The Importance of Restaurant Review Apps

Now a days the amount of people that look at a printed takeaway menu and ring up an order, that find out what restaurant to go to for dinner, or that read restaurant and cafe reviews in a newspaper have decreased dramatically. This is all due to the rise of powerful food review apps such as Zomato, Tripadvisor and Yelp. These apps allow you to review and read reviews for restaurants, look at photos of the food offered and the atmosphere, look at the menu, make reservations for the restaurant and see what features are offered at the restaurant e.g. child friendly, BYO, vegetarian friendly, outdoor seating etc.

In order to restaurants and cafes to utilise this growing corner of the web world, they should focus on the below aspects of these apps. The main reasons these apps have changed the game of restaurants being successful are the following:

1. Ratings & Reviews: The review feature allows the restaurant and the customers to interact in a new way. By allowing other customers to review the service and quality of food offered at the restaurant, customers can know what to expect when they visit. Restaurants can also take on board the feedback from customers to ensure better customer service.
2. Bookings & Reservations: By using this booking feature when a customer sees your restaurant nearby their location, it reduces the amount of time customers spend to dine out and get take away.
3. It is not just for your suburb: Food apps such as Yelp and Tripadvisor I have used from Melbourne to Washington to Dublin. These apps can be used worldwide so that if you are stuck in a foreign country you can find your way to great food with no stress or worry.

The food industry game has changed drastically due to the invention and use of these apps, therefore if restaurants do not utilise these spaces to advance their marketing, they are likely to fall short, especially compared to other restaurants in the area, or of the same cuisine.