The Secret to Getting More Positive Yelp Reviews for Your Restaurant
As a restaurant owner, you know it’s not difficult to provide delicious dishes and great service to your customers, but the tricky part is getting them to write about it on Yelp. While Yelp has policies around soliciting reviews and advises against asking for them, you can still use effective strategies to encourage your customers to write more positive reviews on your restaurant’s Yelp page.
Here are the top 3 ways you can get more positive reviews today:
1. Promote your restaurant’s Yelp page.
You may not be able to ask customers for positive reviews, but that doesn’t mean you can’t nudge them. When customers have a positive experience at a restaurant, it’s less likely to occur to them to write a review than if they had a negative one. Let your customers know about your restaurant’s presence on Yelp, and they’ll be more likely write positive reviews.
How can you promote it?
You can promote this in house by writing your Yelp address on the bottom of a customer’s receipt, or even just asking them to check you out on Yelp. Many businesses utilize Yelp’s branded stickers on their storefront windows, which can be found here.
Across your social media platforms, you can also occasionally post links to your Yelp page with this caption: “Check us out on Yelp!”
2. Respond to all reviews.
Responding to all reviews on Yelp, both positive and negative, can have a huge impact on your restaurant’s reputation. A large number of consumers, 88%, consult online reviews before making a purchase. Potential customers are visiting your page to find out more about your restaurant, responding to your reviews can help you build trust with current and potential customers, and highlight all the great things your restaurant is doing.
These responses can also help increase your restaurant’s star rating on Yelp, which has been shown to correlate with an increase in revenue.
How should you respond?
The key to writing a great review response is personalization and sincerity. Using words from a review in your response shows not only that you actually read what they wrote, but it also gives you an opportunity to reinforce some of the great things the reviewer said. Making the response as personalized as possible will make the reviewer see that their feedback is valuable, and it will make them excited to come back. Anyone else who sees the response might also feel motivated to dine at your restaurant over another one in the area.
3. Share your positive reviews.
Cross-promoting your positive reviews across your social channels helps promote your Yelp page in a compelling way, and it’s a great way to increase customer loyalty and encourage other satisfied customers to write positive reviews.
How can I share reviews?
The simplest way to share a positive review is by taking a screenshot and posting that to your Facebook and Twitter pages. You can also just cut and paste the text of the review on your social pages with a “Thanks!” to the reviewer. Using sites like Canva to make quick graphics with customer quotes incorporated, is another option if you have the time. Adding a graphic to your post can increase engagement with your audience across your social media.
Encouraging happy customers to leave positive reviews and responding to the reviews that already exist on your page are excellent ways to help potential customers view your business in a positive light. And, sharing those positive reviews can help build trust with your community of new and loyal fans.
As a local business owner, using Yelp effectively can show your current and potential new customers how great your local restaurant is.
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