Now I realize that a lot of people really really despise Yelp. I know because some days I am one of them. And in the past, I was one of those people every single day. But then I watched my brother use Yelp, and realized that for some businesses, Yelp is just what the doctor ordered. For instance, automotive shops, restaurants, and plumbers all do really well on Yelp. For a snazzy chart about the businesses that do the best on Yelp, see 5 Things You Absolutely Need to Know as a Business Owner on Yelp. Here are a few things to help you get started if you’re considering Yelp.
Register Your Business
Yelp makes it pretty easy to register your business. You can do it right here and it’s free. Also on the same page, you can see why you should register your business. If you’ve spent any length of time on Yelp, you’ve seen the reviews where no one ever checks in to see them. Why not, at the very least, thank people for their positive reviews?
Respond to Bad Reviews
Most people can read between the lines of bad reviews, esp. when business owners or managers take the time to respond reasonably to bad reviews. Usually, fake reviews look fake. For instance, the people who leave them have spammy names such as WhyMe123456 and no picture or their avatar looks really bad. So when a business owner says, “thank you for leaving this review after that time you used our service in 2012,” most people know the person leaving the review has a personal vendetta against the business. But if you don’t say anything, no one’s going to know.
Use the Reviews in Other Places
Take the reviews and post them in other places, like Beth Staub of AdventureAutoGlass does. By the way, if you need a windshield replaced and you’re near Prescott, Arizona, you can find them on Yelp! And if you do use your review in other places, you may want to put a link back to Yelp (or wherever those reviews appeared), so they don’t look as though you wrote them yourself!
Stay Engaged
You may also want to engage with the bad reviewer privately offline, so you can resolve the issue. Staying engaged is the important thing here. If the complainer stops responding when you offer a to resolve the issue, then it’s out in public for everyone to see. And if you have issues with being engaged on social media, then you may be interested in my book (co-written with Eric Lofholm) available on Amazon: 21 Ways to Total Social Media Engagement That Will Make You Look Like a Pro!
Thanks for the yelp help carol!
You’re welcome, and thank YOU for stopping by, Randy!
~ Carol