How To Encourage Customers To Review Your Restaurant

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of a restaurant is probably the food. But what about reviews?

The more positive reviews you have, the better your chances of attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. So it's important for restaurants to encourage their customers to leave feedback online—especially on review sites like Yelp, Zomato and Google, as well as social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.

Find out more about how Liven can help you cultivate your community of super-fans who attend more frequently, leave raving reviews, bring their friends and spend more.

Connect with customers through social media, review sites and email marketing

Here are some of the ways you can encourage your customers to leave positive feedback about your restaurant on review sites, and through social media channels.

• Use social media to reach out to your customers. You can use Facebook and Twitter to reach out to past and current patrons of your restaurant. Let them know that you're offering a free dessert or appetiser if they leave a review for their experience at one of your restaurants, or just link back to this page so that it's easy for them to find out how they can write reviews for you!
• Use email marketing to reach out to your customers. Email marketing is another way that you can use technology to get more positive reviews online—and it’s easy too! The first step is getting a list of all of your current customers’ email addresses so that you can send them special offers or coupons if they leave a review on one of these sites like Yelp or Google Reviews (or even TripAdvisor). Then once they’ve written their review(s), contact them again via email with another exclusive offer in exchange for leaving yet another piece of feedback online!

Put a smile on your customers' faces

A great first impression is paramount. Give your customers a reason to feel like they are a part of the restaurant and that their experience will be worth reviewing. Here are some things you can do:

• Make them feel valued. A good way to do this is by thanking them for coming in and making sure they know that they're being seen as important guests by the staff, even if they're only there for a quick bite.
• Make them feel special. Include little details that show that you care about the customer's experience—for example, asking how their food was or if everything is okay with their table setting or seating arrangements so far.
• Make them feel cared for as soon as possible (i.e., when their order is taken). Be attentive and friendly when taking orders from people who have just walked into your business; this will make all subsequent interactions easier for everyone involved since it'll help build trust between parties involved (especially if issues arise during service).

Send a follow-up message to the customer

After the customer has left, send a follow-up message to the customer that asks for an online review and a star rating. You can use this approach with any type of business that has a good number of customers coming through the door on a regular basis, such as restaurants and retail stores.

Offer incentives for leaving reviews

One of the best ways to get people talking about your restaurant is by offering them an incentive for leaving a review. The type of incentive you offer will depend on your budget, but here are some ideas:

• Offer a discount on their next visit
• Offer a free drink or appetizer
• Offer a free dessert or entree

Don't be afraid to ask!

The best way to get customers to leave reviews? Ask them.

Asking your customers is the most effective method to ensure that they'll take the time to leave you a review. Not only are they more likely to write one, but it also increases their overall satisfaction with your business. According to our survey results, people who have been asked by an employee or manager are more than twice as likely to write a review than those who haven't (73% vs 31%).

If you don't ask often enough, you may be missing out on potential new customers and turning away loyal ones—all because of a few words on an empty screen. Don't let this be you!

To conclude

The bottom line? Asking customers to leave reviews can be scary, but it's something that many restaurants are doing more often these days. The best way of encouraging your customers to do this is by showing them that you genuinely care about providing the best experience possible. If you want to improve your restaurant's reputation and make sure others know how great it is, then make sure you're doing everything possible to get those reviews on review sites like Yelp or Google!

Got an amazing venue yourself? Apply now to become a Liven merchant and we'll help you showcase your vibe to our community of foodies!