Sisi Mereness

I need your YELP

Like any average socially tech savvy person I decided to take a picture of my dinner plate at my favorite Indian restaurant. And like any average multi-tasking female I decided to post it on as many social media platforms that I could before my meal got cold.

So I YELPed it. I gasped when I saw a 20% discount offer when I checked in on YELP from that restaurant. Now I am not a coupon shopper because I'm mostly too lazy to cut them out and too forgetful to actually bring it with me (like the darn popcorn bucket at the Movie Theaters) but what I prefer is for discounts to just fall out of the sky and land on my lap and that is just what happened.

This is why YELP is a great marketing tool. It is one of the first places I check when I am trying out something for the first time. It's the next best thing to a recommendation from a friend. The coupon is just icing on the cake and will give your customer (me big smile) an incentive to choose you over the competition. So as a brick & mortar business you have to understand that YELP is there and people are talking about you on this app.

YELP is a crowd-sourcing app on your mobile device that allows anyone to post a review and rate your business. As a business owner you must Claim your Business on this app. You must pay close attention and be very responsive to all of the good and bad comments that appear on this app in regards to your business. Yelp's users, called "Yelpers," will post and read reviews of everything from Indian restaurants to Drug Store. This app is a crucial part of any marketing plan. Yelp is there to connects people with great local businesses and business owners with their communities. You can find more information on how to advertise with YELP here.