Yelp. Love it or Hate it?
I have a love-hate relationship with Yelp. But I have a feeling I am not the only one.
There are many reasons to love Yelp. How else can I find a good taco joint with legitimate reviews near the very spot where I am sitting at my desk? And there are many reasons to dislike Yelp, especially for small businesses where every review counts. Remember the old saying: a hater will tell 10 people they hate something, while a lover will sit silently by.
This is nothing new. But what is new is a trick I recently discovered — a new use for Yelp that has me loving it more and more.
Let’s say you have an idea for a new business, a hair salon. But you plan to offer something slightly different, maybe a focus on blow drying (blowouts). The single best way to research your brand new business idea, from choosing locations to pricing to handling customer service to making your clients feel 100 times better than when they walked in the door, is to read Yelp reviews on other similar businesses. It is pure gold, my fellow marketers/friends.
You will learn so much from this exercise that it will set you up for success. Try it and let me know how it goes.
I think you’re gonna love it!
