16
Quarter3
market ing
It’s important to consider what you can learn from people’s
complaints. Reviews can alert you to a problem you hadn’t been
aware of, or help you understand what customers really expect
from you. Think of reviews as consumer research—to be heeded
with a grain of salt, of course.
2. When you respond, I suggest you apologize publicly and
address privately—
in other words, post a public response
expressing your sincere apologies for the disappointment
and your commitment to fixing the problem, then initiate
one-on-one communication with the reviewer so you
can address his concerns individually. In your personal
interaction, be sure to thank the person for the feedback
and address the specific points raised. If appropriate,
explain what you are doing to avoid the problem in the
future. Then invite the reviewer to come back and ask for
you or the manager so you can ensure his or her next visit
is a positive one. Going the extra mile in this way might
actually prompt the reviewer to post a retraction.
If the review conveys false information, you can work through
the review site to remove it. If you’ve been hit by widespread
negative reviews, you can hire an online reputation management
firm to mitigate the damage. There’s also the option of suing the
reviewer, or threatening to do so, though there is not yet much
proof that this action can be successful. None of these actions
seem to be in your best interests.
3. Perhaps the most important thing to do is to be proactive.
Encourage positive reviews and build up a bank of them
that will serve as a strong defense against any false or
misleading reviews. It’s OK to ask people to submit reviews
(most people like to be asked their opinion), and you can
make it easy for them to do so by collecting their e-mail or
mobile contact information while they’re at your restaurant
and then sending a thank-you note with a clickable link for
posting a review. Responding to positive reviews is also an
effective tactic to encourage more positive reviews.
Generally speaking, review sites should be considered brand
touch points. They present regular occasions to either enhance
your brand image or diminish it. Just as you invest time and
energy in designing ads, collateral, and signage, you should
actively manage your reviews. Word of mouth has always been
the most effective business-generating tool for restaurants, and
now word of mouth has been replaced by “word of mouse.”
Online reviews are faster, cheaper (they’re free!), and more
effective than traditional advertising in generating awareness
and buzz for your concept.
Reviews also provide a way to develop sustainable relationships
with customers. It’s well known that attracting new customers
is more expensive than retaining existing ones, and reviews
present opportunities to convert one-time visitors into repeat
ones. When you respond to reviews, you engage with customers
personally and get to thank them for their business. This will
prompt many of them to return.
It’s also widely recognized that when you recover well from
making a mistake, people end up more satisfied than if they
hadn’t experienced a problem in the first place. There’s a
growing body of evidence that shows great service recovery
actually converts customers into more loyal and profitable ones.
So a negative review represents a brand-building opportunity.
To the maxim “to err is human,” I would add, “to recover well
is brilliant.”
