How To Get More Reviews For Your Restaurant or Business

27 Aug How To Get More Reviews For Your Restaurant or Business

Yesterday we talked about how to lay a solid foundation with regard to establishing your business online.  Today, we’ll talk about how to actively engage your guests and leverage Google Places for Business for it’s full potential.

As a restaurant owner, you know how vital it is to have great reviews.  Today, with more and more people owning a smart phone, the masses now have the ability to quickly and easily make reviews for their favorite products or services.  They also have the ability to broadcast to the world about any negative experiences they may have encountered.

Having a high number of reviews is helpful from many perspectives.  Of course, a restaurant with one or two reviews just doesn’t carry the buzz that a restaurant with 25-75 reviews does.  When someone searches and finds your restaurant, is there activity on your reviews page?  If not, it’s like walking into a dead restaurant.  You get this weird feeling that other people know something you don’t, and maybe you should stay away too.

How to get more reviews:

To start, just ask for them.  As the owner, you should be engaging with your guests as often as you can.  When you do, ask your guests about their service, and encourage your staff to do the same.  Simply asking them what they enjoyed the most will prompt them to think of a unique experience they loved.  Once they spill the beans, tell them how much you appreciate their feedback, and ask them if they’d be willing to make a review on your google account.  Most will feel honored that you asked them to do so, and will at least verbally oblige.  However, the easier you make it for them, the more people will actually post a review.

Make it Easy.

Google hasn’t necessarily made providing reviews easy.  However, with a little work, you can make it super easy for your guests.  Here’s how:

1. Take this link, and modify it.  You’ll need to replace the 21-digit number with your own.  To find this number, simply visit your google places page, and copy it from the address bar. https://plus.google.com/107288058131961398577/about?hl=en&review=1
2. Next, test out your link by pasting it into a new window or tab on your browser. Make sure it takes you to your page, and the “write a review” button is listed.
3. Once you have the correct link, copy it from your address bar, and then visit https://beqrious.com/qr-code-generator/.  Here you will paste your code in the box that says, “enter web URL.”  Adjust your settings in box 2, and a QR code will reveal in box 3. Keep in mind, you don’t have to pay for this service.  Upgrading will allow you to adopt more services, like geo-tracking, and making your code appear more fancy.  This is added expense you probably don’t need, but if you want to dress it up a bit, there’s no harm in doing so. Also, there are many other services that provide the same thing, and you’re free to find the one that works the best for your needs. You may want to repeat these steps and do the same thing for YELP.  Giving your customers an option is helpful since not everyone has a Google + account.
4. Once you have your QR Code, drop it on the back of a business card.  On the front of the card, you could even give a coupon for their next visit.  Putting something like, “We love our guests, and greatly value their honest review.  Please accept this coupon as our way of saying thanks.”  Then offer them 10%-20% off their next bill.

Here are a couple examples of Review Cards I found for a dentist office you might find helpful:

Advertise for Reviews

Make up a sign similar to the one below.  The example only has the basic elements you’ll want to be sure to include, but you’ll also want to dress it up with your own colors, logo, etc.  Make sure the text reflects your brands personality!

And you’re off!  By following these steps, you should be able to quickly add reviews for your restaurant.  Want another side bonus for quality & quantity reviews?  The more positive reviews you receive, the more Google feels like they can trust you.  The more Google feels like they can trust you, the higher you’ll rank in the search results.  That’s a big win!

Leveraging these organic tools in Google can dramatically increase your resturaunt’s visibility online.  So don’t delay, get started now!

Tomorrow I’ll pick up where we left off, and we’ll talk about what to do when you get a negative review.  Until then, and as always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions, comments, or I can help in any way!