CHICAGO — Information is power. In today’s digital landscape, access to information — and the power it provides — is easier than ever. However, it’s also complicated terrain.
“The technology ecosystem is vast,” said Joe Reinstein, executive director at the Digital Restaurant Association, during an educational session at the 2024 National Restaurant Association show, held May 18-21 in Chicago.
“How can you choose, and use, the right technology to help you grow your business? It’s about bringing transparency and customer information sharing together with the big online delivery platforms,” Reinstein said. “It’s about having actionable strategies and tactics, depending on what you’re trying to achieve. And it’s about connecting with best-in-class technology for real-time customer feedback and engagement.”
Today, there are roughly 150 different platforms where consumers can search for restaurants and foodservice operators.
“You have a sign outside your establishment,” Reinstein said. “Now, you also need to have a sign digitally across 150 platforms. Use technology to help you.”
In this post-pandemic reality, people are not only ordering food delivery but also eating on-premise again, and they’re relying on Google to help them. In fact, Reinstein noted that 69% of consumers are making decisions about where to eat based on Google Maps searches.
Lisa Landsman, head of industry engagement and SMB success for restaurant verticals at Google, joined the discussion and shared five optimal tactics for success.
Be there. In many cases, showing up is half the battle, and that’s certainly the case for Google. Because it’s a worldwide platform that searches for restaurants based on the consumer’s geographic proximity, simply keeping a business profile up to date is an incredibly useful tactic.
“I know that sounds basic,” Landsman said. “But that foundation, that fundamental information, if it’s not correct, it hurts your and our credibility.”
There are more than a billion users on Google Search and Google Maps combined. In some cases, users know the establishment’s name and are just looking for directions. Other times people are looking for options in certain areas or neighborhoods. And there are people searching for specific cuisines or attributes.
“What we’re seeing more and more in addition to each of these things is complex searches that take them all into account,” Landsman said. “I might want a kid-friendly place with vegetarian options and a patio. That means you need to have all that information in your business profile because that’s what we’re using to produce results for our users and your potential diners.”
People often search for dining establishments based on physical attributes, such as wheelchair access or an outdoor patio, so visibility often depends on including these.
While hours of operation are among the most basic information, many operators forget to include holiday hours. This can be very frustrating for potential visitors.
“I beg you to please include accurate holiday hours,” she advised. “When you don’t, it hurts your credibility as a business, and it hurts our credibility.”
“You have a sign outside your establishment. Now, you also need to have a sign digitally across 150 platforms. Use technology to help you.”
Be relevant. Including attributes is important, but it’s even more important to include the things that make your business stand out from the rest. An easy way to do that, Landsman said, is to include photos in your business profile.
“Show some of those experiences so people can see things like what your outdoor patio looks like,” she said. “That might really matter in helping them make their decision.”
Most importantly, the menu is the most critical element in the dining journey. There are several ways to include the menu, but Landsman indicated to exercise caution when using links. She noted that 404 errors are common for menu links in Google business profiles, so it’s important to test links before — and after — posting.
According to Google data, 82% of people buy a dish based on how it looks in a picture, and the platform added an option to include dish images last year. Additionally, Google recently enhanced its desktop menu experience.
“If you take nothing else away, please make sure you have structured menus,” Landsman said. “This is the item, description, price and image. It matters.”
Be ready. In the old days, it was nearly impossible to immediately spur action from an advertisement. But in the digital world, 50% of searches have immediate action intent, whether it’s to make an order or book a table. And post-pandemic, 80% of people want to take that action online.
“If you’re not offering this, and others are, it’s a potential miss,” Landsman suggested, noting Google tools such as ordering for pickup, ordering for delivery or reserving a table as options in a business listing.
Landsman also noted that after July 1, the order online button will link out to the merchant or the merchant partner.
“We’ll be directing people from the Google experience off to partners,” she said. “This is great news for operators because you’ll be able to maintain the customer loyalty information.”
Be engaged. Perhaps engagement is most important — and oftentimes most difficult — with reviews. Whether they’re positive or negative, reviews deserve a response.
“People appreciate that relationship,” Landsman said. “Reaching out to say, ‘Hey, we appreciate the nice review,’ or, ‘We’re so sorry you had a tough experience; here’s what we’ll do to make it right.’ It’s about having that dialogue. Some merchants only respond to positive reviews or only negative ones, but I encourage you to be consistent. And don’t be afraid to ask for a review.”
When responding to a negative review, Landsman advised taking time before responding to keep emotion out of the response.
Engagement can also be connected to social media. The Google business profile allows a merchant to include links to seven social media platforms and displays five at a given time.
Be aware and active. A business profile on Google will yield data that can be used to track performance and user engagement.
“There’s data available that will track what’s happening, how people are searching, who’s viewed your profile and how many food orders,” Landsman said.
It’s important to track how users are finding the business listing, whether it’s by searching for product offerings, location attributes, geography or something else. These can be key points to include in all marketing materials.
Next, focus on user behavior such as menu interaction based on the content that is posted. In other words, did clicks increase after product photos were added? It’s also important to track decreases in engagement and trends that they might indicate.
