Yellow Pages Not Dead - Hidden Pizza Restaurant Case Study

Isn't this the point of good direct response marketing? Creating an irresistible offer that goes viral for your clients' target market? Why assume that a dentist, lawyer, salon, etc. must use a loss leader? There are many creative ways to make a break even or better offer you just have to dig sometimes.

I agree the video leaves out a lot of details about the cross media marketing aspect. In the beginning they state contact details were only available through YP. Whether that is the print book only or also online/mobile is unclear. I think they are clearly promoting YP as a "network" of cross media advertising (website, mobile, and print).

Perhaps your clients have tested YP and it hasn't worked. But, if they've never tested, then I feel such thinking is dogmatic and a disservice to your clients not to use as many media avenues as will work for them...

You could not be more wrong than you are with that statement.....some business MUST be in the yellow pages ( book ) or they will suffer losses. This is not hype from someone who does not know, this is a fact from somebody who owns and runs a very large and successful business. I have tested and tested and I hope all my competition listens to advice like you and some others insist on giving.....I will eat them alive and continue to take their business because yellow page ( book only ) is a big part of a total package.

I have argued this here a few times in the past and suggest looking at some of the past talks I contributed to on this subject.

I will not talk about my specific service niche or how I market but, the book absolutely brings clients and makes me money on a continued basis.

My YP book listings have been trimmed over the years and now only cost $ 379. monthly and not one single person on WF could ever demonstrate any possible way to replace this via the Internet, NOT POSSIBLE and I LOVE marketing on the Internet.

Enterpryzman

Was talking to a business owner about this today. She showed me her ad in a newspaper she is paying $500/mn for and I pointed out about 15 ads in the same newspaper with absolutely no call to action...including her own. No headlines, nothing. Just a menu of services.

Showing her a mock up of whats possible tomorrow. Think she will be shocked at the difference in what a good ad REALLY is....no matter where you put it.

I deal with many offline businesses every month (all different niches) and I can assure you that they are pulling out of Yellow Pages in their droves.

Seriously!!

It is a dying business model.


Gary

but then on the flip side...a statement like "some business MUST be in the yellow pages ( book ) or they will suffer losses" annoy me as much as statements like I tend to make, annoy you

I believe there are precious few businesses that really should have a minimal visual presence in the YP...98% of everyone else will do just fine without it.

I don't buy into the idea that a business that would actually "suffer losses without it"...there are just too many other avenues to branch into.

I'm going to guess that you might be in the funural industry...so I can understand your viewpoint and why you are big on the YP...but what might apply to you doesnt apply to most everyone else.

Having a free phone listing is a good idea for any business...but spending $1000's per month? No way. That money can be divied out to other mediums and have far better return.

I agree with you that there isn't one great medium that surpasses all others..but I will tell you that just with direct mail alone my clients are drowning their competitors who rely heavily on the yellowpages. I know other marketers who are doing the same thing with their specialites.

want to know why? ...because the yellowpages is just so easy to beat up and and kick around. It has way to many crippling deficiencies.

People think plumbers have to be in the book...and they are the biggest spenders in the book...several thousand per month. A plummer could spend that same amount of money and have a mailer in every household every month keeping his name in front of people and educating them, positioning him as the authority.

Frankly for the 98% of businesses out there...if people have to go find you in the yellowpages then that can only mean your marketing sucks. There simply is no other explanation.

I tell my clients... "people should already know who is the name to call when the situation arises"...and then we build a marketing attack to achieve that. ...and its pretty much a given that if they are already putting tons of money in the YP, I will redirect that budget into direct mail, referral programs and other media. ( lately texting for restaurants has caught my eye)

The problem I have with prospects diving into the yellowpages is that now they get introduced to every single one of your competitiors...WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT THAT?? There is absolutely nothing advantageous about that scenario.

Marketers spend so much effort differentiating and wanting to be singled out from the competition...yet the yellowpages is the antitheses of that...you get thrown into a jarbled mess of advertisements amongst everyone else, and ok flip a coin and pick one....no, I find that unacceptable, and I will not let my clients spend attrocious amounts of money for such a thing.

Hopefully we have a better understanding of each other, and of the two schools of thought on the subject.

DP

It won't be a niche that determines the price.

You buy on size of ad and where it is placed in the paper and for how long you want to run it for etc etc.

Phone your local newspapers and ask them to e-mail you their rate cards plus market figures. (ie Melbourne Times, 90,000, 1 paid edition Monday/ 1 free edition Wednesday, ABC demograph ,postcodes M123, M456 for example)

Then knock approx 35% off and you'll get a rough idea of what all the ads in your newpaper are costing the business owner.

You can also get the YP rate card sent to you.

A 2 x 6 in colour (which means two column widths and a 6" drop) where I live has a distribution of 90,000 homes twice a week, no specific demograph as goes to every house (free edition) on an inside page costs £264 plus VAT per week. (VAT is 20% in the UK)

If you are in Marketing or want to be you should know this information.

Dan