User review site Yelp! in hot water with businesses

While Yelp.com may not be a major part of your marketing strategy, client review sites are quickly dominating as top influencers for potential new clients.  I have long been a fan of Yelp and other sites like it such as CitySearch and InsiderPages.  They are all great ways to boost word of mouth on the Internet: where your prospective new clients are looking for their next new spa or salon.

In recent weeks, Yelp has been deleting business sites for "violating user rules," yet have provided no recourse for the business to protest or reapply.   Several of those businesses are so upset that they are suing Yelp...because they had a significant part of their incoming business from that website.  With their profiles deleted, and all their customer reviews gone, they are at ground zero in re-building an online reputation.

Some argue that this "i hate yelp" movement is a sign of Yelp's popularity and power.  I have to agree.   Yelp, and its competitors, are granting significant power to consumers... some of which may even use the public forum to blackmail the business. (e.g., "if you don't allow me to return this I will post a bad review.")

So what is a smart and frugal spa business to do?  Here are some lessons learned based on the latest turn of events.

1. Don't put your eggs in one basket.  I know you have heard this one before, but having accounts (the free kind, advertisements rarely pay off on these sites) at multiple business review sites is smart for a couple reasons. 1) You want to be listed at any local business review site your clients are searching; 2) each account represents another web page referencing your own website (increases search rankings); and 3) you are safe if one day policies change or the entire review site is shut down. [Note that Yelp.com is widely reported that is not yet making a profit.]
2. Don't review your competitors. Even if you are friends and it is "non-biased."  It will likely violate the site policy as you can never convince them that your review is truly "non-biased."
3. Treat your competitors like you'd like to be treated. This is just about playing fair.  Waging a negative campaign against a competitor should and will get your account deleted.
4. Copy and store all online customer reviews. You can re-use this reviews on your own website and marketing materials.  Having an account close should not mean you "lose" those reviews if you have been tracking them.
5. Don't set it and forget it. Check up on these sites regularly, at least once a month.  At the least to read and respond to client reviews, but to also browse other business reviews and get a sense of what is happening with the review site itself.  It may not prevent a surprise, but it could allow you react to major changes sooner than later.

For more information about user review sites, read a previous post:

What do your clients say about you that you don't know?

Comments

[Mark C.]

Great advice-- we have reviews coming in from six or seven of the larger client review sites, and found that it's the reviews and overall ranking-- not the ads- that drive clients to us.

One important note-- if you do get a bad review on any review site, visit Yelp's business owner section for a great explanation of how (and how not) to respond.

By managing things correctly you can significantly reduce the impact of the occasional negative review or even get the user to remove it. It's all about basic customer service, but Yelp really nails it in their business owners section:
http://www.yelp.com/business/business_faq

I also love the idea of archiving old reviews-- great idea, and one we will start following immediately...