On a separate note, I hired a long time sales manager from the Yellowpages last week, it has been interesting to hear his perspective on how the shift was impacting how they approached customers and the need for customers to mix up their print and online marketing now when in the past online was never even a thought. Its everywhere….

Gotta run but thanks.

Maybe I did not articulate my point clearly, I was not necessarily saying someone should not use the yellowpages at all, there are still a subset of people using them, but there is without a doubt less people using them today than 2 years ago. My point in the post was, and specifically with Yellowbook, they come in pitching how much money they are spending on promoting their web brand, but then focus on selling their more expensive print options.

People need to look at their online presence (SEO, PPC, etc, etc) and their print advertising (Yellowpages) , not just one or the other. Over the next few years if they think all they need to do is focus on the Yellowpages then people will be missing business they could of had. We hear from our customers almost daily that they are getting calls that they have never had before and would not of had. Its based on their online presence, they still have their yellowpage ad but that is not their only medium to draw people looking for businesses now.

Bruce

I pay to be in Yellowbook. My rep came in last year and sold me a tracking number for my business. The results were good. I received more calls than promised or I thought i would. He also used a call record feature so i can listen to the call i had received. At first I thought it was a waste, but after hearing some of the calls coming through it was great to see what type of leads and people were calling using the yellowbook.
With the decline on print I still saw a excellent return for my investment, and was happy with yellowbook. I have done the SEO, and the pay per click. The traffic is good, but there are not that many buyers on the web. Too many shopers. You can always find a lower price somewhere else.

I hate to disagree with you because you make some valid points, but I still show people using the yellowbook, and I have yet to find another advertising source that give me the same return.

I hate the stack of books too. I guess it is a necessary evil to businesses.

Thanks

Bob

First off thanks for the well thought out comment. It truly is appreciated.

I really do not tell customers to buy or not buy anyone elses product. My goal is to help them transition to a solution that includes local search and online advertising as part of their marketing plans. Although when I have customers call me and let me know that they are no longer going to purchase their enhanced yellowpages ad based on the response they have had from our work I will not argue with them.

Concerning rural broadband, I have lived in a rural area all my life, although I have traveled all over the place my roots are here and I know the rural market well, to top that off I have sold to independent rural telcos for 10 years and know the effort and work going into deploying rural broadband across various areas of the US. I know the market well and my business partner is someone who has ran 2 small businesses in a town of 1400 people, we know the market.

Although I will not disagree that many small business owners do not care about things such as Twitter and Facebook, I would completely disagree with the fact they will never care about the Internet in general. With the proper positioning they get it, and understand that even though they may not be the “power users” many of their customers with the disposable income are users and they use search to find services and products on a daily basis.

I am out with these people daily, the biggest mistake people can make is making it technical, this is about helping their business presence show up online. We have multiple customers who do not have a computer in their office, but they do have a phone which does ring from calls they get from the success we have had working with them.

Lisa, I appreciate the comments, it would be tough for me to ever agree that the yellowpage print media side is not shrinking rapidly. I have heard and witnessed it too many times not to know its happening, that said there are still people that will use it as long as it is available (my wife laughs because her Mom still keeps a stack of them).

Thanks much!

Say what you will, yellow pages are not dead and the numbers are proving it not only in my rural market but all over America. The call tracking proves it. When a salvage yard in San Antonio gets 33,000 calls in one year from their ad you cannot tell me that yellow pages are dead! This is a myth perpetuated by marketing companies who are trying to transition more dollars to paying them to advertise rather than a true media company.

I love search and I am a certified Google AdWords specialist so I know the value and all that goes with it but if you as a marketing professional are advising your clients to pull out of yellow pages, again regardless of brand, you are giving them poor advice. Their advertising dollars must be diversified and depending on the business model and the area, all avenues must be considered and none left out.

Also, to address the comments regarding the push for broadband to rural markets. Ever hear of the phrase, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink”? Well, you can put broadband all across America and that doesn’t mean that everyone wants to use it because they don’t. I know hundreds, maybe thousands of local business owners who still do not have a computer, and some who have a cell that is only for calls. They only have it because a wife, husband or employer makes them carry it. So, if you are relying on the government to get broadband to the masses and that will help your business with a web presence, let me know and I’ll inform your competition. Rural folks couldn’t give a rat’s behind about broadband and mention the word “blog” and watch the deer in the headlights look. I live here, I deal with it every day. When I ask someone just to hear the response if they are on Twitter, I get “What’s a twitter?” : )

Anyhow, nice little discussion you got going.

Lisa

PeopleSearches.com