Is “Yelp”ing—Helping? Your Competition is Adapting to Yelp – Should You?

Local Businesses are sticking it to Yelp…literally. Yelp stickers are going up on shop doors and windows, and here’s why you might be ‘yelping’ for a sticker, too.

A mass array of “lifestyle” apps, Yelp, and others are changing how customers choose who to take their business to.The volume of new businesses is increasing and getting ahead by utilizing these methods. Now businesses can measure the returns they receive by simply reaching out. Alongside printing their Twitter handles with toll free vanity numbers and other contact information, it is now common for businesses to request customers to leave a review on Yelp or check-in through FourSquare. The volume of new businesses are increasing and getting ahead by utilizing these methods.

Businesses that are leading the pack in their industry are those that are taking these lifestyle apps seriously, and taking time to understand and fine-tune their online profiles. Say It’s about one or two in the morning and your stomach is running on empty. If you happen to be equipped with a fully-charged smartphone, then you can enable your location services and Yelp over to find what’s open around you. Simply filter the locales with the “open now” button and copy the directions over to Google Maps—or Apple Maps if you’re feeling kind of adventurous though no one recommends doing so. Not even Apple.

Digital marketing has since undergone a few radical changes. For instance, a Boston Consulting Group Study noted that advertisers who use Yelp see an average of a $23,000 increase in business whereas small, local businesses gain an average of $8,000 in sales coming from the little app that could.

For the mom and pop shops out there, vanity marketing is taking off with new tools for survival. And we’re not just talking about restaurants; apps like Yelp even help to find hospitals, though we’re not sure who stops to check reviews before dialing 911. Now these apps allow businesses to measure their own analytics.

A recent article from Wired.com notes: “Advertising analytics have grown more important as social networks proliferate and as social marketing gains prestige inside large companies. The sums of money targeted at social advertising are growing fast, there are more choices than ever over how to spend that money, and advertisers’ goals are increasingly sophisticated, moving beyond mere counts of likes and followers and into measures of how customers recall, interact with, and buy from brands as a result of the ads.”

In the end, whether applying these measures increases your conversions or wind up becoming a trend that takes you nowhere is entirely up to how your business operates. Take for instance the opening scenario: It’s the customer’s empty stomach and the restaurant’s willingness to stay open at 1 AM that makes the sale in the end.

For whatever brand or business you have, keep your options open. Having a toll free vanity number for your business is still the best way to measure your call response and customer interest, especially with Custom Toll Free. You’ll never need a tricky smartphone app or a social media account to operate either. Keep in mind that many want a direct connection over the phone before making any business transaction; it’s best to keep your lines open. When new social and vanity marketing features come to the forefront, don’t look to them as ways to replace what you already have—especially if it works. Always treat your communication avenues as “complimentary” and never place unnecessary barriers between you and your customers.