DOMINION GROUP INTERNATIONAL: THE IMPORTANCE OF REVIEW FROM CUSTOMERS

Can half a star make any difference? Online review for hotel and restaurant industry is crucial to the business. The ratings of a business may depend on different factors too.

Getting a good review is very important for restaurateurs and hotel owners. The customer’s review can make or break a business. A terrible review can close down restaurant but the good ones can boost takings.

Getting a good review

Customer ratings can affect the purchasing decision of consumers. Online star ratings can definitely affect the customers’ purchasing decisions, especially if it has a lot of good or bad review.

Based on a few studies, it is found that reviews can bring in the new customers. The increase in trade can happen even without any change in the quality of food and service, as well as prices. If a customer sees a good rating to a restaurant she’s planning to try out, then it would increase the chances of putting the plan into action.

Professors Michael Anderson and Jeremy Magruder, two economists at the University of California, Berkeley, have published their findings on the relationship between online star ratings and customers’ purchasing decisions. They probed 300 San Francisco restaurants and focused on the effects of positive online ratings. They collected the ratings to form a star system on Yelp.com, a popular US ratings site. They found that the half star rating can be improved and turn into full ratings at the peak dining times.

Getting a bad review

If restauranteurs and hotel owners appreciate the positive reviews, they surely don’t want to receive any negative rating. A bad review can affect the purchasing decision of potential customers or clients.

Any review will depend on the customer’s point of view. The negative rating may come from the poor service, quality of food, taste, and other various factors. Some customers also post a review to give warning. They use it as a way to inform others to try or not even attempt to try the services or products they have already experienced.

Customer ratings online

Customers are using online star rating system employed by sites like Toptable and Tripadvisor. Through those websites, they can give out stars and explain their experience during their stay.

Since we are in an age when everyone can be an online critic, the customer’s rating becomes significant. For new establishments, a good review from customers and clients is like a free advertisement. Through word of mouth or social media postings, the customers can attract their family or friends to try out the newly opened bakeshop or establishment they mentioned. It serves as a free promotion for the business.