Yelp Marketing Tips for Restaurants.

What is Yelp?

Yelp is part of a crowdsourcing movement that relies on anonymous volunteers rather than paid participants. Customers can post reviews on thousands of businesses across a wide variety of industries, ranging from jewelry and auto repair shops to restaurants and nightlife.

Why does Yelp matter.

Yelp has emerged as a huge influence particularly in the restaurant industry. The site itself commands 71 million unique visitors per month. Restaurants command the largest portion of Yelp traffic, nearly a third of all reviews.

Why is Yelp important for the restaurant industry.

As a restaurant owner, it is essential to take a proactive marketing approach to Yelp. Reviews will be written with or without your involvement. If you have a business account with Yelp, it will give you an opportunity to control the content that is on your review site, and to interact with reviewers.

How do I use Yelp business account?

Think of it as an online integration of traditional customer service. If a customer’s response with a positive review, saying they had a great experience, you thank them for their feedback and invite them to come again. For negative views, tread slightly more carefully. Thank the customer for their feedback. Apologize for their experience if necessary. If you have rectified the issues, let them know it has been fixed, and invite them to come back again.

Above all, continue to engage and interact with your customer. Post photos on your site, set up deals and encourage customers to check-in to your establishment when they visit. The same basic principle of customer service applies to Yelp as in your restaurant.

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For Additional resources, see Restaurant Engine.