If you are a local business owner and you want to connect with your customers then I highly recommend Yelp. Started in 2004, Yelp helps local businesses provide a more full Internet marketing experience by giving you tools to connect with your customers in a place where they are likely headed anyway to talk about how well, or how poorly, you provide service. They’re talking about you anyway. Why not make it a positive experience?

Yelp can give you an edge over your competition in a number of ways. For instance,

• As a business owner, you can set up a free account
• Through your account you can make special offers like discounts, coupons, and send invitations to your customers or just communicate with them and build relationships
• You can also purchase ads or sponsor pages on Yelp
• Any type of business can use Yelp for promotional purposes and it’s great for use at the local level since it organized and categorized by local geographic areas

One of the big benefits to Yelp is that it allows consumers to post reviews of businesses. You don’t need an account for one of your customers to go online and post a review of your business. If you do have an account then you can monitor those reviews more closely and resopnd to them with a sound customer service approach. Yelp allows you to be more personal and “up close” with your customers in a safe online setting. It’s a huge benefit to local businesses.