This post is sponsored by Microsoft in honor of National Entrepreneurship Week February 20 to 24, 2017. On this episode, I cohost with Melanie Gass from Microsoft and our guest is John Carroll from Yelp who discusses the reviews for your business.
John talks about how your brand promise is not what you advertise, but a combination your “earned and owned media” (reviews and thought leadership) on the internet and offline. Small businesses have a suite of free tools on Yelp that they can use to grow their reputation and therefore their business. The first step is to claim and complete your Yelp listing. John encourages owners to consider any reviews they get as insights into their blind spots as a business owner and not to take it personally. Instead, look at any customer feedback as a way to improve your business. It is critical to respond with graciousness and a solution either directly or publicly to the customer. John recommends any business owner when responding to a review start with “Thank you.” It shows that they take the customer experience very seriously.
Listen to this radio segment with John Carroll on the show #418.
John Carroll is a Manager of Local Business Outreach at Yelp. He hosts informational sessions with local business owners across North America to educate them on best practices for navigating the world of online reviews. He works with local business owners interested in utilizing Yelp to help grow their business. He also hosts a series of webinars on subjects relevant to business owners and regularly contributes content to Yelp’s Blog for Business Owners. John also acts as a liaison between the small business community and different divisions within Yelp.
Melanie Gass, Sr. Business Development Manager for Microsoft and the brainchild behind National Entrepreneurship Week. She helps shape Microsoft Community Connections (MCC) to deliver strong value to customers and their influencers.
