Putting You in Your Business

EMILY: I’m Emily Washcovick, Yelp’s Small Business Expert. Typically, I tell a story featuring conversations with a business owner, as well as someone who wrote them a Yelp review. This week we’re trying something new. We’re sharing some of the lessons our previous small business owners have shared with us on the podcast, and we’re focusing on how putting yourself into your business has many benefits. 

You might be thinking, Emily, I’m the owner of my business, therefore I’m already in it…and that’s true to an extent. But there are so many ways you can create great customer service, a fantastic customer experience, and a booming online reputation by adding a more personal touch to your business. 

There are many reasons to put your own personality and passions into your small business, but today we’re talking mostly about how that little extra touch, or peek behind the curtain of your business, can improve your digital presence and encourage your customers to engage with you online via social media and even online reviews. 

It might seem easier to put yourself and your personality into your business through in person interactions, like making sales or visiting with regular customers, than it is in the digital space, where those encounters might fall flat or feel disconnected. But putting a human element into your online presence especially on Yelp, your own website or social media can actually create demand for your business. 

Let’s talk about the fastest way to make an impact online—responding to your Yelp reviews. In a recent survey commissioned by Yelp and conducted by Material, 56% of people surveyed said reading a business owner’s reply to a review made them trust that business more than if they hadn’t responded at all. 

We’ve talked about that many times on the podcast, and most of the small business owners we’ve spoken to confirmed those survey results. Not responding to negative reviews is simply not an option. It’s the same as having a customer share feedback in-person and you or your staff simply staring at them in silence. You would never do that! But by not engaging with online reviews, you’re sending that message, indirectly. 

Responding to Negative Reviews

When it comes to negative reviews, there are ways to make them work in your favor, rather than as a ding against you, your business or your products and services. Remember that study I was talking about? My favorite stat is this one. 87% of those surveyed said they are more likely to look past a critical review if the business owner has responded fairly and addressed the issue. I’ve been saying this for years, and now I have the data to back it up. It’s true—responding to reviews builds trust. But you need to do it professionally. This is not the time or the place for a snarky response to a review, no matter how tempting it might be. The internet lives forever, and a negative response to a critical review just breeds more negativity. You want to take the professional route and come across as caring about your customers. 

Those one-star reviews can give you an opportunity to improve your business, according to my buddy Josh, owner of Rescue Air, Heating and Cooling. I did my first interview with him back in November of 2020, he talked to me about how reviews help make improvements in his company and make him a better business owner. Listening, he said, is one of the most important skills for business owners. 

JOSH: They want to voice this concern because it’s not okay. And I’ll listen to them and I’ll be like, I’m taking action on this. I’m going into my company. I’m going to build a better company. Every time I thank them for it, thank you for the one star review. This is how I grow. Without you bringing these mistakes to my attention I would never know they are occurring. So you’re a layer of accountability for me to build a better business.

EMILY: You heard that correctly. When he gets a one-star review, Josh actually THANKS that person for the feedback, and promises to grow and learn from that situation. He says that customers who leave a review pointing out problems or issues are a way he can be held accountable for creating a better customer experience. Oftentimes, he says, he’s completely unaware of the issue until someone leaves a review. 

And he points out that many times, reviewers will go back and update their star rating to make it a more positive review, once they’ve been reached out to. Though that’s not his main goal or mission. He’s replying to reflect his customer service practices to all potential customers. And I’ve found that behavior to be a pretty common occurrence. Because when you show a customer you care, they can show that back. 

Alyssa, owner of Milk + Honey Spa, which has multiple locations throughout Texas, California and Illinois knows that no business can get it right 100% of the time. That’s just impossible. But from experience, she says that the correct response to those issues can actually create MORE loyalty from customers. 

ALYSSA: Things are going to go wrong. That’s a given. What really matters is how the business responds when things go wrong. And that’s what I think separates truly exceptional customer service from the average. I think you’ll find too, and I’ve experienced this with my previous life before Milk and Honey is that, customers who’ve had the biggest customer service breakdown. Like, a really horrific experience. When you have the opportunity to fix that and exceed their expectations, those customers are the ones that become the most loyal and fanatical. 

EMILY: I interviewed Brian, co-owner of Bird Bird Biscuit in Austin, back in September of 2021. Brian runs his biscuit-forward sandwich shop with his business partner. Bird Bird Biscuit has garnered a lot of success and was ranked #5 on Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in 2022. 

Brian admits that while they can be a catalyst for change, negative reviews sting, and there’s no way around that. But he sees it as an opportunity to make a real impact on that customer, turning not only the review around, but that customer’s day as well. 

BRIAN: And then the other side to it is when you’re having a really hard interaction with a guest or someone on the team. If you can ask yourself that question and you can say to yourself when it’s tough, like how can I blow this person’s mind? Where that puts you in your state of consciousness is a place where you had the best opportunity to go through that situation to bring the best fruit.

Cause you’re thinking about serving that person. And when you’re in a service mindset, that’s the place where like, I want us to always be at Bird Bird. Cause then you’re not judging that person. And then you can navigate that with clarity. 

Responding to Positive Reviews 

EMILY: So it might make sense to you to respond to the negative reviews, and turn that customer experience around, or learn something that helps you improve your business. But it’s not just the one-star reviews that deserve a response. The business owners on Behind the Review have said you should respond to ALL of your reviews, even if it’s a simple thank you for coming in. 

I should add that responses should not feel canned, as Yelp readers will pick up on insincerity. You can definitely use templates, but try to add a custom sentence or two that reiterate something they mentioned. If you’re not able to customize those positive responses due to bandwidth or volume, send those thank yous as a direct message. Then you will still get to deepen the relationship with the customer, but not look too robotic to future customers.

VADIM: On every platform I comment back on every review—good, bad, and ugly. And I think it’s very important because why would you only respond to the negative? You have to reach out to the people that took their time to give you a positive review and let them know you appreciate it. I think it’s super important to do that. 

Service Mindset

EMILY: Staying in that service mindset Brian mentioned earlier is great advice for small business owners, as that’s usually the reason you got into business in the first place. You saw an opportunity to bring something to the community that was missing, and filled it. If you feel like you’ve gotten too far away from that as you get caught up in the details of running a small business, maybe it’s time to take a step back and remind yourself WHY you started your business. 

Aaron started his baking business in an apartment not far from the University of Texas campus, and when things got tough for him and his business, he went back to the simple things he did well. He still considers himself just a kid baking in his apartment, in spite of the popularity and success he’s seen owning Paper Route Bakery. Positive reviews, he said, remind him of his love for baking and making people happy. 

AARON: It’s not this one product that’s good. It’s something about the business that people like. So honestly, that’s the reason we stay in business. When I am able to hear something like that from a customer, it shows me that the bakery is having the effect on the community that I wanted to have. I’m really grateful when people are willing to follow Paper Route in whatever direction it ends up going. 

Passion for your product = employees 

EMILY: That passion for your business is often a key part of your customer experience, especially when it carries over into your employees. They are also the face of your business, and are an important part of your success as a business owner. For most of the owners I’ve talked to over the last two years, making the right hires is mission critical — as much or more important than having a good product. 

James, manager of Urban Kayaks in Chicago, deals in fun. His customers are looking for an adventurous day of paddling kayaks or stand-up paddle boards on the Chicago River. The work of his employees, however, can get pretty tough, carrying paddle boards and kayaks to the river and back again. Which is why it’s crucial to hire people who really love the sport and the water. Most of his employees are kids in college looking to make money over the summer. And since James got his start in the business as one of those kids, he understands that his enthusiasm for the job has an effect on all of his employees. 

JAMES: And that is something we really drive home with all of our staff. Our success as a business, their success, these guys are out there earning tips all day long. They’re lifting boats for customers. They’re doing all the things to make the customer experience good. All of that stuff matters at the end of the day. The tip that gets handed to the guide at the end of the trip might depend on whether or not that person felt like they got helped with their life jacket appropriately. That might be the difference maker. 

So we impress that upon the staff. We make sure they understand it. We have the benefit of our job is what these folks are paying to do for fun. If we’re not having a good time, if we’re not out there smiling, friendly, enjoying what we’re doing, we’re doing the wrong thing. I tell my staff, “If you don’t enjoy being here, don’t be here, because this is as good as it’s going to get for a summer job in Chicago.”

EMILY: One of last year’s interviews was with Brandon, owner of SoCo Taphouse in San Angelo. He finds that hiring employees who love craft beer—his specialty and the only thing on tap at SoCo—is not just a nice-to-have, it’s essential. 

He told me that hiring people who genuinely love craft beer means the employees are knowledgeable and eager to talk to his customers who may or may not have had unique craft beers before coming to SoCo. In his business, great bartenders and wait staff who love beer are going to make customers feel welcome. And as we know, having a good time is often a good first step toward a positive review. 

BRANDON: And so that’s a big thing too about our staff members is we try to pick the people that love craft beer, because if you come into the place and you wanna work there and you don’t love craft beer, you’re not gonna exactly have the greatest way of interacting with the people with the bar regulars, talking about beer or giving ’em something good to drink. Because coming in and being greeted with a good smile, somebody telling you your name, or remember what you like, that interaction, it hooks you from the beginning, right? As a consumer, as a customer, you no longer feel like a consumer or a customer. You feel like a guest in our house and Socos Taphouse our job is to make you hang out and feel even the most welcome. And let’s find you a good beer that we know you’re gonna have, so it’s almost as good as sitting on your couch at home after a long day of work and cracking a cold one, we’re gonna make that feeling exactly like that at SoCo.

EMILY: In many cases, potential employees don’t need to walk into the interview with a complete knowledge of your business or industry, but if that’s the case, training them properly is a must. 

Keith, owner of Paws on Chicon in Austin, gives his employees four weeks of training, including pet nutrition and a guide to all of the products he carries in the store, so any employee can answer customer’s questions. And with two locations, he makes sure both stores are staffed with knowledgeable people who also love pets as much as he does. 

Cross training employees in other parts of your business can also give your customers an excellent experience. Ryan, owner of Tempoe Entertainment DJs, offers a number of services to clients for parties, from DJs to bounce houses and photo booths. Each of those services has dedicated employees who specialize in one of the products, but they are all trained on every service. And while the photo booth attendants can’t DJ, per se, they can pitch in and help set up equipment. 

RYAN: During the hiring process, it’s really important for us to just create the company culture that we’re looking for. We’re kind of like that small mom and pop shop. We try to operate that way. And we check in on each other, relatively often. We attend outings together. We host different events here at Tempoe Entertainment DJs where we could get all the DJs, all the photo booth attendants together. Even during a pandemic, we still have zoom meetings. So that way we could just check on how everyone’s doing and just make sure that everyone’s voicing their opinion and what we can do better to strive as a business.

So with that being said, our photo booth attendants are not only just friendly and great at what they do with the photo booth, but they’re always looking at something that they can advance on. And there’s always something to do in the event. From helping out someone carrying something or maybe motivating the kids to dance, we’re just so much fun, and a pleasure to be around at the event.

EMILY: That earned Ryan a glowing review from a customer who threw a birthday party. She was running behind, and the photo booth attendant not only helped set up other Tempoe equipment, she even pitched in with other projects like decorations and table set ups. 

Hire slow, fire fast 

When even just one employee isn’t up to the tasks given them, or they aren’t a good fit for the culture, it brings the entire team down. Misty and Dennis, owners of The Candle Pour in Tampa, learned that lesson the hard way. The business was growing and they needed staff fast. But in the end, it wasn’t the best move for the company in the long run. 

DENNIS & MISTY: Yeah. I know you say it’s harsh and it is a harsh statement, hire slow fire fast, but that’s not to say that you don’t, like she said, build the relationship with your employees. So it’s not like this heartless thing that you’re doing, but it’s controlling an element of your staff that you don’t want to spread around.

And next thing you know, everyone in the staff. So now you’re getting rid of the entire team. So you have to watch out and it’s delicate because it could be someone having a bad day. But when it adds up, when days become weeks and weeks become potential months, you have to do something about it. You don’t want to get to that month’s standpoint.

You want to figure out what’s going on. And you’ve got to attack it. And there was a lot of long nights. I mean, we couldn’t sleep. There was going back and forth. What do we do? Because again, these are people that have been around us for a very long time. People who, honestly, when we were busy before COVID, we saw more than our family. So it’s not an easy decision. But it is a decision that has to be made.

Be Real & Authentic, and it will be shareable 

EMILY: Firing employees might be one of the most difficult things a business owner has to do. Close to the top of that list for some is handling social media accounts. And hey, I get it, not everyone is born to run Instagram and TikTok accounts, and for some it can be just another chore to check off your to-do list. But it’s just as important to have a positive social media presence as it is to have a robust Yelp Business page and great in-person customer service. 

I sat down with Yelp Social Media Manager Lara last year to discuss ways business owners can create and maintain a good online reputation, and just like answering Yelp reviews, it begins and ends with authenticity. Things you find mundane as a business owner, but that are the real goings on behind the products or services you offer, can be social media gold. 

LARA: So there’s lots of great ideas that you could start with to start incorporating video into your social strategy. A few are easiest, showing behind the scenes of your business. It doesn’t have to be a really behind the scenes, something that’s happening behind a kitchen door, but you are talking to people online. So there are some people that might be following you that unfortunately may never visit your business. They might patronize it online, but they don’t know what the inside of your business looks like. They don’t know what your storefront looks like. They don’t know all the fun things that you have going on, the artwork that you have on the wall, et cetera. Just doing easy, quick, things like that. That’s also a great way that you can tap your employees to help, if somebody is getting featured.

If you do an employee of the week or employee of the month, have them talk about what they love or talk about what their favorite drink is or a special menu item that people should try. Additionally, there are different things like a day in the life. Again, some people may never get to come meet you in person or see your business. So do a day in the life – show little clips of you opening up the business for the first time in the morning, grabbing your coffee, opening all the shades. If you’re a bakery, maybe it’s hot things coming out of the oven.

EMILY: Authenticity online starts with authenticity in real life, inside your business. It can be scary to think about putting yourself out there in front of your customers. You might think they want to see nothing but a perfectly professional, perfectly polished business owner. 

But we’re all humans. And that humanity is what gives us common ground and forms real relationships between customers and businesses. 

Yauss and Sacha, owners of Skull & Cakebones Bakery, just outside of Austin, are both partners in business and in life. Rather than hide that fact, they’ve embraced it and the community followed. 

YAUSS & SASHA: As far as I know, we are the only openly LGBTQ+ food establishment in the whole city. I don’t know if others exist, but if they do, they’re not as open and loud about it as we are. To go back to the whole vegan thing, it’s like the definition of veganism is kindness, right? It’s mindfulness and kindness. So to me, logically, it doesn’t make sense to be a vegan establishment and put the emotional attachment that we have to sentient beings in general and not put that on humans as well.

And so sure, are there people who don’t agree with us or don’t speak the same language as us? I’m sure they are. And maybe I’ve met them, but it doesn’t phase me anymore, you know, and I think that’s the sign of growth. 

Our community is really strong out here. I mean, it really community is at the heart of what we do and it always has been. And I think that through doing the depressed cake shop and raising awareness for mental health really, it did create that safe space where people, they just kind of show up to have lunch. And before you know it, you’ve had a 30 minute conversation with them and everybody feels better. It’s just, we want to be that space.

And I think by just being honestly who we are, we’ve created that space. Yeah. And the community has kind of rallied behind us. It feels really good. 

EMILY: Putting yourself out there in front of your customers can make you feel vulnerable, but as a small business owner, you’ve taken bigger risks. Even the smallest bit of authenticity—showing the actual human being behind the business—can make a huge difference in your social media following and your reviews, which in turn can lead to a more robust bottom line.