Yelp is a web site of independent reviews with over 61 million unique visitors during third quarter of 2011. That’s about 20 million visitors who are reading reviews on restaurants, products, hotels and much more. Yelpers have written over 22 million local reviews, according to Yelp.
I witnessed the power of Yelp when I wrote a review on Deke’s BBQ in Raytown, MO. Deke’s is a hole-in-a-wall BBQ joint on the corner of 55th St. & Raytown Road. I told the owner about my review one day while I was in there for my customer burnt ends sandwich. He had no idea what I was talking about because he’s never on the Internet.
When I returned a month later, he told me that he had customers from Michigan and all over the United States that came into his restaurant because of my Yelp review. “Thank you!” He said. “I would have never had those customers if it wasn’t for your review.”
My stellar review worked for Deke’s BBQ, but I have other clients that have had negative reviews. Yelp published a video about how restaurant owners handle negative reviews.
The first action restaurant owners can take is to claim their venue on Yelp. Claiming your venue gives you the ability to respond to negative reviews. Yelp even suggests verbiage for responding to the reviews. If you need help claiming your venue, call me at 816.332.0720. Don’t let a negative review ruin your business.
Filed under: Marketing, Social Media, Yelp Tagged: | marketing, negative reviews, reviews, social media, Yelp
