Here are a few easy steps you can take to make sure you aren’t out-reviewed by your competitors. Remember, you want to make it as easy as possible for your customer to choose you. Being proactive makes their decision easier. So let’s get to it!
1. Preparation: Make It Easy
You know how to get Yelp reviews: get on Yelp’s good side and fill out your business profile.
Then make it easier for your customers to reach the page: install a Yelp badge on your website.
If you run a business, you know that you don’t wait for magic to happen: you make magic happen. Once you’ve completed your Yelp profile and set up convenient portals for your customers to review you through, you don’t want to just leave it sitting there—you want to let your friends and customers know about your Yelp page through Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
2. Ask
Yelp doesn’t want you to ask your customers for reviews, but let’s face it: most people expect excellence. They may appreciate it in the moment, but they lead busy lives and don’t think of going to Yelp on their free time unless they have a bad experience.
The last thing you want is a Yelp profile that looks like a collection of bad experiences. You don’t want your page to be a collection of bad experiences. That’s a surefire way to lose business. So you have to be proactive. You have to tip the odds in your favor because nobody’s going to do it for you.
Start with your family, friends, business partners, and loyal customers. Have them be honest and vouch for you personally. Sometimes the best reviews come from friends who say “I’ve known this person forever.”
In the olden days, you’d ask your customers to tell their friends. Now you ask them to review you on Yelp.
3. Reach Out to Your Customers
Your relationship with your customers is much like a friendship. You come together for mutual benefit. You don’t want to be the friend who you never hear from until he needs a favor.
You can also run deals on Yelp, much like Groupon or Living Social. There are no upfront costs to running a deal, but Yelp will take a portion of the money made from sales. Yelp will also promote your business profile, which may help you rack up reviews.
4. Respond To Yelp Reviews
You want your customers to know you are listening and that you care. If somebody is worked up and leaves a scathing review, you may not want to approach it with a ten-foot pole, but you have to. It’s your responsibility, even if it isn’t your fault.
Yelp is a powerful marketing tool that will bring business to you–or your competitors. It depends on how well you use it. Getting Yelp reviews is the first step.
If you still don’t know how to get Yelp reviews, send us an email or give us a call! We’re here to help
