BusinessHABYelp restaurants: In the online world, reputation is everything. It’s what can make or break your business, especially in the age of review websites like Yelp. Unless you have a truly fantastic product that people won’t stop talking about, it’s unlikely that you’ll have many people rushing to give you five-star reviews. Instead, as we all know, your customers are more likely to be lukewarm at best. In that case, how do you get them to give you four stars instead of two? Well, there are plenty of tricks out there; after all, everyone has their own way of making their business look better than it is. However, from our experience dealing with businesses big and small on a daily basis, we know that the most effective way to do this is by changing your marketing strategy rather than your reviews directly. Here are six ways we believe will make your Yelp reviews more useful for your business:
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6 Ways I’ve Changed My Yelp Reviews to Be More Useful
When it comes to online reviews, there’s no better place than Yelp to find out how potential customers feel about your business. But while a negative review can sting initially, they’re also a chance to improve and come back stronger. As someone who has had her fair share of Yelp reviews (both good and bad), I know the importance of reading them carefully and thinking about the implications of what is being said. After all, we don’t just want customers to leave us a review … we want them to leave us a helpful review.The key is to read your Yelp reviews with as much objectivity as possible. It’s easy to go into defensive mode when reading something negative about your business; but in order for those reviews to be useful, you have to take an unemotional approach. Here are six ways you can use your Yelp reviews more effectively moving forward:
Change your strategy based on the review.
If you see a common thread in your negative reviews, it’s a good idea to re-examine your strategy and think about how you can change to address these issues. For example, if you see that the majority of your negative reviews are coming from people who are frustrated with long wait times, you may want to re-examine your staffing schedule so that you’re adequately staffed during busy times. If you get a review from someone who is upset about a price difference, you may want to re-examine your menu and make sure you’re not accidentally charging more for certain dishes. If you keep getting complaints about bad service, you’ll want to figure out where the problem is coming from and make sure it’s addressed.
Respond to the reviewer in a public way.
There’s no rule that says you have to keep your response private. In fact, there are plenty of examples of business owners responding to their reviews publicly, either by replying directly to the review or posting a new review that thanks the customer for their feedback. This can be a great way to show your customers that you’re paying attention to their feedback, as well as give future customers an idea of how you handle customer issues. It can also help shift the conversation away from a defensive, “We did nothing wrong” tone, and towards a more positive, “Let’s talk about how we can make this right” tone.
Don’t assume the reviewer knows your business.
Sometimes customers don’t appreciate the things you do because they don’t know the things you do. If a customer complains about long wait times, but they’ve only ever visited your restaurant during the dinner rush, they don’t really know what they’re talking about. If a customer complains about a price difference but they only ever order off the less expensive menu, they don’t really know what they’re talking about. If a customer says they were given poor service, but they always visit on the busiest days, they don’t really know what they’re talking about. If a customer says they were given poor service, but they always visit on the busiest days, they don’t really know what they’re talking about.
Ask yourself what you can learn from the review.
When you’re reading a negative review and are feeling defensive, it can be easy to just ignore it and hope the reviewer goes away. But if you take a step back and consider what the review might mean, you may be able to learn something from it. Negative reviews often come with a heartfelt plea for you to fix the problem. While you can’t solve everything for every customer, you can use the information to improve your business. Negative reviews can also be a great reminder that you need to stay on top of things. Perhaps you’ve been so busy lately that you’ve forgotten how important it is to keep the lines of communication open with your employees. Reading a negative review can be a great reminder that you need to go back to basics and make sure you’re still doing everything you can to be the best business you can be.
Ask loyal customers for their take on the review.
If you’re getting a lot of negative reviews, it’s important to remember that you don’t just have upset customers to deal with; you have potential upset customers to deal with as well. Negative reviews are almost always an opportunity to turn people away from leaving a review and towards providing constructive feedback, so it’s important to create a space where your customers feel comfortable speaking up. If you see one negative review popping up repeatedly, consider reaching out to your most loyal customers and asking them if they’ve noticed anything you should be aware of.
Conclusion
With more people than ever turning to the internet for their information about potential companies, a negative Yelp review can be crippling for your business. However, if you can learn to use those reviews to your advantage and see them as an opportunity to improve, they can be a huge benefit to your business. The key is to read your Yelp reviews with as much objectivity as possible. It’s easy to go into defensive mode when reading something negative about your business; but in order for those reviews to be useful, you have to take an unemotional approach.
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