Yelp is a company that runs an Internet review site on which customers rate and review their personal experiences with businesses and corporations. If you own a business, you are probably already on Yelp whether you signed up or not. With over 100 million unique monthly visitors, Yelp is a powerful presence in the modern business world. It is imperative that you claim your business profile and monitor customer reviews and reports on your business.
Search Engine Accessibility
Customers nowadays use Internet search engines more than ever to find and consider local businesses, and Yelp reviews appear very high on Google search listings. Yelp has recently developed partnerships to integrate their service with a number of large Internet search listing providers, including Apple’s iPhones, Bing’s local search pages, and BMW’s onboard navigation systems. A Yelp profile of your business will appear on these search channels.
If you claim your Yelp profile, provide as much information about your company as possible. Consider adding appealing photos to increase your chances of making a positive impression on potential customers. If you are confident your customers are generally satisfied, put Yelp links on your company website, email signature, and Facebook page so customers can share their positive impressions.
Find Patterns
On Yelp for Business Owners, you can track the number of people that view your company’s page daily. By analyzing the statistics, you can spot seasonal trends, the efficacy of ad campaigns, and the best times to launch promotions. You can see when people search for your business and determine whether it is currently gaining or losing popularity.
Network With Other Local Businesses
Use Yelp to strike up mutually beneficial relationships with other local businesses. Create strategic partnerships, and connect other businesses by recommending each other on your Yelp profiles.
Engage Users
Since you know people will be accessing your company on Yelp, keep your page dynamic. Change the photos frequently, add some videos, and engage your customers with announcements, coupons, and specials. Potential customers are checking out a number of similar businesses, so show them something that will catch their eye.
Respond to Reviews
The heart and soul of Yelp is the customer reviews and most people use the site to read reviews. Ignore negative reviews at your peril. Yelp allows you to publicly respond to negative reviews on the site. Use the opportunity to correct inaccurate statements, apologize sincerely for real mistakes, and to announce improvements. You can turn a negative review into a positive by fixing the mistake and inviting the reviewer back to see the difference. Yelp is a social site, and it offers a fantastic opportunity to interact with your customers. Businesses who take advantage of the customer interaction can turn irate reviewers into loyal customers. Companies that ignore negative feedback risk losing a significant amount of business.
The only way to use Yelp to your advantage is to respond to customer reviews in a positive manner. Use positive reviews to help grow your business further, and use negative reviews as an opportunity to improve. Yelp amplifies what is already out there, both positive and negative. Do not try to solicit or provide fake reviews, as Yelp is on the watch for such tactics. Instead, use the social media dynamic as an opportunity for change and growth.
Byline
Along with business development, Daniel Kramer writes on web development, social media, technology, computers, design and other interesting topics; for more info on web development readers are encouraged to view cool blue web.
Image credit goes to Sales Tip A Day.
