Serve Me Some Yelp!
For those of you who have not noticed, the recession has had an impact on the restaurant industry. Filling those seats with paying customers is the mission of every small, medium and large eatery hoping to survive through this economic downturn. What some restaurants, and many other small businesses are noticing, is that people are turning to Yelp for advice on what is good and what is not. Hence, my call out to Yelp and some guidance for all restaurateurs.
YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE TALKING ABOUT YOUR ESTABLISHMENT! (On Yelp)
That being said, what a great opportunity to reach out to potential brand ambassadors or connect with someone who may have had a less than stellar visit.
The Yelp community is comprised of individuals who comment and rate on a array of services/offerings in dozens of categories. If someone has experienced it then they offer a viable and potentially honest opinion of what they encountered. I can honestly say that I have turned my car away from several service repair shops having read the horror stories.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Back to the Food opportunity. Find your restaurant on Yelp. If it is not there, then create a profile for it. If it is there, take note of the comments. Are they mostly positive? Did some people have a bad experience? Gleam the information and check for trends. Are people waiting too long without being addressed? Is the same menu item leaving a bad taste with more than one person? These are your customers and they are posting valuable information.
Out of 5 stars, your restaurant will have a rating from 1 to 5. If you are a one then I would suggest calling chef Gorden Ramsey. If you are a 5 then you are definitely doing something right. If you are in-between we have an opportunity.
Reach out to the reviewers that have been to your restaurant and ask them to come back. If they had a great experience then offer them a reward as thanks for sharing their experience. If they had a horrible visit, then invite them back for a second try. Hopefully their second visit and some TLC will create an adjustment to the review. If not, consider it goodwill.
The bottom line is that Yelp offers you the chance to engage individuals who are actively sharing their review online and through word of mouth. It seems like a far better investment then shooting blanks in some of the traditional one dimensional marketing activities.