Keeping your restaurant hopping with both in-store diners & online orders means you have to continually see the experience through the eyes of your guests. A great way to do this is by proactively managing your reviews. Research shows that 91% of people read reviews, and 84% trust them as much as a personal recommendation. That means reviews massively influence whether people will choose to do business with you.

You want the most 5-Star reviews you can get, AND you want to view not-so-stellar reviews as an opportunity. But – wouldn’t it be great if these negative reviews weren’t public?

There’s a few ways you can approach getting great online reviews. Some restaurants have their staff ask happy guests to leave a review. Others send a text to those who order online. You could also pay to have some kind of review tech built into your website, but that wouldn’t get those reviews on Google.

Another option is to bring aboard software from a company like SWIPEBY that automates it all. With the SWIPEBY tech, we ask the guest to review the restaurant with every online order. If the guest gives a 5 Star rating, we make it easy for them to publish it publicly on Google. If the review is less than 5 Stars, we ask for feedback that we can share with you. In this way, the guest has the opportunity to “vent,” and you have a chance to address their issues & hopefully build a lasting, loyal relationship with that guest.

Whatever your decision, it’s undisputed that reviews are a big deal to a small business and can help drive diners to your restaurant.