Everyone's a critic. No, really! All you need is a smartphone and internet. You can take pictures of a restaurant and it’s food, share your experience and write your opinion on the multiple discovery platforms and review sites in a matter of seconds. 

In our previous blog, we talked about negative reviews and how you can tackle them. With the difficult job out of the way, we’re going to discuss positive restaurant reviews and how you can use them to your advantage. 

The customers who take the effort to write an appreciative review are essentially your brand ambassadors, and it is a great marketing opportunity for you to promote your restaurant.

So, why exactly are reviews an important marketing tool?

Simple, customer reviews add credibility to your restaurant. They attract new customers. The primary reason why customers share their experience in the form of reviews is to let their friends and family know. And these reviews itself help potential customers decide where they want to visit next. 

You can also take these reviews and highlight them on other platforms for more potential customers to see. This creates a feeling of missing out, and potential customers would want to see what the hype is about and visit your restaurant to enjoy the experience themselves. 

Let’s see the different ways you can use customer reviews to promote your restaurant:

1. Reviews are essentially customer-generated content, highlight them on social media. 

Pick the best reviews your online has received online, look for the ones with good pictures and a vivid description of your restaurant and it’s food. You could turn reviews into graphics. Then, take these reviews and design them into creatives to share on your social media as posts and stories. Don’t forget to tag your customers, in all probability they will reshare these on their profiles as well. Hence amplifying the reach of your post. If you’ve posted it to your profile as your story, add it to your profile highlights so they remain there in perpetuity for visitors to view in their own time. You can also reach out to your customer and if they agree share their review along with their photo. If the customers share a video review, nothing like it.

Want to keep it simple? Just reply to the review you’ve received on the various online sites and share a screenshot of the same!

2. Respond to positive reviews with an offer to generate repeat visits.

While tackling negative reviews, restaurants often forget to respond to the positive ones. While a like is an acknowledgement of the review, a reply adds a personal touch and shows gratitude. 

Don’t understand why? Imagine complimenting someone and getting just a thumbs up in return. Go the extra mile and thank customers for their positive comments. You can also add an offer that they can redeem on their next visit, say a free item or a discount. This habit will turn your happy customers into regulars. And this is a great scenario as more than two-thirds of your revenue is generated by your regulars and VIPs!

3. Use customer reviews as testimonials on your restaurant website.

We’ve already discussed the importance of customer reviews in building your restaurant’s credibility. Apart from highlighting the same on your social media, use the reviews as testimonials on your restaurant’s website as well. Potential customers discover your restaurant via various mediums, and your website plays a vital role in discovery via search engines. Once customers land on your website, looking at testimonials will reinforce their decision in visiting your restaurant.

4. Customer reviews are feedback in a sense, improve your restaurant based on them.

The positive reviews customers give your restaurant are a reflection of all things you are doing right. They give you the customers’ perspective into what is working and what is not. Identify what customers appreciate and build on it.

Have you noticed frequent mention of a particular dish? Develop the dish further and introduce specials. Create a weekly special around the item and attract customers who have a liking towards it.

Have you seen praises for a particular staff member? Make them employee of the month and motivate the remaining to work towards the same.

Do you see frequent pictures of a particular feature at your restaurant? Add more of it. Give customers more chances to make the perfect Insta moment at your restaurant!

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What’re you waiting for? Go make the most of your positive reviews today!