New to Yelp: Check-in Offers

One of the newest features to hit Yelp’s brand new business owner dashboard is called Check-in Offers, and it’s been generating a lot of buzz, and a lot of questions as well. What exactly is a check in, and what’s a check-in offer?

The “Check-in”

Well, first of all, a little background is necessary. Yelp’s software and services are designed for use on smartphones, be they Apple’s latest iPhone or any Android-powered phone. These devices have built-in GPS in them, which means that at any given time, your smartphone knows exactly where you are, making it perfect for giving consumers search results that are customized for a given place. Like if you were searching for a butcher shop while you were out on the town, it can direct you to one right around the corner instead of a big one on the other side of town. The magic that Yelp brings into all this is allowing consumers to share their experiences.

A “check-in”, as Yelp calls it, is what occurs when a Yelp user walks into a business and starts sharing to his or her friends and family what they think of your establishment. Since Yelp apps synchronize with both Facebook and Twitter, a single customer’s check in can travel far and wide, generating a lot of buzz for your business. The Check-in service has been active for about a year, with business owners getting weekly updates on just how many customers checked into their establishments in the past 7 days.

New for Business Owners: Check-in Offers

With checking in now more popular than ever with consumers, Yelp has given business owners the ability to use them to increase buzz and profitability, announcing a new feature called Check-in Offers. This allows business owners to reward customers who check into their business with a free coupon, making the task of building customer loyalty and appreciation much easier, while generating positive buzz to attract more business.

Check-in Offers are available in the US, Canada, UK and Ireland, where its free suite of tools, Yelp for Business Owners, is available for free. Also, and while most businesses on Yelp can use Check-in Offers, a few categories won’t be able to use them. These include service-based businesses such as plumbers, limousine drivers and locksmiths, businesses that aren’t tied to a physical location.

When a consumer unlocks a check-in offer, they have the option to use it immediately during his or her visit, or it will disappear automatically from the smartphone in a few hours time. Alternatively, either the business owner or the customer can tap a button on the phone to indicate that the offer has been availed of.

A customer can also opt to save the offer, so that it will be saved on their “About Me” page, at the top of the business page where they earned that offer, and on the Check-ins tab on the Yelp app. The offer can then be redeemed at any time.