Feeling like people aren’t rating your restaurant or café highly even though you’ve ensured you’re providing the best service possible?
Here are some quick ways for you to boost that rating.
Rule Number One, Always Make it Easy for Customers to Leave Reviews!
Not everyone is tech-savvy and knows how to appreciate your F&B business in the online world.
Showing them the steps to leaving a comment or a Google review can go a long way to boosting that rating.
Check out some of these strategies to make it easier for customers to leave reviews for you. How many strategies do you use?
- Direct Links to Your Review Page: Create a direct link to your Google review page and share it widely. You can place this link on your website, in email signatures, and on social media profiles.
The direct link removes any barriers, making it easy for customers to access your review page with just a click. - Incorporate Links in Your Communication: Add the review link to your email newsletters, order confirmations, and follow-up emails.
For example, if you send out a thank-you email after a customer’s visit, include a call-to-action with the link, encouraging them to share their feedback. - Use QR Codes: Print QR codes that link directly to your Google review page and place them on receipts, menus, or promotional materials. QR codes are a quick and easy way for customers to access your review page using their smartphones.
- Optimize Your Website: Dedicate a section of your website to customer reviews.
Create a user-friendly page where visitors can easily find and click the link to leave a review. Highlighting this section can also demonstrate the importance you place on customer feedback. - Social Media Integration: Share your review link on your social media channels.
You can create engaging posts that encourage your followers to leave a review and include the link in your bio or posts. You might even consider pinning a post with the review link to the top of your profile for easy access. - Printed Materials: Incorporate the review link into printed materials such as flyers, posters, or business cards. You can include a simple call-to-action like “We’d love your feedback! Scan this QR code or visit [your review link] to leave a review.”
- Encourage Review Sharing: After a positive interaction, ask customers to share their review link with friends and family. If they’ve had a great experience, they might be willing to spread the word and encourage others to review as well.
By removing obstacles and making the review process as straightforward as possible, you’re more likely to receive more customer feedback.
The easier you make it for your customers to leave a review, the more likely they are to share their positive experiences, helping to boost your overall Google review rating.
Quickly Respond to Reviews
By responding thoughtfully and professionally to all reviews, no matter good or bad reviews, you show your customers that their opinions matter and that you are dedicated to continuous improvement. This engagement not only helps in resolving individual concerns but also enhances your business’s reputation and encourages others to share their positive experiences.
Here’s how to effectively respond to both positive and negative feedback:
- Acknowledge and Thank Positive Reviews: Show appreciation by thanking customers for their positive feedback. A simple response like, “Thanks for your kind words! We’re thrilled you enjoyed your meal and look forward to seeing you again!” can go a long way.
- Respond Promptly: Aim to reply to reviews within a few days. Quick responses show that you value customer feedback and are actively engaged with your audience.
- Be Personal and Specific: Mention details from the customer’s review to show that you’ve genuinely read their feedback. For example, “We’re glad you loved our signature dish! Our chef will be pleased to hear that.”
- Handle Negative Reviews Professionally: Address concerns calmly and professionally. Apologize for any issues and explain how you’ll address them. For instance, “We’re sorry to hear about your recent experience. We’re looking into this and hope to make it right. Please contact us directly at [contact information] so we can discuss further.”
- Highlight Improvements: If applicable, mention any changes or improvements you’ve made based on the feedback. This shows that you listen and act on customer input.
Leverage Technology for Better Service, Better Google Review Rating
Utilizing technology is a powerful way to boost your restaurant’s efficiency and enhance overall customer satisfaction. Modern tools like EngageAny are designed to transform the way you manage your operations, making it easier to deliver exceptional service. These tools offer a range of features that streamline staff management, helping you run your business more smoothly and effectively.
By integrating technology into your operations, you can automate and optimize various aspects of staff management. For instance, EngageAny’s features, such as Challenge Goal can ensure that your restaurant gets the Google Review with a better rating.
The Customer Review (Google Review) challenge in StaffAny’s EngageAny platform allows businesses to boost workplace performance through gamification. By setting up challenges, employees can earn coins by participating and achieving specific goals. These coins can then be redeemed for various rewards from the Reward Catalogue.
The goal of the Customer Review challenge is to incentivize staff to gather more customer reviews, specifically from Google Reviews, which helps the business increase its online presence. This feature is currently exclusive and requires integration with a Google Business account. The system automatically pulls reviews from Google, and coins are awarded to participants in designated sections for each qualified review.
To configure the challenge, managers must set a reward milestone by indicating the star rating required for a review to qualify. The challenge is section-based, meaning all staff in a selected section participate and can be rewarded when the goal is achieved.
Participants can view the challenge progress through a table showing rankings, sections, the number of qualified reviews, coins earned, and an option to view the submitted reviews. Coins are disbursed daily based on the previous day’s qualified reviews.
Challenges can end either by a set end date (time-triggered) or manually by a user (user-triggered). For one-time challenges, user-triggered endings notify participants and lock changes to the participant list. For recurring challenges, a time-trigger ends the current cycle and starts a new one, while a user-trigger stops both current and future cycles.
By integrating this feature into your operations with EngageAny, you can optimize staff management, enhance service quality, and improve customer satisfaction, leading to more positive reviews and a stronger online reputation.
Conclusion
Improving your Google review rating is all about providing exceptional service, making it easy for customers to leave feedback, and using that feedback to make your business even better. With tools like EngageAny to optimize your staff management and a focus on customer satisfaction, you’ll be well on your way to boosting your online reputation.
Start implementing these tips today and watch those positive reviews roll in. Your future customers are eager to discover your amazing restaurant! Contact us today to learn more and see how our solutions can make a difference for your business.
