Key Idea – In her pizzeria, Zasa, owner Tara Hattan works to attract more young families by appealing to their youngest members. For example, she offers Saturday morning dough throwing classes for kids and their families, ending in a tasty pizza lunch! The reasonably priced family outing also gives Tara time to make friends with the parents as well, making them feel especially comfortable returning to her place. A Win-Win!

Tara Hattan, Owner
Zasa Pizza
Tulsa, OK

Key Idea – Pizzeria owner Freddo Santos credits his current double-digit growth in “pies out the door” to his high online Google reviews. Freddo influences his positive ratings by attracting service-oriented customertypes.

How? By responding positively to every “less than positive” online
review. Sometimes he offers to personally deliver replacement food or recommends other area restaurants closer to the customer’s stated preference. But he always thanks them for trying his place!

Always thanking negative reviewers may seem counterintuitive. But the service-minded first-timers Freddo wants to attract don’t just pick new restaurants based on their Google ratings. They often also review actual customer comments, good and bad. And seeing how
Freddo responds promptly to the occasional poor review, no matter how unfair, demonstrates to these future customers that he cares about satisfying even the challenging folks. The bonus is that when they actually try his place, many of these service-minded newcomers end up adding their own positive reviews!

Freddo Santos, Owner
Square Pizza Company
San Diego, CA