GMB Reviews for a Restaurant

[Nana Okyere]

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to get some insight and see if anyone had any tips for me. What is a good strategy for obtaining reviews for a Google My Business listing that is a restaurant?

Of course you want reviews but you also don't want to bombard people while they're having their meals. Any thoughts or tips? Any help is welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks!
Nana

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hey Nana,

I've never worked with restaurants at all, but it seems to me a message saying: "If it was yummy, please leave us a review on Google" or something, right on the receipt plus on a nice little sign at the cash register or the exit door would be good. I think I've seen all of the above at restaurants asking for Yelp reviews.

 

[Nana Okyere]

That's a great idea Linda, thanks for your input!

 

[Blake Denman]

One of the best things I've read (can't find the link), was a restaurant printed negative reviews they had from Yelp. This caused patrons to laugh, and to actively write reviews (positive) ones for the restaurant.

Another idea would be to add a review handout and put it somewhere on the table. You can use the Whitespark review handout generator here: https://www.whitespark.ca/review-handout-generator Just make sure you print out ones that are for mobile or the G+ app.

 

[Eric Rohrback]

Include a small card (like a sized-down version of the whitespark handout) asking for a review/feedback when the server brings the bill. Give them simple directions on how to leave a review on Google, and make sure they know their opinion is important to make the business better.

Obviously with this method you're not going to bat .1000 when it comes to getting reviews, but I don't think it's pushy or obtrusive since someone is already handing the patron something at the end of the meal.

 

[Jon Hall]

All excellent suggestions above! Re: the restaurants that made humorous use of their negative reviews, one cheeky sandwich shop owner put a sign out: ?Come in and try the worst meatball sandwich that one guy on Yelp ever had in his life.? (I documented a handful of similar clever, biting examples here: 5 Crazy/Creative Responses to Negative Reviews | Grade.us Blog)

Restaurants are obviously review-sensitive, so we work with a lot of them. Here's a great routine that one of them taught me

- They bring a small, complimentary signature treat to the table with the check and a printed review invite
- The invite has nice messaging asking for feedback and a short URL and QR code (in case the customer wants to use it right then) that drives them to a landing page where we lead them to review on G+, Yelp, Fb, TripAdvisor, etc as appropriate
- The waitstaff reinforces the message in a no-pressure way, thanking customers for any feedback they can give
- Ideally, the treat itself is something remarkable that can "spawn" a review: this place is a high-end wood-fired pizza place, so they bring tiny slices of a sweet nutella pizza that often gets mentioned!