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Help Build Brand Trust with Customer Reviews

More people than ever are using online reviews to help make purchasing decisions, and now, you can add them to your email campaigns.

Smart and savvy, the modern consumer wants confidence in where they spend their money. In fact, a 2022 survey commissioned by Yelp and conducted by Material* showed that 77% of respondents said they’re using online reviews now more than they ever have before.

“Millions of people come to Yelp every day because they trust the content, and because the online reviews and ratings are consistently good predictors of what their own experience at a business might be, helping consumers feel confident in their purchasing decisions,” says Emily Washcovick, Yelp’s Small Business Expert and Senior Field Marketing Manager.

According to Comscore and internal Yelp data, more than 80 million people visit Yelp each month to find home services, restaurants, and other businesses.

The same survey showed that 83% of users hire or buy from a business they found on Yelp, and 57% of users contact a business they found on Yelp within a day.

Now you can combine the expertise and reach of Yelp with your Mailchimp email to help increase engagement and connection with new customers and drive more leads for your business.

Whether you have a small or medium business, multiple locations, or a national brand, online reviews could be an important part of your marketing strategy to help gain new customers, engage your existing ones, and build brand trust.

  • 83%

    of respondents who read reviews trust online reviews about local businesses

  • >80 M

    people use Yelp every month

  • 57%

    of users contact a business they found on Yelp within a day

Online reviews influence spending decisions

In the Material survey, 83% of respondents said they trust online reviews about local businesses. Survey respondents read an average of 5 reviews while researching businesses, and Emily says that they can also look through photos and check out amenities before making that final purchasing decision. In fact, the survey showed that 61% of respondents rely on these platforms to view a menu, 57% to confirm operating hours, and 54% to check the address.

“Everyone is looking for something different in reviews, whether it’s learning about the ambiance, customer service, or the quality of products or services,” Emily says. “Or consumers could choose a business based on more personal reasons, such as if the business shares similar values with them, or is an important pillar in their community, or if the consumer wants to support Black-owned, women-owned, or veteran-owned businesses,” she says.

So whether you have a small or medium business, multiple locations, or a national brand, online reviews could be an important part of your marketing strategy to help gain new customers, engage your existing ones, and build brand trust.

How to get more reviews

Excellent reviews can bring more business, and Emily says that the best way to get them is to provide great experiences for all your customers. Letting the positivity roll in organically takes time, but it’s worth it to build your online reputation. You can also share reviews in your marketing channels and tell users to check them out on Yelp, which lets them know you care about your reputation.

Now you can combine the expertise and reach of Yelp with your Mailchimp email to help increase engagement and connection with new customers and drive more leads for your business.

While everyone wants 5 stars and an excellent written review, the critical ones can also help your business. Pay attention to them and see what issues people report over and over again—maybe they’re long wait times, food that doesn’t taste quite right, or a cold and uninviting atmosphere. Solving them could help lead to better reviews, and therefore more customers, and even new revenue.

Help your business grow with the Yelp integration for Mailchimp

Reviews on Yelp could have the power to help you build your business. Consider including them in your email campaigns as part of your marketing strategy to help expand your reach and build trust with new customers.

Adding Yelp reviews to your Mailchimp email campaigns allows you to:

  • Include user-generated content with our drag-and-drop design tools
  • Show why your business is unique with photos of your office, your most popular restaurant dishes, or your products
  • Share your phone number, location, and business hours

Whether you're starting from scratch, or have already claimed your business location and have a Mailchimp account, you can get up and running quickly and easily. Create your free Yelp Business Page and connect Mailchimp to your Yelp content. Start designing beautiful email campaigns, and harness the power of your reviews with pre-built email templates, automations, and insightful reporting dashboards.

The most authentic marketing for your business is a customer who’s had a great experience and wants to share it. Yelp gives them a platform to be an impactful advocate for you and tell the world that you can back up your claims. And when you combine Yelp with Mailchimp email, you could help drive engagement and leads, helping you grow your business.

Connect Yelp for Business

* Material Survey 2022. This survey was fielded by Material among 2,000 people aged 18+ in the United States. The survey was conducted online during the period of August and September 2022 and has a margin of error of +/- 2%. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results.

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