Visibility:- Online review management of restaurants through agencies helps your restaurant to get more visibility on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, and others. More visibility means more people will see you, and it will ultimately increase the footfall. 

2. Competitive Advantage:- Online review management restaurant agencies help you to stand out among the competition. You can easily leave your competitors behind when a team of experienced people works for you. That means all the customers will redirect to your restaurant. 

3. Social Proof:- Review management agencies will improve your social media profiles and make more and more people see the positive reviews for your restaurant. The positive word of mouth will lead to a larger number of bookings. 

4. Professional Service:- These agencies provide restaurant reputation management services with professionals who know exactly what should be written in response to a review. This ensures your restaurant gets noticed by more and more people and you get more footfall. 

What Review Platforms Matter Most for Restaurants?

The following are the top 4 review platforms where you should focus for your restaurant’s reputation management:

1. Yelp  – The first platform on the list is Yelp. With over 76 million unique visitors each month, Yelp is a good platform to list your restaurant. According to a studies over 82% people buy from a business they see on Yelp, so you should consider this platform. 

2. TripAdvisor – TripAdvisor is the world’s largest review platform with over 500 million unique monthly visitors. It’s a travel guidance platform people often go to when visiting a new place. Listing your restaurant here can increase the chances of getting more customers, as more people will see you. 

3. Google Maps – This goes without saying. Google is the world’s largest search engine. Ranking on Google Maps gives you the advantage of being visible to anyone who searches for you online. Here, you must work on your restaurant’s reputation management. 

4. Trustpilot – Trustpilot is one of the most trusted review platforms by customers worldwide. It lets anyone write reviews for free on the platform. Listing your business on this platform can help you gain a good number of positive reviews from your customers. 

Conclusion

Review management for restaurants helps your place be seen as a trusted one. When people go online, they believe what other people say about a particular place. Positive reviews can build trust and improve your restaurant’s reputation, while negative reviews keep customers away. Invest in your restaurant’s reputation management by partnering with a reliable review management agency like Followers Rich. They provide one of the best services in the industry and can manage your online reviews.