In the world of reputation management, Yelp is like a frequent offender. The site can seemingly hold a business hostage with negative reviews, but the good news is those reviews can be removed. Even better: you won’t need to pay Yelp a dime if you use these tips to help police your Yelp page.
Ask the Customer to Remove It
By far, the simplest method is to request that the customer just remove his review. Online reputation management companies almost always recommend this route first. Show some empathy, and directly address their concern. You can contact them through Yelp, or through any other means you might have to find them. Just make sure that you take the time you need to calm down. A negative review can make some feel heated, but that passion can only hurt your outreach efforts.
Look for TOS Violations
Another lesser known secret is to find reviews that don’t conform to Yelp’s terms of service. If the review was written on behalf of someone, or if the review reads like a personal attack, it can be struck down.
Last Resort: Respond
You can always respond to the review and try to address the concerns. As long as you’re fair and empathetic, this can be a good thing for your business. If the customer is stubborn, but you’ve attempted to fix the problem, then you no longer look like the bad guy in that situation. Although your stars still take a hit, others can jump in and offer positive reviews to improve your online reputation management.
