In the restaurant business, creating and maintaining a good reputation is essential. One factor that can make or break your reputation is online reviews.
Managing multiple online review sites without a robust system is nearly impossible. There are bound to be errors and review sites that slip through the cracks.
Restaurant reputation management software might be the answer to this! Let’s discuss what to look for in a restaurant reputation management program. We’ll also recommend some software options! Â
What is Restaurant Reputation Management Software?
Restaurant reputation management software allows restaurants to monitor and track reviews. You can respond to positive reviews, and resolve negative reviews across multiple channels.
It also allows restaurants to evaluate their reputation and monitor different teams and their performance toward customers.
When you combine this with other restaurant technology, you can automate and optimize almost all restaurant backend functions.
Benefits of Restaurant Reputation Management Software
Let’s take a look at some common benefits of using restaurant reputation management software.
Easy Review Monitoring
Modern reviewing has expanded in recent years, with dozens of online review sites that have a say in whether people should visit your restaurant or not. Review management across all these websites and social media platforms is nearly impossible.
Restaurant reputation management simplifies the review monitoring process. Users can monitor and respond to online reviews from one dashboard on multiple devices, even mobile devices.
Maintain a Positive Online Reputation
77% of people check reviews before settling on a brand. Clearly, your reputation is important!
To maintain a positive online reputation, you need to respond to positive reviews and resolve negative reviews.
Active review management on review sites will help your restaurant create a positive online image that invites more people to visit, ultimately increasing revenue. Â
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Address Restaurant Service Issues
Negative feedback is a natural part of doing business. While it’s nothing to be worried about if managed correctly, negative reviews can be an effective tool for identifying problem areas in your restaurant.
Once you take these into account, you’ll notice more positive reviews and an improved positive online reputation.
What To Look For In  Restaurant Reputation Management Software
There are many restaurant reputation management programs to choose from, but these are features we consider must-haves for whichever one you choose.
Review and Social Media Monitoring
To effectively manage online reviews, the software you choose needs to track and report online sentiments and posts related to your restaurant.
On review platforms, the software should notify you when there are new mentions of your business online, whether negative or positive reviews. On social media, the software needs to monitor conversations around keywords that relate to your restaurant.
Analytics
The restaurant reputation management program you choose needs to generate reports and analytics on customer trends and online ratings. This is especially important if you are managing a franchise, where one restaurant could lower all averages.
Review Prompts
The reputation management software should allow you to send review request prompts to customers and promote restaurant reviews. This can be through email, SMS, or other forms of customer surveys.
Sentiment Analysis
These tools will determine whether you have a negative or a positive reputation online. While this feature isn’t a must, it is a great way to establish people’s sentiments toward your restaurant through reviews and keyword-specific analysis.
Top Restaurant Reputation Management Software Options
To make the most of your restaurant reputation management, consider the following software options.
1. Brand24
Brand24 is an award-winning reputation management and marketing app that identifies and analyzes online sentiments about your restaurant. The app collects data from social media and review platforms, as well as from blogs, forums, news sites, newsletters, and even podcasts.
Main features
- Online reputation analysis
- Online reputation management
- Response management
- Marketing and PR analytics
- Influencer and hashtag marketing tools
- Competitor analysis
- Sentiment analysis
- Reporting
- Negative review instant notifications
Possible Cons
- Not necessarily affordable for small businesses
Pricing
Brand24’s pricing starts at $59 a month, with a free trial.
2. Swell
Swell is a cloud-based review management system that collects and condenses data from review sites and customer surveys. It provides an all-in-one dashboard for both reviewing and reviewing request features. It also features an instant review feature, whereby restaurants can send out review requests with almost instant results.
One of the biggest benefits of using Swell is its integration capabilities. The app can integrate with most POS and restaurant CRM software.
Main features
- Process automation
- Gamification features
- Customer surveys
- Robust reporting
- Centralized dashboard
- Cloud-based software
- Trend analysis
- Sentiment analysis
- Third-party integration
Possible Cons
- While the instant review request feature is attractive, note that the replies will most likely taper off after the first few requests are sent out
Pricing
Swell does not do flat-rate pricing. Instead, they do review volume pricing, so you’ll need to contact them for a unique quote. They also offer a free trial.
3. Chekkit
Chekkit allows you to track, manage, and improve customer satisfaction, as well as your restaurant's online reputation. The software uses text messaging, video calls, and web chat to communicate with customers and collect reviews and payments.
It’s also able to integrate with third-party messaging, analytics, and marketing software including Slack, Shopify, and Google Analytics.
Main features
- Variety of communication features
- Invoice and payment management
- Online rating collection features
- Conversion management features
- All in one dashboard
- Third-party integration
- Review response tools
- Customer Survey
- Goal tracking
Possible Cons
- No personalized user logins
- The software can be a little slow on occasion
Pricing
Chekkit pricing starts at $99 a month with a free trial. There is no free version of the software available.
4. Chatmeter
Chatmeter allows users to collect online ratings, listings, and social media posts from all over the web.
Chatmeter also helps restaurants manage their online information by creating a comprehensive centralized dashboard. Finally, the software has robust ranking, analytics, and sentiment tools for an in-depth restaurant reputation analysis.
Main features
- Social media management tools
- Update restaurant information across multiple channels
- Sentiment analysis
- Search ranking
- Competitor analytics
- Local brand visibility scores
Possible Cons
- The software layout is not as user-friendly as it could be
- Some bugs have been reported in the software
Pricing
Chatmeter does not publicly disclose its prices. However, they do have a free trial.
5. Reputation
Reputation is a cloud-based reputation management system with a focus on large restaurants that want to manage multiple locations from one platform. The software offers a full overview of both online and offline sentiments. It also aims to provide actionable insights to improve customer feedback.
Main features
- Cloud-based
- Centralized dashboard
- Multi-location features
- Reputation score with real-time collections and calculations
- Robust reporting and analytics
- Competitive benchmarking
- Sentiment analytics
- Social media reporting
- AI-based recommendations
Possible Cons
- The software has been reported to have some numerical glitches
- Users may find the setup to be difficult
Pricing
Reputation does not publicly share its fees. They don’t offer a free trial or a free version of the software.
6. Birdeye
Birdeye is a reputation management platform with a focus on improving customer experience and sales. The all-in-one platform features a host of benefits developed by Google and Amazon developers and marketers.
Main features
- All in one dashboard
- Real-time analytics
- Mobile friendly
- Competitive analytics
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) features
- Survey editor with drag-and-drop features
- Review response prompts
Possible Cons
- Users might find it confusing to navigate the software
- Customer service has been reported to be unreliable
Pricing
Birdeye does not publicly share pricing information. They do offer a free trial to paying customers. There is no free version of the software available.
Conclusion
Your online reputation is important, but managing it manually can be a struggle.
Reputation management software makes it easy to respond to positive reviews and manage negative ones. This software can help you to automate many reputation management operations, freeing up time and resources.
Browse the above reputation management systems and choose the one that suits your budget and your needs.
If your restaurant hosts events, consider using Perfect Venue. Sign up for the free trial to experience the power of event management software.
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