Allow me just to start off this post by stating I am a capitalist. I’m an entrepreneur. And more than just about anything, I love seeing other businesses succeed…..with the exception of the subject of this article.
The Mistakes We Make
No More Ridiculously Expensive Yellow Page Advertising...Let's Celebrate!
As a small business owner of almost 10 years now, I’ve made some really, really dumb mistakes marketing. Having tried just about every medium and having blown hundreds of thousands of dollars on inefficient campaigns, I can now say the days of our company throwing dollar bills on the campfire are over. Wasteful advertising is now a bygone. And with it, may I clearly say that it brings me great joy to see The Yellow Pages having practically gone the way of the dinosaur.
You see, for years the Yellow Pages were like the Death Star of the advertising world. They essentially had a monopoly because they were the only show in town and they were the place consumers went to find information and products.
The Yellow Pages Debate
As a swimming pool company, this was especially true for my business. Every year, my partners and I would sit down and agonize over having just the right Yellow Page advertisement. How big should it be? Color or not? Lots of information and just beautiful pictures? How big is the other guys’ ad? Blah, blah, blah…..And then once we had decided on the ad we wanted, we’d receive the news of how ‘rates had gone up again’. I’d always just sit there and listen to the sales rep, wanting to vomit while thinking to myself, “The day I never have to be in this stupid book again will be the happiest day of my life.”
Sadly, for years that day never came. The rates kept going up and up. And because our service area was in multiple cities, that meant we had to be in multiple phone books. Eventually, we got to a point where we were spending about $3,000 on Yellow Page advertising alone each month. This might sound like chicken feed for some companies, but monetarily speaking, this was an absolute killer, especially for a small business like ours.
Out with the Death Star….In with the New Era of Small Biz Advertising
But our story is no different than so many small businesses across America.
Out with the old.......
For years, the monopoly of the Yellow Pages sucked company advertising budgets dry, laughing all the way to the bank. They knew that consumers used the Yellow Pages to find just about any and every service or product. They also knew small businesses had no choice but to be in the book and pay their outrageous rates. But alas, the information age has ushered in a new era of consumer education.
In 2010, no longer do consumers open the phone book to find information. Think about it. When was the last time you actually used the phone book for anything? Chances are, if you’re like most consumers, you now use the Internet for at least 80% of your business searches. And if the number is 80% today, it will likely be 90% in another year or two.
But this phenomenon is exactly what is so beautiful about marketing 2.0. Now, instead of spending $40,000 this year on Yellow Pages, plus $20,000 on direct mailers, plus another $30,000 on radio advertisements, and finally another $25,000 on various print media; my business’ advertising budget for 2010 will be less than $20,000 this year and will produce more leads than it ever did with YP advertising. In fact, our YP advertising this year consists only of our name and number, which costs us about $100 a month. Not that’s what I’m talking about!!
Spend Less, Get More
The idea that a small business with roughly 4-5 million dollars in annual sales could spend less than $20,000 a year on advertising and still generate hundreds upon hundreds of inbound leads would have been preposterous just a few short years ago. But with the all-powerful Internet, and the utilization of awesome websites, killer blogs, helpful and remarkable content, as well as the use of social mediums; businesses can create phenomenal advertising campaigns simply by putting their nose to the grind and slapping their fingers on a keyboard. And do you know what I think about that?………AWESOMENESS!!
Dang I love the Sales, Marketing, and Web 2.0 era in which we now all find ourselves immersed in. And dang do I absolutely get a warm fuzzy when I think about how the Death Star, err Yellow Pages, can now go back to figuring out how to run an honest business.
So if you and your business have not gotten with the program and embraced web/marketing/ and sales 2.0, then I say it’s time to get with it and make great things happen. Be a part of the greatest technology and business movement of our lifetimes and start making your mark in this new world today!
Questions or Comments? Please leave your thoughts below as I absolutely enjoy hearing from readers.
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I filed in, took my seat,…
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Marcus,
I work for SuperMedia & we are an advertising agency for small to medium sized businesses. We publish the Verizon Yellow Pages, are home to Superpages.com & have SuperPagesDirect direct mail products.
I could not agree with you more that traditional yellow pages are dying. But at SuperMedia, our media consultants develop marketing campaigns that fit each client best & that could be to advertise on Superpages.com, our SuperpagesDirect Direct Mail products &, when it is appropriate, our yellow pages. We also have a variety of tracking tools and services to help businesses build their online presence with search engine marketing campaigns, PPC advertising, web site building and hosting, etc.
In 2008, there were more than 12 billion references to the print yellow pages & 66% of adults use it in a month. Also, 48% of consumers say print yellow Pages is the source they use most often and 9 out of 10 users make or are likely to make a purchase. I could give you many more stats, but the bottom line is the print Yellow Pages continues to be a strong & viable media choice when consumers are ready to buy.
Fact is, there is a need for a yellow pages. Unfortunately, for years the YP industry was focused on defending their product instead of differentiating it.
Last year we introduced the SuperGuarantee (www.superguarantee.com) program available in all our products. When a consumer hires a painter, auto mechanic, contractor, plumber or other service provider that is part of our program, we will stand by the work. If there is a problem, we will step in & make it right. If we can’t, we will cut a check for up to $500 to the consumer. The program is free to both the consumer & eligible client. Since the launch of this program we have seen double digit increases in the possession & usage of our directories — increases that we haven’t seen in years.
For our SMBs, we’ve created the SuperTradeExchange (www.supertradeexchange.com) – a national barter program where our clients can provide goods & services to other clients within the exchange. A great way of doing business in a recession.
I hope you & your readers can see that there are benefits in working with the right company.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Lisa Vilfordi
Wow Lisa, thanks so much for your comment. It appears that ya’ll are on the right track in terms of coming up with creative ways to make the YPs more useful, cutting edge, and user friendly. My only question would be is YP now adjusting their price structure so it’s more in line with other mediums in Marketing 2.0? Regardless though, thanks so much for your thoughts Lisa.
Great post Marcus. It is always helpful to see real life examples of how small business owners actually benefit from the “new era of small biz advertising”. I will definitely be sharing your article with other small business owners.
Great to see you again Julie…Yeah, that’s really what this blog is all about– Real life examples….and thanks for sharing
marcus ,
i have gone the pay per call route with yellowpages i have a seperate # tyhat will track all calls generated by yp i will try to stay in touch with results . but i only pay when the phone rings . dead maybee not but becoming more responsive . yea !
Good point Gari. Pay per call is certainly a better model IMO than the old methodologies. After all, there really is nothing better than being able to track advertising and truly know where your $$$ are going. But thanks for stopping by Gari and hope to see you around again.
Hey Marcus,
I understand your feelings about print YP, they have ripped you off, because they were a monopoly, but they are not dying nor they are a dinosaurs. Lets call them a conservative elephants that move a bit slower because they were enjoying their monopoly position. As you see in Lisa’s post they start to move and once most of yp publishers do that the advertisement jungle shall get even more noisy than ever. The point I would like to make is that once YP catch up with the web2.0 frontier your business shall be paying once again the same budgets to IYP or any other independent web agency, because what you call AWESOMENESS shall be a practice of your competitors and without professional experience and constant improvements in your web2.0 approaches you would get decreasing effect. However, there is one thing you are right though. You will not get frustration any more and you would get quantitative and transparent results. After all, life is not about getting cheaper, but more quality.
Stay tuned. YPs are waking up.
For your sake Stefan, I hope you are right. Time will tell
I dont really know what you talking about right here. This cant be the only way to think about this can it? It seems like you know a great deal, so why not explore it a lot more? Make it a lot more accessible to everyone else who might not concur with you? Youd get a lot more individuals behind this if you just stopped making general statements.
Thanks for your comment DGS. My statements are strong, and because they are I’ve received many ‘thank yous’ from small biz owners over the last year for helping them understand that YP, at least in its old form, is antiquated and ineffective–this is not an opinion, it’s the facts, which is why many of the YPs types of books have gone out of business. Businesses, as well as consumers, finally realized there was a better way. Notwithstanding, YP is listening to people like me and changing the way they do business by adding trackability and pay per call functions. Props to them and props to the ones that care enough to save businesses thousands of dollars in lost advertising dollars.
lol I hate the phone book. And for awhile there, the kept popping up all these different companies, all wanting you to advertise in theirs. I’m happy to say I haven’t had any ads with them for almost 4 years.
.-= Domain Name Ninja´s last blog ..Making money on the internet =-.
It is rather liberating, isn’t it Ninja
Just talked to an AT&T rep about yellow pages listing. Their print directory is $8/mo, which is fine for now. But here’s my question. The price for basic listing on yp.com is around $70/month. Would you pay it? Any stats on the effectiveness of that particular online directory or recommendations on the best out there? Thanks!
I would ONLY do a pay-per-call Lorraine. In fact, I personally don’t believe in advertising that isn’t directly measurable, which has always been a big problem of YP.
I have had almost an identical experience with the YP, have virtually abandoned it and moved our marketing online. It has been interesting to watch the YP companies first try to milk it, then defend it even as some sought Chapter 11 protection. Most recently, they are wanting to become intermediaries for small business’ web advertising at outrageous rates. If you are a small business owner and feel persuaded by one of these companies’ presentations, you gotta ask yourself, “When I need to look up something do I go to yellowpages.com, att, DexKnows, superpages, etc?” Chances are, you don’t. And of course you quickly learn that these companies are all “agencies” for companies such as Google and Yahoo as well. With a little research most small business owners can work with, for example, Google, directly to create wonderfully effective local campaigns.
The Internet has always been about disintermediation. Whenever you encounter someone wanting your money to be your intermediary for Internet marketing, hold on to your wallet!
Love the passion Gary. And you’re right, local campaigns are possible, and often way more effective, than the YPs of the world.
I happened upon this site by chance and found the comments regarding the yellow pages intellectually interesting, devoid of the hate banter on some other sites. It is for this reason I now respond, because people here seem to think with their heads instead of their hearts in making marketing and advertising decisions. First, about me. I am a professional advertising person with major ad agency experience who gravitated into the yellow pages world over 20 years ago. I have seen the rise and fall of this medium up close and personal. I understand the rights and wrongs better than even those I worked with in the industry for decades. Allow me to share my insights.
Does the yellow pages work? Yes, it does. It it the panacea of small business it once was two decades ago? Absolutely not! Usage is down and that is a documented fact. I’m an advertising veteran. I’ve seen trending over the years where the flavor of the month changed, encompassing every format in the media mix at one time. That’s to be expected. Today, internet advertising is the rage the way radio, TV and direct mail once shared the limelight. Does internet advertising work? Of course. All advertising works when done correctly. It’s the ABC formula – Advertising Buys Customers. The trick is buying the best customer for the lowest possible price at the right time. It’s not a game for amateurs and unfortunately, small business owners have been at the mercy of advertising sales reps who know more about selling than the very thing they sell. I always felt an affinity for the small businessman. I never went right into advertising with them. I spoke with the about how they first defined themselves from a marketing perspective – what are their differentiators or the essence of their business. Advertising is a function of marketing, not vice-versa. You cannot put the horse before the cart. Small businesses need to sit down from time to time and assess themselves from a marketing viewpoint before even considering advertising options. The trouble is they don’t know how to do this correctly and they cannot afford the outside consultant help that can show them the way. What I would suggest to them is to empower themselves. Learn how to do it on their own. Get involved in the marketing side and then the advertising side of their business. It might require taking course in marketing fundamentals and advertising, but it would be time and money well spent. I was an exception in my business. I was a marketing and advertising professional who personal pride in my clients succeeding. It was a reflection upon the quality of my work. Today, the major media companies have no place for a man of my work ethic. It is strictly sales, not service oriented. I left the industry because we grew apart. What was once a partnership with my clients became confrontational battles over expenditures and when that happens we both lose sight of what’s important – doing the right thing. I’ve seen clients profit greatly in internet marketing. I’ve also seen more of them literally take their money, put it into the ash try, and watch it burn away getting nothing in return because of flawed understanding of the medium. There are just as many incompetent, sales oriented people in the internet business as there are in other forms of media. To prove the point, I admit to being one of them. I am Google Adwords certified and I say point blank I would never hire myself to do an internet ad campaign. Sure, I know more about it than the majority of small businessmen and I could use that little bit of knowledge to pilfer ad dollars from them, but refuse to earn a living stealing. Find people you can trust – in internet, in electronic media and especially yellow pages. Respect each other and you both will profit. Easier said than done. Best of luck to all you small business people. I worked with thousands of you over the years and it was a joy to share in your success.
Wow AdMan, what can I say? That was a tremendous story….heck, maybe the best comment I’ve ever seen here on the Lion.
Curious, what path are you on now? Obviously, you’ve got some talent and vision…I’d be curious to hear the rest of your story.
I took out a yellow page ad last year for the first time. Am I glad I did not read your comments before I did. If I had I would never have invested in the yellow pages.
My yellow page ad brought a great return on my investment. I tried online and other advertising programs, all of which promised a great return. For the most part I barely broke even.
For local business, as far as I know, the phone book is the only place you can go and
get a complete list of servicing merchants. Not just the ones paying but the ones who do not pay. I appreciate the freedom of choice and hope we never loose it.
OK Carolyn, I appreciate the fact that you’ve stopped in and commented, but you’re statements here are much too generic to hold any water. I’d suggest you answer the following:
1. What type of business do you own?
2. How much did you spend on YP advertising and how many sales did you make—more specifically, what was your ROI?
3. You say internet didn’t work for you. Why not? I’ve never seen it not work if the person actually worked hard, especially at inbound marketing.
I’m up for a serious conversation here, so I do hope you respond.
found your article trying to find some ammo to use against my YP rep tomorrow…unfortunately (also, fortunately!) i agreed to use tracking lines in my ads last year.
I own two businesses and appear in several headings with each. I average 42 calls a month with one and 36 calls with the other. both have a very high close rate and are what my YP rep calls “a” type customers.
how can i replace those calls and my favorite types of customers with less dollars (i spend just over $1,800 a month)?
i am thinking of using them for my SEM because it seems all i get is clicks and they tell me my SEM budget with them would only be used by receiving calls that last a certain amount of time. their SEM product would put me in the top tier of their site and also push my profile (which is connected to my website) out to google, yahoo and bing. that program starts at $150 a month and he said that others in my headings here locally are getting around 10 calls a month with it. that would be a large roi for me if i only closed on one or two of them…
last year i attended a seminar my rep invited me to that was given by Dr. Fromholzer (sp?). are you familiar with his work? i can tell you that he definitely renewed my faith in the print and helped making the decision to increase a little easier.
Your article gives me some information about YP that I wanted to know. I haven’t bought in and I don’t think I will now. While the dedicated phone line might be a good way to go, I think that the standard “publish and pay monthly” model is way too expensive. Even a basic YP ad here is about $200 a month. Not only that, a business owner I know had their ad totally ruined when the wrong company name was used. They aren’t paying but are being hounded by the YP company. I’m sticking to Google and Facebook.
What a great article. Being a generation Y, i’m so produ of Online Marketing. The big advertising players are losing customers, thanks to their arrogance and dishonesty.
Keep writing yo!
To really stand out in this world of way too much information, try and send your message differently. Don’t send out the standard postcard mailer, run the average 30 second radio spot and then wonder why they are not working. Start thinking differently, start thinking like your customer and not like a company trying to sell something. Get into the minds of your client and usually what they want is not what you think they want. Find out what they REALLY want.
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