Yelp was founde
d in 2004 to connect people with great local businesses. It’s a social community where people can share experiences and review businesses that they frequent.
With the growth in consumers that frequent Yelp to make buying decisions, it’s becoming ever more important for businesses to take advantage of it.
Hazel Quimpo, the Yelp Community Manager in Orange County (Yelp now has Community Managers in more than 40 cities), believes “it only makes sense to put your best foot forward as a business owner and to unlock your free business owner’s account. biz.yelp.com walks you through all the steps and gets you started in just a few minutes.”
An example of a business that’s taking full advantage is Julie Lim of OC Wine Mart. Julie filled in a lot of information about her business including hours, announcements, photos, etc., and she consistently responds to reviewers. In just over a year, Julie has garnered over 40 reviews, providing potential consumers unique incite from others on OC Wine Mart and what is has to offer. She’s also able to post special offers and other “exclusive” information people may have not sought out elsewhere.
Yelp has become an integral part of many peoples’ buying decisions. “No matter what I’m doing, whether I’m looking hotels, restaurants, bars, I always use Yelp as a resource,” said Candice Cendana, a Yelper in Orange County. “Even more than Google. It’s always right: If it says a hotel or restaurant is good, it’s always right.”
Yelp also hosts special events, like “Yelp Drinks OC“, where a series of venues are offering major drink specials to those who visit and mention Yelp. This is effective in that it doesn’t cost the restaurants themselves much, but it gets a lot of people in the door to try new places. Are you a business or consumer that uses Yelp? Share your story!
I used to own a biz in Costa Mesa and hopped on the YELP bandwagon as soon as I heard about it. As a biz owner, it is such a great tool to engage with your customers. Thank the ones that love you and try to smooth the ruffled feathers of those who didn’t love you as much as you would have liked. Biz owners should embrace it. Even when you have neg. comments, if potential people see you trying to resolve them on YELP in a professional way, they see that you really care and are putting forth the effort to give awesome customer service.
Hi Cassie,
Sorry for the delay! I knew I thanked you on Twitter but just realized I never actually responded to your comment. Thanks for commenting – great to hear from a business owner directly. What was your business?