How a solopreneur maintains a perfect 5-star rating on Yelp

Reviews for the Chicago-based magic show Trickery have at least one thing in common: They’re all five stars—a testament to the stellar reputation of owner Aaron Rabkin.

Reviews that are all 5 stars? That’s the first time that I’ve seen that on Yelp! Based on my recent experience though, Trickery absolutely deserves it.

– YELP ELITE SHIRLEY J.

There’s a reason [Aaron] has a perfect 5-star rating.

– YELP REVIEWER KAYLEE W.

I chose to go here because of the overwhelming amount of positive reviews, but as you can imagine, I was still worried that it would be a letdown. Let me tell you something: The reviews do not lie.

– YELP REVIEWER KEENAN Y.  

A positive reputation is not unusual on Yelp—in fact, nearly 70% of all reviews are four or five stars. But with more than 160 5-star reviews, Trickery’s track record is something to celebrate. Aaron, who is also Trickery’s sole director, writer, producer, and performer, has maintained 100% 5-star reviews over six years of operation by delivering a consistently great product.

Below, he shares how his reputation evolved over the years, from getting his first review to being able to generate new business from word-of-mouth alone.

“Reviews are mission critical,” Aaron said. “I could not do this without all of the really positive feedback and [platforms] like Yelp. For people to go and look [my business] up and have it be pre-vetted [by reviews]—it goes a long way.”

Discover three key stages of Aaron’s word-of-mouth magic. 

1. Establishing a presence on Yelp 

Reviews are so important to Aaron’s business that he started building an online presence before he ever made a sale. While waiting on his theater license—which allows him to charge customers in the city of Chicago—Aaron used his street performance roots to his advantage and put on free shows from his storefront window. He also hosted pop-up shows where viewers could make a suggested donation of $15.

The strategy built immense excitement for Trickery in the four months before opening, so much so that Aaron received several 5-star Yelp reviews by the time he officially launched in November 2017. “That was an amazing opportunity to reestablish myself as a performer, refine my voice, but also, and this can bring in Yelp [reviews]—building some sort of credibility,” he said. 

“If I had just officially opened and said, ‘Hey, that’ll be $20,’ [customers would be] like: ‘What is this? How would I know [if it’s worth it]?’ But by having that time to build a little buzz, and at no expense to the audience, they could start leaving reviews and start talking about it. That way, once I was officially opened, I could then have a jumping off point [for potential customers] to see that everybody who’s been so far loved it.”

Outside of the theater industry, business owners can use this same tactic by hosting soft launch parties, giving out samples, or creating pop-ups with other established businesses. Plus, make sure you claim your Yelp Page and fill it out with accurate business information, so potential customers have an easy way to verify your credibility online.

2. Harnessing word-of-mouth marketing

After Aaron claimed his page and started getting Yelp reviews organically, the next step was turning that buzz into new customers. For Aaron, this process was fairly straightforward: Building a good show translated into a positive word-of-mouth reputation—and the more reviews he received, the easier it became for new customers to find him. 

“People tell me all the time that they found [Trickery online], and then they looked at the reviews, and the reviews were so good that they had to come,” Aaron said. “Before starting Trickery, I would look up reviews for businesses here and there, but I never really thought much of them. But since starting this, [I’ve seen reviews are] clearly what drives business.”

Since opening, Aaron has been able to sustain his business entirely through word-of-mouth marketing. While this isn’t possible for business owners in all industries, Aaron’s strategy contains a lot of worthwhile lessons. For example, providing a great customer experience is a key step to organic growth—Aaron honed his show for years and analyzed the competition to make sure he was providing a unique, high quality experience for his customers. 

Another crucial part of Aaron’s strategy is paying attention to reviews, which are a big factor in customers’ decision making. Reading and responding to reviews regularly can help you stay engaged with reviewers, like Jackie M., who said she writes reviews to help other users make the best decisions with their money. “[I see it as] helping the wider audience kind of narrow down their choices,” she said. “Some people are hesitant, and some, the reviews might push them one way or the other.” 

3. Maintaining a stellar reputation 

Once your business has positive reviews, it still takes work to maintain that reputation. Even with Trickery’s stellar rating, Aaron said he feels the pressure to impress new customers: “I have this level of expectation that people are coming into. Whether or not they’re even aware of it, I know that I need to live up to this. Part of the stress for me is running this thing and making sure everything goes swimmingly and hits all these marks.” 

Aaron maintains his reputation through consistency and excellent customer service—which he’s able to streamline through tools like Request-a-Quote on Yelp, where he has a 100% response rate and 20 minute response time. 

Trickery’s shows are always evolving, but Aaron is very intentional about introducing new acts or changing aspects of the business. In the end, every decision comes down to what’s best for the customer. 

“I’m the producer. I’m the writer, the performer, the director. I’m wearing a lot of hats,” he said. “That’s why I always say the art has to thrive so the business can succeed, but the business also has to succeed so the art can thrive.”

These lessons come from an episode of Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear more from Aaron and Jackie, or visit the episode page to read more, subscribe to the show, and explore other episodes.