There are countless free business listings and there are countless free social media platforms. Yelp happens to be a combination of the two. But what is it about Yelp that makes it stand out? More importantly, can Yelp really help your Houston business? Yelp started around 2004 and has had 135 million reviews left for businesses around the world. It’s a global phenomenon, for sure, which has forced Facebook and Google to get on board with their own reviews. Despite the media giants trying to crowd the review market, Yelp still is the most trusted. And there is where your business can be helped or hindered. Yelp is a powerful resource for businesses; and most importantly for businesses, especially small ones, the platform is free. 
According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers check Yelp before making a purchase, and about 80% of those make that purchase within a week.
IS YOUR BUSINESS YELP-FRIENDLY?
Of course, that 92% isn’t purchasing products and services from businesses with terrible reviews. Yelp provides an easy-to-use search engine that allows users to scroll through similar businesses just as easy as scrolling through consumer reviews. So the question may be is your business Yelp-friendly, but another question is whether Yelp is friendly to your business? Yelp can be a relatively brutal place for your business because of spurned customers. Those customers may be spurned whether you or your employees did anything wrong (at least intentionally) or not. Those reviews can greatly hinder or help your business. But one thing to note is that business owners should always respond to reviews from their customers, whether that review is a 5-star or a 1-star. Responding to all of them lets other customers and potential customers know you care about them and your business. Ultimately, it comes down to how well you are running your business. If your products and/or services are on-point, then your good reviews will outweigh your bad reviews. Keep in mind that even the best businesses suffer a bad review every so often. Some people can never be pleased, and some people simply look forward to writing negative reviews (we’ve all met those people). But don’t let that get you down. Focus on perfecting your business and those Yelp reviews will begin to pay off.
NEED HELP WITH YOUR REPUTATION MANAGEMENT?
INFINI Marketing loves Yelp and other review platforms because we understand how important they are to our clients. One of the many digital marketing services our Houston marketing firm offers is reputation management. Our software lets us know when reviews are posted and alerts us to negative reviews so that we are able to inform business owners so those issues can be addressed with the disgruntled customer. Let our Houston digital marketing company help your business. Schedule an appointment with one of our business development executives today.
