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Yes, You Can Buy Good Online Reviews. But Should You? | October 01, 2014 (0 comments)
Merrick, NY—Two years ago, the New York Times reported that Yelp was outing businesses that tried to influence their own ratings. 'Buy Reviews on Yelp, Get Black Mark,' said the article. Meanwhile business owners did what they could to keep the good reviews going and, not surprisingly, a new industry popped up to assist in their quest (for a fee, of course).
But businesses also have been equally eager to out Yelp for what they believe is coercion—if not outright extortion—to advertise.
Time passed. People sued. But the court sided with Yelp, essentially saying that even if it was proven that Yelp removed/replaced/manipulated reviews and ratings in exchange for paid ads, it isn’t doing anything illegal.
An article in Forbes says, “For years, Yelp has been dogged by allegations that it manipulates user reviews to coerce businesses to advertise with it. While businesses aren’t likely to stop grumbling about these concerns any time soon, yesterday a federal appellate court emphatically shut the door on legal claims that Yelp extorts advertisers.
This long-running case dates back to early 2010. The plaintiffs allege that Yelp extorted them to buy advertising, by manufacturing negative reviews of their businesses and manipulating user-submitted reviews and ratings about their businesses. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed.”
But the ruling rests on a very narrow definition of extortion. While it is at least a short-term victory for Yelp and other consumer opinion websites that also sell advertising, they have yet to be tried in their own backyard: the court of public opinion. The upside of social media is that it allows such sites to exist; the downside is that it may ultimately come back to bite because nothing stays secret very long online. And with reams of research showing how Millennials, especially, value authenticity, do marketers want to risk alienating this most-sought-after group with inauthentic reviews?
Already many pundits are pointing to how the ruling and attendant publicity affects Yelp's overall credibility. Can users trust a review site if it turns out someone is tampering with the reviews? And if users don’t trust it, what is its future?
One San Francisco-area restaurant owner is hoping to prove that answer is “no.” David Cerretini, owner of Botto Bistro, is running a hugely successful promotion that actively encourages customers to trash his restaurant online. So far, it’s had the dual effect of bringing in lots of new customers and essentially turning Yelp into a joke. Customers who give Botto Bistro one-star rating and a bad review on Yelp get 25% off on their next pizza purchase as a reward.
Why? Cerretini, like the plaintiff Levitt, claims Yelp is blackmailing him. He says Yelp hounded him to advertise—as many as 20 calls a week—and eventually he did. But when he stopped, he claims his restaurant’s reviews turned negative and the good ones disappeared. That’s when he and partner Michele Massimo decided to beat Yelp at its own game. If Yelp can manipulate its reviews of their restaurant, they were going to prove the site’s unreliability as a source of information. Hence their campaign to become the worst rated restaurant in the Bay Area.
It’s working. Cerretini told SFGate that it’s the best promotion idea he’s ever had and since the campaign began, the restaurant has gained more loyal customers who spend more money. Yelp has sent him a warning letter, and he sent one back telling the site, politely, where to go.
But his tactic of being the best at being the worst may not work for everyone. Botto Bistro is operating from a position of strength: Cerretini and Massimo are well-known chefs on their local dining scene, and enjoy an excellent reputation and a busy restaurant. And they’re selling pizza, not diamonds.
So how does this affect you, the prestige jewelry retailer? Recently The Centurion wrote about online reviews and how they affect your company's reputation. Clearly a solid online reputation is important since so many shoppers check out online reviews before they buy. The best strategy may be to add a testimonials section to your own website showcasing your own real customer reviews, highlight them on your social media, and of course to respond immediately to any negative comments made in a public forum. Invite the disgruntled commenter to call, come in, or at least message you privately, to resolve the problem. If there is indeed a problem and it is resolved to the customer’s satisfaction, ask them to give you a positive shout-out online. Ask happy customers to give you a shout-out on social media as well—things that hopefully will pop up when customers do a search for you online.
For now, the Yelp situation is a wait and see. Will the site implement a new system to make it clear they are not tweaking reviews? Or will consumers believe they are and render a verdict of “untrustworthy” in the court of public opinion? Or if visits and views do not decrease—and people don’t talk about it—perhaps it will all be nothing more than a proverbial tempest in a teapot.
While you can’t stop potential customers from visiting Yelp or any other review site, you can keep your voice in the conversation. That’s the cardinal rule about social media: the conversation is going to happen regardless, so you want to be sure you’re part of it. Keeping an eye on your reputation online is not only the smart thing to do; today it’s a must-do.