SmallBusinessNewz

Bad reviews can do serious damage to a company's reputation, and small companies are especially vulnerable because they're likely to receive fewer other reviews to balance things out.  So small business owners should be happy to hear that, starting next week, they'll be allowed to respond to negative reviews on Yelp.

Yelp, in case you don't know, is a website that lets its users post reviews of just about everything.  It's pretty big in some cities on the west coast and growing all the time.  Unfortunately, up until now, companies haven't been allowed to make any sort of open statements on the site.

Claire Cain Miller reported the policy change this morning, though.

She then continued, "Yelp requests that business owners use the public comments to correct inaccuracies, provide their side of a story or explain how they have fixed a problem.  They are not supposed to use comments to advertise or make personal attacks.  Yelp will not screen comments before they are published, but users will be able to flag inappropriate comments for review by Yelp's customer service team."

Be careful as you wade in, then, but if any records need setting straight, take this opportunity to address them.