When customers search for a place to eat breakfast, online reviews often determine where they go. Keke's Breakfast Cafe, the 80-plus-unit breakfast-and-lunch franchise, has made sure those first impressions work in its favor. The breakfast franchise has increased its average Google rating from 4.4 in 2022 to 4.85 while also earning the highest net sentiment score among its breakfast competitors, according to Black Box Intelligence.
“Focusing on the guest experience and that Google rating was 100% intentional," said Jenna Law, senior director of marketing and communications for Keke's Breakfast Cafe. "We knew it was an important KPI because when guests are choosing where to eat, that's one of the main factors they evaluate. It helps you stand out, but it doesn't happen on its own. We had to make it part of the Keke's culture and educate both our company operators and franchisees that this metric matters because it's correlated to sales and brand perception."
Creating a great guest experience isn't the responsibility of one department. Marketing, operations and training each play a role. Marketing introduces guests to the brand through menu innovation, promotions and messaging. Operations is responsible for delivering the service and food quality guests expect, while training helps new team members learn those standards from the start.
While Keke's has invested heavily in search engine optimization over the past 18 months, Law says the brand's strategy goes beyond technical website optimization. It combines SEO best practices with a consistent focus on generating authentic guest reviews.
"We've really dug into our SEO strategy over the past year and a half because algorithms continue to change, especially in ways that favor local businesses with recent, relevant and positive reviews," Law said. "Whether it's how we're structuring information on our website, how we're responding to reviews or making sure operators consistently ask for reviews, those organic actions all help improve search visibility."
Those efforts have helped Keke's appear more prominently in local searches while supporting improvements in guest sentiment, sales and traffic.
Law believes online reviews function as digital word-of-mouth recommendations that carry far more credibility than traditional advertising. That trust becomes especially valuable as Keke's expands into new markets where consumers may not already recognize the brand.
"There may be a local cafe with five stars but only 10 reviews versus somewhere that's 4.8 stars with a thousand reviews," she said. "Who are you going to trust more? Guests see reviews as an authentic community evaluation–social proof–instead of the brand telling them what to think. If guests don't already know Keke's, reviews become one of the main ways people decide whether to give you a chance. They feel like they're hearing from neighbors and people in their own community, and that's a voice they really trust."
Positive reviews are very important during a restaurant's first few months in a new market. As more feedback comes in, the marketing team looks for common themes and uses them to help choose future messaging.
Rather than limiting review management to the marketing or guest relations teams, Keke's shares insights throughout the organization so operators can identify trends, solve recurring issues and strengthen performance across the system.
"Guest reviews are an essential way to understand what's happening inside your four walls when you can't personally see every guest experience," she said. "But they're only valuable if you take the insights and apply them. It has to become part of your company culture so it's a KPI that drives action and ultimately improves the business for everyone."
Reviews and ratings provide regular feedback that helps Keke’s find what's working and address issues before they become bigger problems. That commitment to listening to guests has helped the brand support growth across the system.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/kekes-breakfast-cafe.
Keke's Breakfast Cafe
SPONSORED
The breakfast franchise's focus on guest experience has helped improve its Google rating, strengthen customer feedback and produce the highest net sentiment scores in its category.
When customers search for a place to eat breakfast, online reviews often determine where they go. Keke's Breakfast Cafe, the 80-plus-unit breakfast-and-lunch franchise, has made sure those first impressions work in its favor. The breakfast franchise has increased its average Google rating from 4.4 in 2022 to 4.85 while also earning the highest net sentiment score among its breakfast competitors, according to Black Box Intelligence.
“Focusing on the guest experience and that Google rating was 100% intentional," said Jenna Law, senior director of marketing and communications for Keke's Breakfast Cafe. "We knew it was an important KPI because when guests are choosing where to eat, that's one of the main factors they evaluate. It helps you stand out, but it doesn't happen on its own. We had to make it part of the Keke's culture and educate both our company operators and franchisees that this metric matters because it's correlated to sales and brand perception."
Creating a great guest experience isn't the responsibility of one department. Marketing, operations and training each play a role. Marketing introduces guests to the brand through menu innovation, promotions and messaging. Operations is responsible for delivering the service and food quality guests expect, while training helps new team members learn those standards from the start.
While Keke's has invested heavily in search engine optimization over the past 18 months, Law says the brand's strategy goes beyond technical website optimization. It combines SEO best practices with a consistent focus on generating authentic guest reviews.
"We've really dug into our SEO strategy over the past year and a half because algorithms continue to change, especially in ways that favor local businesses with recent, relevant and positive reviews," Law said. "Whether it's how we're structuring information on our website, how we're responding to reviews or making sure operators consistently ask for reviews, those organic actions all help improve search visibility."
Those efforts have helped Keke's appear more prominently in local searches while supporting improvements in guest sentiment, sales and traffic.
Law believes online reviews function as digital word-of-mouth recommendations that carry far more credibility than traditional advertising. That trust becomes especially valuable as Keke's expands into new markets where consumers may not already recognize the brand.
"There may be a local cafe with five stars but only 10 reviews versus somewhere that's 4.8 stars with a thousand reviews," she said. "Who are you going to trust more? Guests see reviews as an authentic community evaluation–social proof–instead of the brand telling them what to think. If guests don't already know Keke's, reviews become one of the main ways people decide whether to give you a chance. They feel like they're hearing from neighbors and people in their own community, and that's a voice they really trust."
Positive reviews are very important during a restaurant's first few months in a new market. As more feedback comes in, the marketing team looks for common themes and uses them to help choose future messaging.
Rather than limiting review management to the marketing or guest relations teams, Keke's shares insights throughout the organization so operators can identify trends, solve recurring issues and strengthen performance across the system.
"Guest reviews are an essential way to understand what's happening inside your four walls when you can't personally see every guest experience," she said. "But they're only valuable if you take the insights and apply them. It has to become part of your company culture so it's a KPI that drives action and ultimately improves the business for everyone."
Reviews and ratings provide regular feedback that helps Keke’s find what's working and address issues before they become bigger problems. That commitment to listening to guests has helped the brand support growth across the system.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/kekes-breakfast-cafe.
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