New Business - Yelp!+大众点评

When you search for the restaurant rating systems, you would certainly expect them to be unbiased, authoritative and standardized. However, the traditional rating system is controversial. Look at the most well known rating companies: Michelin Guide, AA Guide, Zagat Guide, Good Food Guide, Harden Guide, Design Restaurants, the graph at right hand side shows their decision making process (More information go to: Restaurant Business Uncovered). They are professional teams, the principle they used are only reviewed by professionally trained experts. Some people also argue that whether these professional guide are reliable. 

Take the most well know rating companies Michelin Guide for example. Michelin has wide experience when it comes to reviewing restaurants. Most of restaurant are respect if they obtain the star from Michelin. Newspapers, magazines and even the average blog quote its guide. Restaurants will be famous suddenly. However, Michelin has been based in France, their expertise in international cuisine might be limited, since their judgement outside European might has criteria. The restaurants in different countries should have different styles. Moreover, Michelin just have 50 over reviewers, it is hard to ensure all 4000 restaurants reviewed keep up their standards. And there are millions of restaurants in the world, with the limited reviewers, how could customers know each of them. Furthermore, the cost of reviewer and reviewing process are quite high. (Restaurant industry size: http://www.restaurant.org/pressroom/social-media-releases/release/?page=social_media_2011_forecast.cfm)


And you will see that most information of the traditional rating guide are published and update once a year. Meanwhile, the restaurant industry has more frequently change than any other industries. The competition in the restaurant are also very serious. The enter barriers is low but it is quite difficult for the restaurant to sustain their differentiation. Everyday, there might be a restaurant change their location or alters its outlook. That is why traditional restaurant guides that come out in the printed form cannot keep up with current trends.


With the development of Internet, the new business developed. In order to upgrade the traditional rating guide, cover the shortage, the social networking, local search, customer review companies set up. According to the huge bases, here I take Yelp! from US and 大众点评 from China for example. 

Yelp!, founded in October, 2004, provides online local search capabilities for its visitors. It provide both online and APP service. Information can be accessed by we or mobile browsers. Restaurants can change their information on the platform and customers can know the updated information in time.  Each business listing result contains a 5-point rating, reviews from customers. Customers can share their experience in the restaurant with the others. Since the large customer base, the review could cover more restaurant than the traditional rating guide do. And the listings and related contend are organized by city and a multi-tier categorization system. Customers can search their interested restaurant based on the name, location, country or zip code. Yelp combines local reviews and social networking functionality to create a local online community. It make it easier for the customer to find their related interested restaurant and also helps the restaurants build up their network with the customers. Yelp also has a "First to review" reward system to create a competition among contributing customers, encourage the creation of reviews. And the company also strengthens the online community through off line events such as nightclubs, parties for loyal contributors. Yelp also has a Google Maps application to let the customers search the nearly restaurant according to their location.

How to grow your business with Yelp!

Compare with U.S., China is a emerging market. Not only the development of restaurant business but also that of technology. However, the developed of ICT changed the situation. 大众点评, founded in 2003, is the local rating website for restaurants. As Yelp,  the reviewers are customers. Customers rating the restaurants they have been based on the service, price, most popular dish, environment, tastes, style and decoration. And it provides potential customers objective and accurate local restaurant information guide. It also has APP version which has satellite navigation function, helps customers find the restaurant they want. It not only cooperates with Network media company such as Google, Enlight Media but also with the Chinese biggest communication companies such as China Mobile Limited, China Unicom, China Telecom, Nokia ect, introduced the information service to 500 million mobile phone users in China, based on the wireless technology platform such as text message, WAP. Provide the information about restaurants anytime, anywhere. Overall, it attracted 13,000,000 visitors till now, create millions of business opportunity for the local restaurant. (More information about the company:http://corp.iresearch.cn/0409/16024.shtml)

The New Business set off a wave of restaurant industry.

Reference:

Restaurant Ratings Uncovered, Retrieved from   http://designrestaurants.wordpress.com/2010/09/07/restaurant-ratings-uncovered/