Starting a restaurant can often feel like a balancing act of ensuring the best chefs and the right location. You may even convince yourself that perfecting these key elements will soon see your restaurant soaring. Only, within a few months of operations, you may well find that you’re sorely mistaken.
Instead, restaurant owners competing in a rife food market that typically sees rivals uncomfortably close to home need to go above and beyond with every possible angle of reputational management if they hope to truly impress. This means looking outside of even the food you serve to instead consider crucial reputational markers like the following –
# 1 – Always keep things clean
Failing a restaurant health inspection can lead to reputational damage and possible closures that even the best dishes won’t save you from. As such, the absolute first thing any restaurant manager should do is to prioritize hygiene. Even before opening, kitchen designs that factor for food storage, cleaning stations, and more are crucial. Moving forward, it’s also vital to keep even hidden kitchen areas clean with the help of professional hood cleaning services and even front-of-house teams who quickly and continually ensure exemplary hygiene standards. That way, it’ll be far easier to both gain trusting clientele, and seamlessly manage last-minute inspections without ever having to worry.
# 2 – Pay attention to your reviews
94% of diners will choose a restaurant based on online reviews alone, while 33% also report avoiding restaurants with less than 3-star ratings across sites like Yelp. This means both that restaurants need to encourage reviews, and that they need to provide the best service possible to ensure good ones. Review incentives like entry into prize draws etc. can especially help to keep reviews coming, while further efforts including the hygiene practices mentioned and the hiring of the best chefs can all keep those reviews positive. It’s also crucial to monitor online reviews, paying attention to any negative ones and making sure to respond to them to show that you care and are willing to make changes.
# 3 – Keep your offerings fresh
While some diners will return to a restaurant time and again on the strength of one dish, most people prefer to experience new tastes and treats each time they head out to eat. As such, the right reputation for your restaurant is also reliant on a menu that develops and grows at all times. This isn’t to say that you should continually change the menu that gets people on board in the first place, but introducing new dishes and always offering a unique specials board can help to provide a breath of fresh air that keeps even your regulars excited and onboard to share in your success right alongside you.
Restaurant reputation management isn’t difficult, or even all that different from the considerations of any other company. Simply make sure you realize the importance of taking these steps regardless of how well you think your food speaks for itself!