How to Manage a Negative Yelp Review

Premiere Orlando 2017 featured a wide range of classes on Saturday, June 3. Stylists and salon owners could learn about hands-on skills like cut, color and style, but there was also business-minded education aimed at increasing clientele and optimizing time and resources.

Matthew Wiggins, brand consultant for marketing firm Social Beautify, presented Digital Marketing Made Beautiful to standing-room-only class at Premiere Orlando 2017. One particularly engaging portion of the class covered reviewing platform Yelp, the importance of it to a salon business and how to manage negative reviews.

"Believe the hype," Wiggins said. "Millennials right now are driving the beauty industry. Forty percent of millennials will check out Yelp reviews before they go to a salon."

Wiggins said it takes five positive reviews to cancel out a negative one so long as you've responded and dealt with a negative review. So how can you turn those negative reviews into something positive?

"Respond to them," Wiggins said. "Say, 'I'm so sorry that you had a negative experience at our salon. Here's what steps we've taken to amend the situation.'" 

Then make sure you invite them back.

"You're not talking to them," Wiggins said. "You're talking to the people reading the review."

Unfortunately, people are more likely to write a review if they've had a negative experience. Wiggins suggested using your salon software to send emails out to clients after a service to thank them for coming in. In the email, include a link to review your salon.