What do you do when you're a business owner and you're concerned that Yelp might be undermining or damaging your business? Simple, undermine the reliability of your business' Yelp page by asking you customers to leave bad reviews on it! That's the curious strategy being taken by the owners of Botto Bistro, a five-year-old Italian restaurant in San Francisco.
Co-owners Davide Cerretini and Michele Massimo grew tired of the constant advertising inquiries and what they claim is "blackmailing" and review manipulation on the part of Yelp, which has the legal power to manipulate reviews.
So they did the most ridiculous thing possible by encouraging Botto Bistro customers to leave one-star Yelp reviews. They even offered deals -- such as 25% off pizza -- to people who leave crappy reviews.
Amazingly, business has increased since the campaign began, with Botto Bistro's owners claiming that they now have more and better customers than ever before.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Customer-driven Review Manipulation
- Businesses encouraging customers to leave negative reviews to combat unreliable review platforms like Yelp.
- Resistance Against Online Review Platforms
- Business owners taking unconventional actions to undermine the influence and control of platforms like Yelp.
- Alternative Marketing Strategies
- Businesses implementing unique and counter-intuitive campaigns to attract attention and increase customer base.
Sectors Adopting This
- Restaurant Industry
- Opportunity for restaurants to challenge the dominance of online review platforms and gain back control over their reputation.
- Marketing and Advertising Industry
- Opportunity for creative marketers to explore unconventional campaigns that challenge traditional marketing norms.
- Technology and Review Platforms Industry
- Opportunity for review platforms to reevaluate their practices and address concerns over manipulation and reliability.
