Yelp reviews play a crucial role in any company's reputation management strategy. They help local businesses get noticed online, and are a great way to connect with potential customers. One negative review can doom your reputation, and could even cost you your business. Here are some tips to help you get started if you don't know how to respond to negative reviews or manage your yelp reviews.
Request Reviews Early
One of the best things you can do for your yelp business is to ask for reviews from existing and new customers. This will make your business stand out and give you an opportunity to transform a negative review into something positive.
You can also encourage customers to leave reviews on Yelp by sending them an email or other marketing material. This will encourage them to leave reviews, and give you a better insight into how they do business.
Use Deals and Certificates
One way to increase your Yelp review count is to use the coupons and certificates available on the site. These vouchers allow users to redeem them for discounts at their business. They're not only a great way to boost your reviews, but they'll also help you generate more revenue!
Avoid Spam Review Filters
Yelp has put in place a system of filters to stop reviews being too short, vague, and negative. This means that if you ask your customers to write a review, make sure that the post is medium-length, and includes a photo.
Last but not least, only ask for reviews from people who are willing to give them. This will result in you violating the yelp terms-of-service and possibly causing your profile to be damaged.
The algorithm isn't perfect, and it can sometimes be difficult to get a 5-star review removed from the system. But the good news is that you have a lot of options when it comes to managing your yelp reviews, and if you do end up with a review that isn't legitimate, there are some ways to get it removed.
Negative Yelp reviews should be addressed
No matter how negative a review is, every yelp company owner should know how to address it. These are the most important responses, because they can make a customer's rating go from one-star up to five stars, win back disgruntled customers, and show future clients that you are open to addressing issues.
1. Name the reviewer.
When a customer leaves a negative review, it's important to address them by their name, not by a generic username or codename. It makes the customer feel that they are talking to a person and can help them understand how you are trying to solve their problem.