Marketing Mix of Yelp and 7Ps (Updated 2024)

The Marketing mix of Yelp analyses the 7Ps of Yelp, which includes the Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Physical Evidence, and Process of Yelp. Founded in 2004 by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russell Simmons, two former PayPal employees and marketers, Yelp has made Yelping sound more fun. Yelp is an American online advertising & multinational corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its primary function is to develop a market and host the Yelp mobile app and Yelp.com- a site that only publishes crowd-sourced reviews about online reservation services and local and small businesses.

Competitors

• AlterGeo
• Craigslist, Inc
• ApartmentRating
• TripAdvisor
• AroundMe
• Yahoo, Inc
• BooRah
• Angie’s List
• burrp!
• Citysearch
• Complaintsboard.com
• YP

About Yelp

• Type: Local business review website and mobile app
• Industry: Consumer reviews
• Founded: July 12, 2004
• Founders: Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons
• Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
• Area served: Worldwide
• Key people: Ursula Burns (Chairman) and Jeremy Stoppelman (CEO)
• Number of employees: 4,400

Yelp Product Strategy

Yelp has about 100 million reviews on its site, a resource the company says attracts about 135 million monthly visitors. Eat24, a prominent online food-ordering service company, has been a subsidiary of Yelp since its purchase in 2015. This has increased Yelp’s service base and helped the company become one of the internet market’s most well-resourced tour and travel service providers.

Yelp also has the “Public Services & Government” section that encourages creating and monitoring official government pages by government agencies and internet marketing front companies.

As a Yelp user, you can make restaurant reservations via Yelp Reservations. Through the same feature, you can order food for delivery. Other reservations, sales, promotions, sales, and appointments that can be made through Yelp include booking appointments to spas, scheduling golf, manicures, legal consultations, flowers, etc.

Down to the restaurant information, you will not only be equipped with the reviews that speak about the restaurant’s brand value, but The Nowait app, launched in 2016, gives users rough estimates of the cost and the time they will have to spend to wait before being served at restaurants that don’t accept reservations. The app also allows you to put your name on the restaurant’s waitlist without being physically present at the restaurants that accept reservations. When your table is ready, you will receive an alert as a text message.

The new Product Mix of Yelp in 2024 is as follows (Source).

1. Business Listings: The core of Yelp’s service is its extensive database of business listings, which includes information about local businesses such as restaurants, bars, shops, and services. These listings often include details like business hours, location, contact information, and services offered.
2. User Reviews and Ratings: Yelp allows users to write reviews and rate businesses on a five-star scale. This user-generated content is a key feature of Yelp, providing valuable insights and feedback about businesses from the perspective of local consumers.
3. Advertising Services: Yelp offers a variety of advertising services to businesses. These services include targeted local advertising (placing ads on the Yelp platform), sponsored search results (where companies pay to be featured more prominently in search results), and other promotional tools designed to enhance business visibility and attract customers.
4. Reservation and Ordering Services: Yelp has integrated features such as online reservations, food ordering, and delivery services through partnerships with other platforms. This allows users to make restaurant reservations or order food directly through Yelp.
5. Yelp Deals and Gift Certificates: Businesses can offer deals or gift certificates through Yelp, providing discounts and special offers to users. This feature is designed to attract more customers to the business and provide savings to consumers.
6. Yelp Metrics and Analytics: Yelp provides businesses access to various analytics and performance metrics, helping them understand customer feedback and their business’s performance on the platform.
7. Yelp API: Yelp offers an API (Application Programming Interface) that allows third-party developers to integrate Yelp data into their applications, websites, and services. This includes access to business information, reviews, and other relevant data.
8. Yelp Events: Yelp often organizes and lists local events, ranging from social gatherings to professional networking events. This feature engages the Yelp community and provides additional visibility for event organizers.
9. Yelp Reservations: This service enables restaurants and other businesses to accept online reservations directly through Yelp without needing a third-party reservation service.

Yelp Pricing Strategy

Yelp’s pricing and revenue strategy is an intricate blend of market-oriented competition and value-based marketing approaches designed to maximize user accessibility and revenue generation from businesses and advertisers. Here’s a breakdown of its pricing and revenue strategy.

1. Freemium Model for Users: Yelp operates on a freemium model, offering free access to its vast database of business listings, reviews, and other user-generated content. This approach ensures high user engagement and widespread adoption, creating a robust platform for businesses to target.
2. Tiered Advertising Plans for Businesses: Yelp offers a variety of advertising packages to businesses, employing a tiered pricing strategy. This model caters to businesses of all sizes, from small local establishments to larger chains, providing flexibility and scalability in marketing solutions.
3. Performance-Based Pricing for Ads: In addition to fixed-rate plans, Yelp incorporates performance-based pricing elements in its advertising options. Businesses can opt for cost-per-click (CPC) advertising, which aligns their spending with customer engagement, ensuring they pay for the actual value received.
4. Subscription Model for Enhanced Features: Yelp offers subscription-based services for additional features like enhanced profile customization, removal of competitor ads, and access to advanced analytics. This strategy targets businesses seeking to maximize their presence and gain deeper insights into customer behavior.
5. Dynamic Pricing for Promotional Services: For services like Yelp Deals or Gift Certificates, Yelp often employs dynamic pricing strategies. This allows businesses to offer time-sensitive deals to attract a more extensive customer base, while Yelp benefits from increased platform activity and a share of the promotional revenue.

Yelp Place Strategy

Yelp reviews can be accessed from any browser with a significant shift and focus directed to mobile telephony. Its native clients are those with Android phones, iOS-enabled phones, and gadgets accepting Windows OS. Since its inception, the company’s presence was mainly confined to the USA market. However, Yelp spent a lot of money and resources between 2009 and 2012 on marketing and expanding services to new markets in Asia and Europe, where it now has a formidable presence. Yelp is available to users in about 15 different languages.

Here’s Yelp’s target market and marketplace strategy.

1. Online Platform Accessibility: Yelp’s primary place strategy is centered around its online platform, which is accessible via its website and mobile app. This digital presence ensures easy and convenient access for users globally to discover local businesses and services.
2. Global Reach with Local Focus: While Yelp operates globally, its strategy emphasizes local markets, tailoring content and search results to specific cities, neighborhoods, and communities to provide relevant local business information to users.
3. Integration with Other Platforms and Services: Yelp integrates its services with various other platforms and technologies, such as mapping services and social media, enhancing its accessibility and utility for users seeking local business information.
4. Partnerships with Local Businesses and Service Providers: Yelp actively partners with local businesses, offering them tools and services for promotion and visibility. These partnerships help expand Yelp’s reach and relevance in various local markets.
5. Community-Based Approach: Yelp fosters a community-oriented environment, encouraging user interactions, reviews, and content creation. This approach builds a network of users who contribute to and rely on Yelp for local business recommendations and information.

Yelp Promotion Strategy

Yelp has dedicated its time and money to educating small business owners on review response strategies to maintain and improve content quality within its site. In addition, the company hosts various social events for its reviewers, an aspect that has psyched up more people to review those local establishments and products they have used before. Data about small businesses, such as health inspection scores, is also provided to users. Yelp is currently running the “We know just the place” slogan, which attracts many potential clients.

“Yelp reviews” do not just offer users any form of review but quality reviews. This is made possible through its active involvement in training reviewers on the main aspects to be addressed when writing either a negative or positive review. This has led to users being offered reviews that are easy to understand, as well as those that are helpful to their needs. The users are also given the option of giving a thumbs-up for funny, excellent, or valuable reviews. Each day, users vote to determine the Review of the Day.

Some Recent Video ads and Print ads for Yelp are:

Yelp People Strategy

The “People” element of the service marketing mix for Yelp focuses on the employees, potential customers, and the broader community interacting with and representing the Yelp platform. This aspect of the marketing mix is crucial in service industries because it emphasizes the importance of human interactions in delivering and experiencing the service. Here’s an overview of the “People” component of the marketing mix for Yelp:

1. Employees and Management: Yelp’s staff, from its engineers and customer service representatives to its sales and marketing teams, play a critical role in shaping the user experience. Their expertise in managing the platform, addressing user concerns, and innovating on service offerings ensures Yelp remains a leading community-driven review site.
2. User Community: Yelp’s user base, consisting of reviewers and business owners, is central to its service offering. The community contributes content in the form of reviews, photos, and tips, making Yelp a rich source of information for consumers. The engagement and trustworthiness of the Yelp community are essential for its success.
3. Quality of Interaction: The interactions between Yelp’s employees and its user community, including how customer service queries are handled, significantly impact user satisfaction and trust. Yelp’s responsiveness to feedback and ability to effectively manage user interactions are vital to its service quality.
4. Training and Development: Yelp invests in training and developing its workforce to ensure high-quality customer service and innovative technology solutions. This includes educating staff about the importance of user privacy, ethical review practices, and practical communication skills.
5. Brand Ambassadors: Active Yelp users, often called “Elite” members, act as brand ambassadors. These individuals are recognized for their frequent, high-quality reviews and are crucial in fostering a vibrant Yelp community. They help in moderating community standards and encouraging positive engagement on the platform.
6. Diversity and Inclusion: Yelp’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion among its employees and within its community influences its service delivery. By promoting a diverse and inclusive environment, Yelp ensures a wide range of perspectives and experiences are represented on its platform, enhancing its appeal to a broader audience.
7. Community Events: Yelp organizes and sponsors community events to engage its user base and support local businesses. These events, often hosted by Yelp Elite members, help strengthen community bonds and increase user engagement with the platform.
8. Feedback Mechanisms: Yelp’s feedback mechanisms, including review response features for business owners and reporting tools for users, facilitate a two-way communication channel. These tools are crucial for maintaining the platform’s integrity and ensuring the needs and concerns of both businesses and consumers are addressed.

Yelp Process Strategy

The “Process” element of the service marketing mix for Yelp encompasses the operational and procedural aspects through which services are delivered to users, new customers, new markets and businesses, and new customers. This includes everything from how users find and interact with business listings to how reviews are posted and managed. Here’s an overview of the “Process” component of marketing mix for Yelp:

1. User Registration and Profile Creation: Users start by signing up and creating a profile on Yelp. This process is streamlined to encourage participation, allowing users to quickly begin browsing, reviewing, and interacting with business listings.
2. Search and Discovery: Yelp provides an intuitive search process that allows users to find businesses based on location, type of service, and user ratings. The platform uses sophisticated algorithms to personalize search results and recommendations, enhancing the user experience.
3. Review Submission and Management: Yelp has a straightforward process for submitting reviews, including rating businesses on a five-star scale and writing detailed reviews. Users can also upload photos to accompany their reviews. Yelp employs algorithms and moderation processes to detect and manage fraudulent or inappropriate content.
4. Business Owner Interaction: Business owners can claim their business listings on Yelp, enabling them to respond to reviews, update business information, and interact with customers. Yelp provides tools and guidelines to help businesses manage their online reputation effectively.
5. Content Moderation and Quality Control: Yelp’s process includes mechanisms for moderating content to ensure reviews are genuine and helpful. This involves automated systems and human moderators flagging and removing content that violates Yelp’s guidelines.
6. User Engagement and Retention: Yelp engages users through personalized notifications, email newsletters, and community events (e.g., Yelp Elite events). These processes are designed to keep users active and engaged with the platform.
7. Feedback and Resolution: Yelp offers processes for users and businesses to report issues, provide feedback, or dispute reviews. This includes customer support channels and an appeals process for contested reviews, ensuring fairness and accuracy on the platform.
8. Advertising and Promotion for Businesses: Yelp provides a structured process for businesses to advertise on the platform. This includes setting up ad campaigns, targeting specific user segments, and analyzing performance metrics to optimize visibility and engagement.
9. Privacy and Security: Yelp’s processes prioritize user privacy and data security, with clear policies and procedures for data handling, user consent, and security measures to protect personal information.
10. Continuous Improvement: Yelp continually updates its processes based on user feedback, technological advancements, and changes in the market. This includes refining its algorithms, improving user interface and experience, and introducing new features to meet the evolving needs of its community.

Yelp Physical Evidence Strategy

The “Physical Evidence” element in the service marketing mix typically refers to the tangible and intangible elements that help potential customers evaluate a service before they purchase it. For digital platforms like Yelp for example, physical evidence revolves around aspects contributing to the service’s credibility, usability, and overall user experience. Here’s an example of how this applies to Yelp:

1. Website and Mobile App Interface: The design and functionality of Yelp’s website and mobile app serve as key physical evidence. A user-friendly interface, easy navigation, and aesthetic appeal help create a positive first impression and enhance the user experience.
2. Brand Identity: Yelp’s brand elements, such as its logo, color scheme, and mascot (the “Yelp Burst”), contribute to its recognizable identity. These visual cues help users quickly identify Yelp across different platforms and marketing materials.
3. User Reviews and Ratings: The wealth of user-generated content, including reviews, ratings, and photos, is physical evidence of Yelp’s value. This content provides prospective users insight into the quality of businesses and services listed on Yelp.
4. Business Listings: Detailed business listings, including addresses, contact information, hours of operation, and amenities, offer tangible proof of Yelp’s comprehensive database and its utility for finding business information.
5. Screenshots and Demonstrations: Yelp may use screenshots and demo videos to showcase its features and functionality on its website and in promotional materials. These visuals help illustrate how the platform works and what users can expect.
6. Security Features: Indicators of website security (such as SSL certificates) and privacy policies provide users with assurance about the safety of their data. This is an essential aspect of physical evidence for digital services.
7. User Testimonials and Case Studies: Testimonials from satisfied users and success stories from businesses that have benefited from Yelp’s services offer credible evidence of Yelp’s impact and effectiveness.
8. Community and Social Media Presence: Yelp’s active community engagement through social media, blogs, and forums demonstrates its vibrant user base and commitment to maintaining an open line of communication with its users.
9. Awards and Recognition: Any awards or recognitions Yelp has received for its service, innovation, or workplace culture endorse its quality and reliability.
10. Customer Support and Service Channels: The availability and visibility of customer support options, including help centers, FAQs, and contact methods, provide physical evidence of Yelp’s commitment to user satisfaction and support.

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