Yelp is the largest and most successful online peer-to-peer review website for local businesses. If you run a local company, especially if you’re a retail or brick and mortar shop, you should pay very close attention to Yelp.
If you get to #1 in your category on Yelp, that’s all the advertising you’ll ever need to do. People will come through your doors by the droves.
On the other hand, if you have a poor rating on Yelp, you’ll turn off many of your customers. A lot of people will research an establishment on Yelp before visiting. If your ratings are poor, you’ll never see these people.
So how do you get fantastic reviews on Yelp?
==> Improve Your Yelp Page
The first step is to claim your Yelp page, then improve it. Make sure the hours are accurate. Upload photos. If you’re a restaurant, then upload a link to your menu.
Make sure your page is as complete as possible.
==> Ask People to Post Reviews
Make a personal connection with your customers. For example, if you run a spa, talk to your customers afterwards to see if they were happy.
Develop a one on one rapport with people, then ask them to do you a favor: go on Yelp and leave a review. Tell them it takes less than five minutes and would make a huge difference for you.
You should especially do this if they’re recurring customers. Get the people who love you to be your champions on Yelp.
Most business owners simply never put any attention on their Yelp pages. Sure, they realize the importance, but they never actively try to cultivate as many reviews as possible.
If you do, you’ll put yourself far ahead of the curve. If you ask just five customers a day, that’s 150 customers a month who you’ll have asked for reviews. If just 20 of those every month leave a review, in a few months you’ll undoubtedly be the top in your category.
==> Handling Negative Reviews
If you should receive a negative review, it’s paramount that you respond quickly.
First, write a response in your Yelp page to that review. Then get in contact with the person who wrote the review and try to get them to come back for a second round. Offer them a freebie, not as a bribe but just to ask them to come back and try you out one more time.
Look at any negative review as valuable feedback. What caused this customer to be angry or dissatisfied? How can you prevent that from happening again in the future?
These three simple tips are all you need to succeed on Yelp. Create a stellar profile, then get in the habit of asking people to review your restaurant. Ask earnestly. Finally, if you ever get a negative review, do everything in your power to get them to change it, or at the very least learn from the experience and write a response on Yelp.