Do you participate in the restaurants’ social media marketing efforts? How much do you think about what could go right or wrong?
While social media can be an excellent promotional tool, the downside comes down to one concept: reputation management. As a recent article in Hospitality Technology points out, customers in today’s social media-obsessed world are quick to turn to their favorite online outlets to praise—or complain about—the businesses they frequent.
By promoting public comment on your business, you are exposing your soul in terms of failures in your operation. If you are satisfied with the quality and level of service at your establishment, this could be an incredible opportunity. If you don’t, it may well backfire.
The way you respond to customers is also critical. Responding in an unprofessional or inappropriate manner, even for a small local business, can turn into a viral nightmare in a matter of hours.
According to Hospitality Technology’s 2014 Customer Engagement Technology Study, 90% of respondents use restaurant social media. However, only about 1/5 of them use technology to monitor and analyze that content. Employing third-party technology to monitor their feeds allows businesses to respond quickly and effectively. The post also predicts that 2015 will be a big year for social loyalty platforms, which offer monetary rewards for customers’ social activity, creating even more feedback to manage.
Honest feedback from your customers ultimately serves to help you in your day-to-day operations, as long as you’re open to listening and tweaking things if really necessary. Should you listen to a grumpy customer? Maybe, maybe not. But if you’re constantly getting bad reviews from your customers for poor service or poorly prepared dishes, it might be time to hire some new servers or take a good look at your menu.
Some tips for managing your restaurant’s social media channels:
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Closely monitor social media pages and respond to customers promptly, especially if they had a bad experience. Try to get a response in 30 minutes to an hour, even outside of business hours.
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Respond professionally and remember the old adage: the customer is always right.
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Consider using third-party technology to monitor your social presence. You can search for comments both inside and outside your own channels, as well as giving you a broad view of comment trends.
- Hear. If your customers tell you there’s a problem, it’s very likely that it’s true.
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The restaurant’s brand is its lifeline. Make sure all the work you put into building your restaurant brand doesn’t go to waste online.
There’s no need to walk away from social media as long as you’re prepared to monitor your feeds and, above all, respond to your customers.