Here’s the top tips you should know from Yelp’s Join the Conversation About Your Business webinar on June 22, 2011, along with my insights from managing client customer reviews.

YELP MYTHS

The Majority of Reviews are Negative83% of reviews on Yelp are positive. From my work on CitySearch and Google Reviews, overall our Yelp audience is more fair.Yelp Doesn’t Do Anything To Protect Businesses from Questionable Reviews

• Consumers can remove review themselves, if the situation was corrected by the business owner
• Reviews that violate Yelp guidelines will get removed by the customer support team.
• Reviews can’t represent a conflict of interest. If a competitor is writing a review it will be removed.
• Reviews must be a first-hand experience. Something that a friend told you about a business will be removed.
• Lewd and offensive language gets removed.

About the Review FilterAn automated filter suppresses some reviews. Typically short or intelligible reviews. You cannot manually add or delete reviews from the suppression filter. Yelp is tight lipped about how this works so that no business can abuse or benefit from it. 

CONTESTING A REVIEW

There are two methods to contest a review.

• Go to yelp.com/contact and select “Questionable Content”. This may take longer but you’ll get an email response back from customer support.
• Flag the review on the business page. This will be reviewed faster but you will not get an emailed response about the resolution.

 

TALKING TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

There are two methods to respond to reviews posted on your business page: Private & Public. Once you are logged into your http://biz.yelp.com account and uploaded a human photo to your account you can:Private Messages

• A private message is typically the best first step when you receive a negative review.
• Thank the customer for the review.
• Recognize any positive aspects of the review.
• Apologize for the issue.
• Let the customer know how you’ve followed up on the issue to resolve their concerns.
• Welcome them back to give the business another try

Public Review Comment

• Thank them for the feedback.
• Address the issue and let them know how you’re fixing it.
• Let the world know that you always endeavor to resolve problems like that your business. “Your experience wasn’t our intention.”
• Call out anything that might have changed in your business since

 

RESPONSE TIPS

Don’t Freak Out

• Consumers look at the big picture. No business is made or broken in one review, they’re looking at the overall rating.
• Potential customers will see you lashing out against your customers which will do more harm than good. The Yelp community may punish you for abusing Yelp users.
• Don’t encourage a back-and-forth. Take the high road. Something like: “We’d love to work with you to resolve this situation. If that’s not possible, we respect your opinion and wish you well.”

Should You Respond to Positive Reviews?If you have time, it’s great to compliment positive reviews as well. Thank the customer for their positive review and let them know you appreciate it. 

GETTING MORE REVIEWS

Don’t Ask for ReviewsYelp recommends letting reviews accumulate organically. This is why companies like Review Boost don’t deal with Yelp, I believe the automatic filter will suppress obviously solicited reviews. Tell customers you’re on Yelp without telling them to give you a 5 star review.Tell People Your Business Is On Yelp

• Post a “Find Us On Yelp” Badge on your website. Check out Yelp’s Flickr page for badges and logos.
• Place Yelp a check-in table topper or check-in card at your business (download from Yelp’s Flickr page).
• Add your Yelp page URL to your email signature.
• Yelp mails out "People Love Us On Yelp" window clings a few times a years to top reviewed businesses but they are scarce.

 

MORE RESOURCES

• Yelp’s Responding to Reviews Best Practices
• Yelp’s Business Owners Blog