Publish or Perish – It’s Not Just for Academics

You have heard the term, “publish or perish.” It's usually used in the context of university professors who are looking for tenure, and who have to publish so much material before they can be considered as contributors to their field.

And in today's web driven world, it’s just as relevant when it comes to the restaurant business. That means if you don’t blog, you could lose business.

Restaurant Websites

Most restaurant owners know that they have to have a website in order to remain competitive. Most also know that their restaurant website has to be interactive, and should probably include an online ordering component. Okay, so that’s two out of three. Where do they drop the ball?

They don’t blog.

We can’t even begin to tell you how important blogging is. You can have a great home page, make sure your address is present, and add your contact info, but if you’re not blogging, your website is going to just sit there and do little for you.

The Benefits of Blogging

A lot of the time, restaurant owners question the benefits of blogging. They don’t understand how regular blogging will bring in customers who will spend money eating and drinking, and then tell their friends about the great experience they had.

The thing is, when you blog, you can talk about menu changes, events that you might be having at your restaurant, and even add feedback sections so that your customers can talk about their experiences at your restaurant and interact with other customers.

Your feedback section can also provide a valuable forum where your customers can tell you what they liked about your restaurant and what they didn’t like – that way, you’ll learn more about what your customers want and how to improve your service.

Reviews

The importance of reviews can’t be overstated. The more people visit your website and read your blog, the more reviews you’re going to get. You can even add a link to Yelp or Trip Advisor on your blog, and get even more feedback.

Each review delivers a link to your site. And don’t be afraid of bad reviews – you can respond to them, offer ways to make a better customer experience for someone who is dissatisfied, and encourage even more feedback.

Basically, you want to get people talking, and blogging is one of the best ways to get the conversation started.