In order for your bar or restaurant to build a good following, you need to have positive online reviews.
In this day and age, most people turn to reviews on the internet to help figure out the hot spots and determine which places to check out.
A good or bad review can make or break your business, so it’s important to know how to get the best reviews from your customers to help your business grow.
Here are several ways to help you start getting better reviews.
Customer Service
Having great customer service is key to getting positive reviews. A happy customer says good things and a customer who’s had a bad experience will not be as nice. Here are some ways you can better serve customers. It’s sad to say but most of the time a person will go online to write bad reviews over good ones. So always give each customer the best service possible.
Ask Your Customers
Don’t be afraid to ask someone who has had a good experience to get online and give you a review. Many people who are happy with the service won’t mind doing something nice for you. It would not hurt to provide some incentives for doing so.
Pay Attention
Customers perception of the environment and atmosphere includes many variables. If the bathrooms or the floors are always dirty someone will notice and write about it online. Also be cautious of the music volume. Being polite is essential for keeping happy, satisfied customers. Keep in mind that without your customers you wouldn’t be in business, so all your customers are valuable to you.
You Won’t Please Everyone
Every once in awhile you will deal with customers having a bad day thus they are motivated to write a bad review. Here are some tips to deal with rude regulars. No business is perfect and a bad review from time to time is okay. As long as the trend of reviews are trending upward in the positive direction, readers will understand the culture of your bar. However, if you’re always are receiving bad reviews that might mean you have to rethink how you run the business and treat customers.
Use Incentives
Direct your customers to your website to complete a review and give away incentives like coupons. Some businesses promote customer of the day (or week) on social media and give away free lunches to the winners. This will encourage more reviews and encourage people to check out your website and social media pages. Be creative. The greater the online presence, the stronger your venue will be.
Online Review Sites
It’s important to get your bar on as many review sites as possible. Create profiles at various sites such as Yelp, Google, Hubspot, Glassdoor, Foursquare and Sitejabber to name a few. Here are some ways to get hundreds of positive online reviews. Be sure to create an in depth profile and make it really convenient for customers to review you often. Just don’t forget to check them and respond accordingly if you get a negative one.
Make it Easy
Use social media and share information. And you don’t always have to share information specific to your bar. Post enough that your page shows up on your customer’s timeline and they are reminded you are there. Give customers links on social media websites like Facebook to be able to complete reviews on your website. And to take it a step further, provide the customers ways to write reviews on your social channels. If you keep it simple and convenient, you will get more reviews and hopefully they are positive.
Email Lists
Always ask for customer emails to encourage them to write positive reviews. You can do this with a customer comment card that you can give to them while they are out and direct them to your landing page. Set up an email marketing campaign and notify email subscribers with updated information about your bar, new promotions and discounts. Be sure you use an email marketing service like Mailchimp to follow the correct rules of sending out email blasts.
Website and Blog
In order to create a good following and to get more reviews you should have a sound website and blog. You can include customers testimonials and also links to your review sites. This will encourage more people to review you.
Overall, by giving good customer service, promoting your business online, setting a good atmosphere and encourage your customers to review your business you will get more positive reviews. Reviews draw in customers and that is your revenue source so it’s important to have a positive social media presence.