Building a 5-Star Rating: An Online Review Monitoring Strategy
Client: A restaurant group with 8 local locations.
Challenges We Faced
The client’s brand was inconsistent, and they had no centralized way to manage their reputation:
Inconsistent Star Ratings
Some locations had a 4.5-star GMB rating, while others had a 3.0-star rating.
No Response Strategy
Local managers were either ignoring negative reviews or responding unprofessionally, damaging the brand.
Low Review Volume
They had no system for generating new, positive reviews.
Losing to Competitors
A Competitor Monitoring analysis showed that rivals who did respond to reviews had higher “Map Pack” rankings.
Scattered Review Management
Reviews on GMB, Yelp, and TripAdvisor were managed separately, causing slow responses and missed reviews.
Manage Your Online Reviews
“Are negative reviews sinking your business? Our Online Review Monitoring services can help you generate 5-star reviews and build trust.”
Our Approach – How We Solved These Challenges
Online Review Monitoring
This was the core of our online brand reputation monitoring and management strategy. We implemented a Review Management Platform (like Podium) to pull all reviews from GMB, Yelp, and TripAdvisor into one central dashboard.
Review Generation Campaigns
We launched an automated SMS/email campaign (via Podium) to text diners for a review after their meal.
The system routed happy customers to Google and unhappy customers to a private “feedback” form.
Customized Response Strategy
We developed brand-approved “response templates” for 1-star, 3-star, and 5-star reviews.
Our team took over responding to all reviews across all 8 locations within 24 hours.
Crisis & Spam Review Handling
We set up real-time alerts, documented escalation workflows, and Google takedown requests to quickly address fake or malicious reviews and protect overall star ratings across locations.
Results
| Metric | Before | After | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Google Star Rating (All Locations) | 3.8 Stars | 4.6 Stars | +21% |
| New Positive Reviews (per month) | 20 (total) | 150+ (total) | +650% |
| Locations in “Map Pack” Top 3 | 2 / 8 | 7 / 8 | +250% |
Free Review Analysis
“Want to see how your reviews compare to your competitors? Request a Free Review Analysis from our brand monitoring company!”
Advice for Marketers & Brand Owners
- You must respond to all reviews. It shows you care and builds public trust.
- Use a Review Management Platform to centralize your online review monitoring. You can’t manage 8 locations from your phone.
- Automate the “ask.” A simple SMS/email after a visit is the easiest way to get a steady stream of new, positive reviews.
- Gate your negative feedback. Send unhappy customers to a private form, not a public review site.
Extra Factors That Made It Work
- Centralizing all reviews into Podium was the key to operational success.
- The automated Review Generation Campaigns built a “wall” of positive reviews.
- Our Customized Response Strategy ensured a professional, consistent brand voice for all responses.
