NRA Show Blog

The great debate: are Yelp reviews a good or bad thing?

 
By Jennifer McLaughlin, Contributing Blogger

Ever had a bad review on Yelp? If you are anything like Chef Stefan Richter, “Top Chef” runner up and restaurateur, you may have lost sleep over negative Yelp reviews. With 50 million unique visitors each month, it is hard to ignore the influence of Yelp. It has turned the tables on how diners discover new places to eat and how restaurants operate. 

At today’s education session, 2011 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show attendees listened to a lively discussion with Stefan Richter, Luther Lowe, director of business outreach for Yelp and moderator Corby Kummer, senior editor, The Atlantic.

As a business owner, Richter opened the discussion with his own personal experience with Yelp. “I just opened my restaurant in L.A., and the first three Yelp reviews were horrible. They hated the place. The food was bad. Service was bad. Everything was bad. And you start to think, how could this happen? I cook everyday, I buy the best ingredients—it can make your head spin.

6 steps to get more talked about, recommended

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

As we reported last month, the National Restaurant Association’s 2011 Restaurant Industry Forecast indicates social media savvy consumers (those who are frequent users of at least one social media tool, including Facebook, Twitter, mobile phone applications such as Foursquare or Urban Spoon, or online review sites such as Yelp) are most active in the restaurant industry. 

What others are saying about NRA Show 2010

It's Day 2 at NRA Show 2010, and it's getting hot in here! Attendees and exhibitors are connecting, meeting restaurant industry leaders, learning the latest foodservice trends and having a blast while doing so. Don't believe us? See what others are saying about NRA Show 2010 on Twitter in real time!

If you have something to share about this year's event, add #nrashow (or #iwsb for the International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event) to your tweet. And follow us @nrashow2010 too.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Original post ran February 15, 2010 in SmartBlog on Social Media by Jesse Stanchak, associate editor, SmartBrief on Social Media

Today’s post comes from Derrek J. Hull, voice of the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show and International Wine Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) blog Floored!, as well as its Twitter and Facebook profiles.

Restaurants need a response plan that includes social media elements to cope with the fact that customers can leave negative comments almost instantaneously.  Having a plan in place before a situation occurs lets everyone on your team know who the point person is for the response, along with the chain of command and the plan for monitoring the conversation.

Everyone gets a good or bad review at some point. Embrace it — and in the case of a bad review, don’t sweat it. Look at every comment as an opportunity to have a conversation.

“If people are taking the time to give you feedback — even if it’s negative — that’s an opportunity for you to re-frame the conversation with them and hopefully turn the situation into a positive,” said Spike Jones, of word of mouth and identity firm Brains on Fire.

Nobody is perfect. A couple of bad reviews alongside highly positive reviews actually makes potential customers more likely to take you seriously, because they realize your page isn’t full of shills posting fake positive reviews. In the case of Yelp, business owners have an option to respond privately and publicly to reviews — this free feature can be unlocked by visiting biz.yelp.com.

Restaurant Industry Outlook Brightens in 2010, Sales to Reach $580 Billion

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

With the economy improving, the restaurant industry is projected to show improvement in 2010, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2010 Restaurant Industry Forecast.

Restaurant industry sales are forecasted to top $580 this year, a 2.5 percent increase over 2009. Job growth is also expected to pick up in 2010, and the restaurant industry is slated to add 1.3 million career and employment opportunities by 2020.

Consumers continue to seek value, convenience and expanded menu options in 2010 – and restaurants are stepping up to the plate to deliver. Pent-up consumer demand for dining out more often will pick up as the economy continues this upward movement.

Three Must-Do Word of Mouth Ideas

 
By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

 Make yourself look like a rock star by doing these simple things starting today. It's not rocket science folks, these ideas are free, easy and are the most effective way to get you more word of mouth.

1. Ask people to spread the word

2. Put everything in an e-mail

3. Add a tell-a-friend link on every page of your Web site

As Floored!'sword of mouth supergenius contributing blogger Andy Sernovitz always says, tell a friend and be remarkable. How is your company getting people to talk about you?

Andy Sernovitz will be moderating a WOM/social media panel of operators including Domino's Pizza's Ramon De Leon at the National Restaurant Association's NRA Show 2010, held May 22-25, 2010 at Chicago's McCormick Place. Stay tuned for more details.

* Excerpts/ideas from Andy Sernovitz's Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking book.

10 Golden Rules of Responding in the Social Media Age

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Converseon's Lindsay Lebresco recently spoke at Gaspedal's Word of Mouth Supergenius conference about "the golden rules of responding" in the social media age.

Lebresco dished out ten tips to join in the conversation:

• Respect (the venue, the participants, the importance of even a single comment)
• Expect everything to be public (even if you intended it to be private)
• Speed is of the essence (react in a timely and appropriate manner)
• Openness and Transparency are key (trust is paramount)
• Never conceal (who you are, who you work for and what your intentions are - FTC Guidelines)
• Do your homework (search, listen, read, know your communities first)
• Identify an engager (someone who will represent you well)
• Nothing builds credibility like action (do what you say or don't say it)
• Gather internal resources now (get them trained and ready to respond)

What's missing? Oh yeah, that's why Paying attention is so important!

Word of Mouth Tip #229: Say thanks!

* Word of mouth tip #229 is from word of mouth super genius Andy Sernovitz's book Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking

Starbucks Brews Action With Word of Mouth and Social Media

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Last week's ideas-packed Word of Mouth Supergenius Conference hosted by GasPedal was a smash hit. Thanks a mil to all the speakers who shared tips and ideas on how to be great at word of mouth marketing.

We met up at the conference with Starbucks'  very own word of mouth/social media master Matthew Guiste for a one-on-one interview about how the company creates action with word of mouth and social media.

Q: How [and why] does Starbucks engage in WOM and social media?

A: We view social media not as a marketing channel, but as a way to genuinely connect with our customers outside the four walls of our stores. We meet them through a variety of experiences and online places. Chief among them are Facebook, Twitter, MyStarbucksIdea.com, YouTube and Flickr. We engage in these channels for a variety of reasons, most of which fit into the following three buckets:

• Listen and Learn: Active participation in the conversations in these places help us hear directly from and speak directly to our customers.

11 Great Ideas from Word of Mouth Supergenius Conference

Yesterday I spent a great day with loads of smart people at Supergenius, the Word-of-Mouth (WOM) conference hosted by Gaspedal.

After attending 11 amazing sessions, I decided to share my Top 11 Ideas here. One thing to note – many of the speakers were consistent in messages. So while I give credit here to these specific presenters, I heard similar themes throughout the day.

1. An army of fans becomes a permanent advantage. (from Andy Sernovitz, Floored!'sWOM contributing blogger)

Andy, with all sorts of passion, restated the basics – but often overlooked – aspects of WOM. Fans will always have a better message than a marketing team. A “Tell A Friend” form on your web site will produce higher quality leads that are free. The big question to ask yourself about your service, your product, your message or your company: Would anyone tell a friend!?

2. Movements never end. Campaigns are short-lived. (from Spike Jones)

Spike reminded us it’s about elevating the conversation. The talk is not about your product, it’s about what people do with your product – what do they achieve, what do they feel, and how can you provide space for your best customers and fans? Movements have inspirational leadership and active participants. To create this, there is actually a barrier to entry to a movement so you only get those who really want to be there and participate.

Greetings from Word of Mouth Supergenius Conference

A big hello and good morning from all of us at GasPedal as we get ready to kick off Word of Mouth Supergenius: The “How to be Great at Word of Mouth Marketing” Conference.

We’re thrilled to be bringing together such an awesome lineup of brilliant word of mouth marketers — and even more thrilled at all the other ones joining us in the crowd today. It’s going to be one intense day filled with 12 how-to classes, 12 real-world case studies, and 6 brilliant authors.

How to follow today’s Word of Mouth Supergenius:

National Restaurant Association's NRA Show 2010 and International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event "Tweet Team": @nrashow2010

Live blogging coverage: Click here
Twitter: Use the hashtag #Supergenius

Original post: GasPedal's Word of Mouth Marketing Blog