Customer ‘engagement’ needs compelling draw

Today anyone can be a restaurant critic or food writer. Our experiences combined with the easy access of social media make what once was reserved for the privileged members of the scribe class accessible to all.
But are we blogging, tweeting and posting instead of having actual experiences? The good news is we are doing both. In the Internet world, this is known as “engagement.” The travel and hospitality review website TripAdvisor has just completed its first-ever “restaurant-engagement study,” uncovering which factors drive the most engagement from consumers researching places to eat on the site’s restaurant pages. The study analyzed data such as number of reviews, management responses, photo content and the presence of opening hours across a representative sample of restaurants to reveal the factors most likely to encourage consumers to look for more information about a restaurant by clicking on their TripAdvisor pages.
Key among the findings: Photos are essential for restaurant businesses and higher management-response rates drive up average review ratings. The study reveals that both user- and manager-generated content can make a restaurant’s profile far more compelling to consumers researching on TripAdvisor.
Factors that drive the most engagement on restaurant pages were: overall number of photos, total number of reviews and the restaurant’s display of operating hours – referred to as “opening” hours.
The analysis found that above all else, photos are essential in driving higher levels of engagement from prospective customers. Overwhelmingly, diners want most to preview the appearance of the restaurant and the food they can expect to find there. Just by displaying photos on TripAdvisor restaurant pages, owners attract nearly 75 percent more engagement from users, as compared to pages that do not have photos. The magic number: restaurants with more than 35 pictures see an increase of over 100 percent in the level of engagement. Online reviews can be tricky for restaurateurs. There are legends that have developed from owner operators responding to customer reviews only to find themselves caught in a crossfire of posts and tweets, few of them favorable. That said, the TripAdvisor study shows that responding to reviews can be beneficial for restaurants, not only to ensure that they are able to get their side of the story across but also in terms of increased engagement levels from visitors to the establishment’s business pages.
The overall sentiment seems to be that taking part in the conversation has a positive impact on the overall rating for a restaurant on the site: The more reviews with management responses, the higher the average review rating.
One of the best examples of restaurant engagement is the recent 25th-anniversary party at Restaurant CAV in Providence. Said proprietor Sylvia Moubayed on my radio show, “It really was a smashing success and [the guests] had a wonderful time. It was a celebration of our guests and a thank you to everyone who has kept us here for 25 years.”
As one fan who was in attendance described it, the outdoor courtyard was bathed in blue light. The theme was “only once in a blue moon” does a restaurant make it to the quarter-century mark. The hundreds of well-wishers added to the glow. Champagne was flowing as 25 different appetizers were passed in honor of the anniversary. They were creative and contemporary, as is the style these days at CAV thanks to the chef.
Executive chef David Firda joined CAV in the beginning of this past summer from Café Nuovo. His resume includes stops at Newport restaurants, as well as working for celebrity chef-restaurateur Jean-George Vongerichten at his Soho restaurant in New York City. He studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York. He handles the menu mainstays faithfully but consistently wows the restaurant’s eclectic group of customers. A recent example is an appetizer of a torchon of chicken. On the sides are Tamarind Shallot Marmalade, bacon braised radicchio, two perfect German potatoes, cornichons and whole-grain mustard. As Moubayed put it, “If the specials sound complicated, there are all of the regular menu items that our guests love, some of which we literally cannot take off the menu [due to customer demand].”
An executive with TripAdvisor in summarizing the analysis said: “Prospective diners want to know what kind of experience they can expect from a restaurant before selecting where to eat, and they show more interest in eateries that have plenty of pictures and reviews to help them make their dining decision. Restaurant owners should be encouraging their diners to share their experience by posting reviews and pictures.”
But the experience has to start organically. To bring it back to basics, the dish has to be worth photographing and the evening has to be a memorable one. No amount of peer pressure nor the cachet of coolness that comes with being a star on social media can replace that. Fortunately, we have thousands of opportunities to have experiences worth capturing virtually every time we dine out in our state. •


Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” talk radio show is heard on WHJJ-AM (920), WADK-AM (1540), online and through mobile applications. He can be reached by email at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.

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