Monday, June 20, 2011

The Power of Restaurant Customers

yelp_elite
I’ve just read an interesting article in BusinessWeek about the Yelp Elite reviewers and their power to make or break a restaurant. It is kind of scary to think that these people, mysteriously selected by Yelp (they don’t say the criteria) have so much power and feel entitled to review a restaurant based on their experience of one visit. If one waiter has a bad day, tough luck, the restaurant will go down in infamy because of the review of the Yelp Elite Member.

You can read the complete article here: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_24/b4232083260194.htm

Although this seems like a very unfair practice (and it is), you have always to remember everything that I told you: your main marketing expenses should be always focused on your existing customers. It is useless to spend money trying to bring new customers to your restaurant (at least that you just opened it) while neglecting the ones that you already have sitting at your table.

In the past, there were a few prestigious food critics. Only big newspapers and magazines could afford to have foodies in their staff eating at fashionable places and writing a review about them. Because of the scarcity of the critics, 90% of the restaurants never got reviewed and therefore could afford to keep on doing business as usual, even if business as usual meant getting several customers unhappy or even blatantly angry. After all, the maximum damage that they could do is to tell their friends and family, a relatively reduced crowd.

In these days of the Internet and Social Media, everything has changed. All the sudden, the critics could be anyone and their opinions are read by hundreds if not thousands of potential customers. If you already know the place, you make your own opinions based on your own experience, but if you don’t, you probably go online (I know I do) and read the opinions of other people who had eaten there.

With all the restaurant offerings guess which one people will choose? The one with high ratings and reviews or the one with low ratings and nasty comments?

The fact that the opinions can be read by so many people means that each customer counts. Never underestimate the lonely customer that you sit in the crappiest table because you think that s/he will spend little money. S/he could be an Elite member of Yelp or just some foodie blogger with influence over hundreds or even thousands (depending where your place is located) potential customers.

Just that one meal could cost you dearly in future revenues.

If you always follow the model that I preach: bend backwards to please your customers and think that your clients are your number one priority, you will be heads and shoulders above your competitors who think short term profits versus lifelong clients.

Of course, I am partial, but if you haven’t done so, I would recommend that you buy my Restaurant Marketing Strategies book or ebook (just click on the link for more info, it is a VERY inexpensive marketing investment that can bring you thousands in revenue). Read very carefully chapter one and try to apply the learnings to your business.

Your customers will be grateful that you did and your business will get great online reviews.

Happy customers,
Jose L Riesco