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The Dockside Restaurant Group, now a pair of Massachusetts eateries known for showing big games and serving large portions of high quality food at an affordable price, was founded in 1981. Its owners had always enjoyed dining out — particularly in a comfortable, sports-friendly atmosphere — and when a downtown Boston location opened up, the founders took a chance to expand.

Since then, Dockside has been dedicated to maintaining a strong commitment to the community, donating more than $400,000 to local nonprofit organizations, sports teams, and school groups. The successful restaurant group has also spread its winning formula into the city's suburbs, pleasing fans and foodies alike.

Challenge: Getting Honest Feedback from Loyal Customers

Numbers mean almost everything in the restaurant business, as they do in most lines of work. But when your establishment shows live sports on televisions hanging throughout the dining room — between all the touchdowns, three-pointers, and grand slams — you need to look past the profit and loss statement to know if you're truly winning with your customers.

While many restaurants evaluate their service through tabletop comment cards, Dockside wanted a way to better engage its loyal customers. Since it was already employing the Email Marketing service from Constant Contact, the business decided to try to reach its diners by adding the Online Survey tool.

Solution: Quarterly Surveys Become a Game-Changer

For the past two years, the Dockside Restaurants have used Constant Contact's Online Survey feature as its scoreboard. Constant Contact was the Dockside's first use of email marketing, says Lisa Urbaczewski, the restaurants' marketing director, who thinks the service's ease of use and competitive pricing make it a great fit for the business. "I did not try anything else before, nor do I plan on changing anytime in the near future," she says.

Many customers comment that the use of surveys makes them feel important and that their opinion is valued. The restaurants first partnered with Constant Contact to promote events and new food items, and then added the online survey tool as another means of listening to customers, Lisa says. Through quarterly customer satisfaction surveys, Dockside let customers rank the restaurants in a variety of aspects, such as the quality of food, caliber of the staff, and variety on the menus.

"The impact of Constant Contact on our business isn't solely measured with numbers and increased head counts," Lisa says. "The most rewarding success has been the positive feedback from customers."

Results: New Menu Items, Packed Events, and High-Fives All Around

In examining the results, the restaurants have been able to improve their customers' experience, and even bring new dishes to the table. For example, Lisa says the group already knew that their steak tips were perennial favorites, but one of the surveys suggested that they add a seasonal Lobster Bake to the menu. "Several of our customer responses requested that we carry these items," she says. "And as a result we did."

Giving customers the ability to rank particular aspects of the restaurants is Lisa's favorite feature of Online Surveys. "It forces customers to truly examine what features are the most important to them," she says. As a result, Dockside discovers what ought to be important to them, as business managers. "Many customers comment that the use of surveys makes them feel important and that their opinion is valued," she adds.

In addition to the improvements that the Dockside Restaurant Group has made to its business, it has also seen an increase in customer traffic on particular promotional nights. Also, rewards coupons that Dockside includes in its online communications have become a customer favorite — and are frequently redeemed. So while Dockside can't assure that the hometown team will always be victorious, it can make sure that guests have a winning experience.