Erie Rib Fest Not Just For Ribbers

June 9, 2010 – 11:34 am

One would think that the Erie Rib Fest would be a great place for local restaurants to bring samples of their signature food, however, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

I actually asked Kathy Danielson of  Performance & Event Management why we didn’t see this and the reason was staring me right in the face.  These companies have huge pieces of equipment geared specifically for outside cooking, storage and refrigeration……something few restaurateurs have at their fingertips.  And it is no small task to staff a 4 day event that runs 11AM-11PM.  So, I get it now!  And now I understand why she asked Diningverse to be a sponsor.  Yep, the restaurants could have a presence and get some exposure without serving food…..brilliant!

Erie Rib Fest 2010

Erie Rib Fest 2010

So, in less than a week, with the help of Creative Imprints Systems and Apple Creative Group we got some Diningverse t-shirts made.  We rustled up some coupons and Gift Certificates from Nelson’s Tavern, Lorie’s Wildridge, Ricardo’s and Latino’s. Alice DeGeorge of Presque Isle Printing put together our ballots in a few hours.

During the 4 day event, the Diningverse booth became the hub for supplying water to the Dance Elite Company.  We lured the crowd with handy wipes and “clean” Diningverse t-shirts.  Many signed up as new patrons using our newly launched Simple Sign-in….smooth!

The daily drawings for the dining gift certificates reaped 5 lucky winners: Michael Trayer, Bonnie Lee Mikula, Judy Brown, Jacob Stevenson and Phil Senita. Those that did not win can stay eligible for upcoming contests by becoming a patron of Diningverse.

As we enter tourist season, we want to remind people that local cuisine is never a local secret.  We want people visiting Erie, PA to be able to easily find our local independently owned restaurants. Every town has its own unique flavor, signature food or something that it is noted for.

Although it was just “Ribbers” serving food at the Erie Rib Fest, Diningverse was there promoting local independent restaurants.

By Chris | Posted in Branding and Marketing, Contests | Tags: , | Leave a Comment

Simple Sign-in arrives to Diningverse

June 1, 2010 – 9:45 am

We understand that it’s a pain to create a new username and password every time you want to use a service or website on the Internet. At Diningverse we’re really trying to make it as simple and painless as possible to recommend restaurants, create lists and personalize your experience. Until recently it was not possible without creating a Diningverse account with it’s own username and password (actually using an email account for the username).

Guess what, there’s no need to do that anymore. Diningverse patrons can sign-in and start their new Diningverse account using an existing account with Facebook, Google/Gmail, Yahoo, OpenID, Twitter or Windows Live ID.

Simple Sign In

Simple Sign In

Just choose one of the options to connect your Diningverse account and the rest is completely automatic. Anytime you return back to Diningverse just sign-in with the account you’ve connected.

Simple Sign In for Returning Patrons

Simple Sign In for Returning Patrons

You can check which account you have linked to your Diningverse profile while viewing your My Diningverse pages.

Profile Connected

Profile Connected

That’s it. Enjoy not having to remember yet another account username and password and have fun recommending restaurants on Diningverse.

Diningverse Legacy Accounts

The patrons with existing Diningverse accounts can connect their existing profile to one of their other accounts with Facebook, Google/Gmail, Yahoo, OpenID, Twitter or Windows Live ID. We are planning to discontinue the legacy Diningverse account sign-in by the end of June so we encourage all Diningverse patrons to connect to one of their other accounts soon.

Follow these simple instructions to connect your existing Diningverse profile to one of your other accounts.

By Diningverse | Posted in Features, How To - for Patrons | Comments (2)

…and the winner is SafeNet

May 30, 2010 – 10:59 am

Congratulations to winners, Donald Hoover and Linda Lecce, each recipients of a $50 Diningverse Gift Certificate donated as part of the Local Small Businesses That Care Charity event.

A number of area businesses donated over $1,100.00 worth of goods and services to be raffled off as part of a gift basket, with proceeds going to a local charity. The contest was the brainstorm of Mark Ericson of Penn Automotive who took on the task of organizing this well received event.  In fact, it was so well received by the community that Mark had to coordinate a 2nd drawing.

Donald, our first winner, chose his gift certificate for Ricardo’s, a favorite local restaurant noted for their fried zucchini, pasta and other Italian/American dishes.

Linda has not chosen a restaurant for her $50 Diningverse gift certificate as yet.  This is not surprising; there is a pretty wide selection of suggested and recommended restaurants.

But, we think the real winner is SafeNet Center, the local charity chosen to receive the proceeds from the event.

By Chris | Posted in Contests | Tags: , , , | Leave a Comment

Visitor stats now available for full profiles

May 8, 2010 – 2:26 pm

Much requested and long awaited feature is now available in the Restaurant Editor. Restaurant Managers can now review their visitor statistics (stats) on the Restaurant Editor Dashboard.

Visitor Stats on Restaurant Editor Dashboard

Visitor Stats on Restaurant Editor Dashboard

We decided to keep it simple and show the following stats (as you can see on the picture above):

  • Lifetime pageviews (combined total for all pages in a full profile since profile inception)
  • Lifetime recommendations (total recommendations from patrons since profile inception)
  • Pageviews for last 30 days
  • Pageviews for last 7 days

Although we did not add this feature until now, the visitor stats are available for all full profiles since their creation (going back as far as almost 2 years). We are using Google Analytics to collect the visitor stats for each profile, which enabled us to go back and retrieve the detailed numbers for each profile.

Restaurant Managers can now see how their profile is doing anytime they login to their Restaurant Editor.

While working on this feature, we have encountered an interesting fact (although expected, now confirmed): The full profiles with better, richer content and more recommendations receive significantly more visits and this collect much more pageviews.

By Diningverse | Posted in Features, How To - for Restaurants | Leave a Comment

Work Like Hell and Socialize

April 26, 2010 – 8:45 am

Recently, a patron’s suggestion lead me to the Ted Turner quotation many of us have heard in business: “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise”.

I couldn’t help thinking how much things have changed since the origination of this quote. Most of us would agree that there has been a dramatic shift in advertising with the onset of social networking. Perhaps the last line could be updated to: work like hell and socialize.

An effective marketing campaign is now within easy reach of any small business owner armed with a computer and email address. Unfortunately, restaurant owners using it (for advertising) often find it very time consuming. Wading through all the noise on Facebook and Twitter in an effort to capture a targeted audience is no easy task. Recognizing the limitations, they often use these sites to drive traffic to their ‘stand alone’ sites. But, those ‘stand alone’ sites must then compete against everything else on the Internet, further complicating the ability to search for them. Whew, where will it all end?

I often hear Independent Restaurant Owners (IROs) blame chain restaurants and the ugly economy for putting them on the endangered species list. But, at Diningverse, we felt that the real problem was often the inability to find these little dining gems; so, connecting IROs with locavores seemed like the right thing to do. Patrons create their own dining universe, right down to suggesting and recommending the restaurants, making Diningverse the place for locavores to socialize.

Which takes me to that patron’s suggested restaurant…..Ted’s Montana Grill. With multiple locations, it certainly appears like a franchise. And, since the Diningverse mission is to help folks find local dining gems, I wasn’t sure if it fit our description of “local”. Yet, isn’t it the call/duty of Restaurant Owners and Patrons to let us know if a restaurant should be included on Diningverse? After all, they are the end users. Ted’s Montana Grill does have a home town feel. Everything is done with a goal to “do good” as he puts it; from being eco-friendly to staffing each location. His restaurants stand as a good example of “doing the right thing”….respecting people and the environment, which is likely why it was suggested.

Since every restaurant listed on Diningverse must have its own web profile, perhaps it could be viewed as the great equalizer of all (suggested) restaurants. It levels the playing field for ‘single location’ restaurants, yet it gives corporate owned restaurants a home town feel. In many ways, because they are patron suggested/recommended, they enhance each other when they appear side by side within a given location.

So, I guess the jury is out…..and Ted, if you are listening, what do you think of replacing “advertise” with “socialize”?

By Chris | Posted in Branding and Marketing, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a Comment

Is A Negative Recommendation A Disguised Compliment?

April 10, 2010 – 10:44 am

There isn’t a business out there that is immune to an occasional bad review from a disgruntled customer. Being a fan of Dale Carnegie, I was reminded of his timeless works when reading a blog that discussed the woes of Yelp. They have come under quite a bit of criticism for not addressing some issues. I must admit that it also pains me to see ugly remarks posted on various Internet sites; but, I’m not interested in taking sides. I am merely reminded that Dale Carnegie’s Golden Book could be a primer for social networking.

In Pathways to Success, he summed up criticism by saying: “no one ever kicks a dead dog,….the more important a dog is, the more satisfaction people get ……it gives the kicker a feeling of importance.” He ends by saying: “Remember that unjust criticism is often a disguised compliment.”

I know this is of little consolation to a business or restaurant owner who has been made the target of negative press, for whatever reason. But, we must assume that these perpetrators are rarely looking for a resolution to a problem. If they were, it would seem more logical that the complaint would be taken to a person capable of resolving the issue.

At Diningverse, we often get asked why we don’t have any “negative recommendations”…..we don’t think those two words belong in the same sentence. Aren’t recommendations inherently positive in their very nature?

We were looking to develop a restaurant voting mechanism that was respectful of patrons’ opinions, yet mindful of the restaurant owners’ reputations. That prompted us to give Diningverse patrons a collective voice; listing restaurants by the number of recommendations they received, with the most recommended restaurants always appearing first in their respective areas. Our goal was to provide individuals with a place to discover these local dining gems; making Diningverse very different from typical restaurant directories.

Understanding that something can go wrong in the best of restaurants, patrons can easily contact the owner/manager directly. They are often grateful for the feedback. It enables them to address an issue they may be unaware of; and gives them an opportunity to communicate directly with the patron. It is the right thing to do.

By balancing the interests of patrons and the restaurateurs, Diningverse is gradually becoming a reliable online directory for the growing population of locavores. As we continue to promote this positive atmosphere, we expect restaurant owner/managers to have a greater comfort level utilizing this technology for their web profile.

By Chris | Posted in Opinions and Rants | Tags: , , , | Leave a Comment

Abby from Nelson’s Tavern loves Diningverse

April 9, 2010 – 7:55 am

Abby Dinges

Abby Dinges, Nelson’s Tavern

I’ve been managing the Diningverse page for Nelson’s for a few months now and I’m very impressed with how many customers say they’ve visited the site and also how easy it is to use. The layout is very user-friendly and it is very simple to make periodic changes at any time and when it is convenient for me. Getting the information and menus set up is very effortless too.  I’ve recently used the feature that allows you to add photos of your menu items to the page.  If you have a Diningverse page and haven’t taken advantage of this asset you should, it completely changed the look of the menu page and makes it look much more appealing and professional.

I love the D’Scoop feature too in the fact that it’s similar to other networking sites where any time you update anything, it goes right to the home page and lets anyone looking at it see your changes.  I also manage the Facebook page for Nelson’s and love that it’s so simple to connect the two sites and share information between them.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet with Chris Starr a few times and discuss ideas with her.  She is a great asset to the Diningverse community and a true advocate for small businesses.  All the members of the Diningverse team really do listen to your ideas and needs with in the site.  We are luck to have access to this great website.

By Diningverse | Posted in Testimonials | Leave a Comment

Patrons Rule

March 4, 2010 – 7:49 pm

When Diningverse was in its infancy, we struggled with how we would populate the site with local independent restaurants. Buying a list just didn’t fit our mission and we didn’t want to be another online version of the telephone directory. We wanted a restaurant website that would answer: What is your favorite local restaurant? We also wanted travelers to be able to find these local dining gems. Let’s face it, you can eat at “the chains” anytime. When you are traveling, you want to know where the locals eat.

So, after much deliberation, we decided to give the reins to our patrons; after all, they are the end users. They would populate the site by suggesting their favorite restaurants; the only stipulation being, that the restaurants had to be independently owned. We have nothing against chain restaurants, but unlike most independent restaurant owners, they often have their own IT departments and thicker wallets for marketing.

Diningverse Patrons quickly began inviting their buddies and suggesting restaurants. They invited family and friends from outside the initial beta area. Basic restaurant profiles began popping up across the US. Patrons even created lists and linked them to other social media.

But, then we noticed something interesting. We began to see Patrons putting up professional profiles and contact information. When they recommended their favorite local restaurants, it became a “B to B”…….local business/professionals and organizations supporting local restaurants through social networking. Who would have thought Diningverse would be the virtual conduit for that? They recognized the symbiotic relationship; that the pulse of our cities beats within the hearts of our local independent restaurant owners.

But, here is the wake up call. We noticed that the restaurants with full profiles on Diningverse became some of the most recommended restaurants. It became pretty clear that patrons wanted to see up to date menus, prices and specials in an organized, easy to view manner. Restaurants that took the time to keep their profile updated, seemed to benefit the most. And with Diningverse, that task is super easy!

A bigger wake up call is that typical restaurant websites are often frustrating to folks just looking for basic information. The search is further complicated every time you have to switch gears to see the same information for a different restaurant; or to wait minutes (delete) to load the home page. If you have diet restrictions or food allergies, you just want to see the menu.  And, obviously, this doesn’t work for today’s mobile crowd. There is huge value in just keeping it simple.

With social media, you cannot always predict where it will lead or how people will use it. We never anticipated some of the creative ways our patrons would use Diningverse, but, we shouldn’t be surprised, it is their dining universe.

By Chris | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Comments (2)

Expect an encore with social networking

February 24, 2010 – 5:20 pm

I recently attended a local small business meeting with a little over 100 members/guests in attendance. One of the members spoke about how he uses Facebook for his automotive shop. He runs specials, takes appointments and gives advice to his customers and “fans”. Why was Mark asked to speak? Well, he has experienced tremendous growth in the relatively short time he has been using social networking, specifically Facebook. It has enhanced his ability to communicate with existing and prospective customers. He used it to create a loyalty program.

The general consensus of the attendees was literally, shock. Most of them didn’t think of Facebook as a marketing tool, much less a management tool. And I can tell you, there was a crowd of folks asking him questions after his short commentary.

We are experiencing a pretty ugly economy and many small businesses are scrambling to be noticed on a very limited advertising budget. This has really set the economic climate for the explosive growth in social networking….creating a virtual stage where the tickets are free and a business can perform 24/7 to a packed house.

Many Independent Restaurant Owners are seeing social networking as their stage to effectively compete against chain restaurants; and Diningverse is a great example. Most cannot afford the price of a billboard, or commercials that air during the Super Bowl or Olympics. But for $79/month, they can level the playing field with a content rich web profile on Diningverse.

At first glance, Facebook appears to be a good place to start for independent restaurant owners. But upon deeper inspection, it lacks the tools Diningverse provides that are industry specific.  Let’s face it, when you are hungry, you have little interest in reading what is on a restaurant’s Wall. You want to know what is in the area and how to get there. If you have a particular cuisine in mind, well….you get it.

….so, say hello to Diningverse, “your entree to local restaurants”.

By Chris | Posted in Branding and Marketing | Tags: , | Leave a Comment

Recommendations Are Priceless

February 15, 2010 – 11:35 pm

Having spent a few years in the health care industry, I can tell you that referrals were a part of business. “Who referred you to this office?”, was always a question on the initial paperwork. Ever notice that some of the busiest health care offices rarely advertise? They understand that people are about as likely to use the yellow pages to find a doctor, as they are to use a Ouija Board to find a good French restaurant. They are much more likely to ask a trusted friend.

When was the last time a restaurant owner/manager asked you if you were referred by someone; or more specifically, how you found them? Doesn’t this seem like valuable information?

Diningverse was built on the premise that providing great food and service will not only capture a return audience, it will often inspire patrons to tell their Buddies, Fans and Followers.  And now, keeping tabs on local restaurants couldn’t be easier with the Diningverse Scoop.  Restaurant managers can quickly and easily post daily messages about discounts, specials and events.

Many of us do not wish to carry multiple swipe cards, coupons or be overloaded with unsolicited advertising. And rarely is there a discount coupon big enough to attract someone to a restaurant where the food and service do not meet their expectations. Satisfied customers are by far the best referral service.

The beauty of social networking, is that it allows the user to choose the arenas in which they wish to interact; constructing their personal network to suit their goals and lifestyle. Those networks are built by invitations, referrals, suggestions and recommendations.

As social networking continues to make a greater impact on advertising, we see patron referrals becoming more valuable;  in fact, we see Diningverse restaurant recommendations as being priceless.

By Chris | Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a Comment