It’s that time of year again, and the Yellow Pages ad renewals have begun. I’ve taken calls for some of our clients, and I’ll admit that the sales people are well-trained and persistent. They provide statistics as well as “warrants” to try to persuade you that the YellowPages are still important. Despite their seductive arguments, I don’t buy into it. It continues to astonish me how Yellow Pages salespeople are able to persuade rational people that they should spend hundreds (sometimes even thousands) of dollars each month advertising in a book that is frequently recycled, discarded, repurposed rather than used to search for merchandise and services.
Please dismiss the sales representative’s instructions and just ask yourself one simple question before making that payment. When was the last time YOU made a purchase using the Yellow Pages? My response is “zero,” and it’s similar to what most of our clients give us when we ask them this question.
The Phone Book has already followed the same path as the pay phone. When people have access to nearly limitless information via the Internet, they no longer need a Phone Book. The prediction of the yellow pages’ demise was premature even 5 years ago, however the significant increase in the use of mobile devices (particularly smart phones) is the final straw.
What Changed?
The Yellow Pages were once a simple method to discover local items and services, but there’s no denying that today’s methods are far more efficient. When personal computers first became widespread in the home, the YellowPages were not yet at risk. Even when portability was made possible by laptops, the Yellow Pages continued to be a useful tool. Over two-thirds of Americans now own smart phones, according to April 2014 statistics. That was the game-changing moment. It is far easier for a smart phone user to simply Google a product, service, ANYTHING they are looking for than it is for them to look for a telephone book and try to find limited information about a business and service listed in the Yellow Pages. I believe that we can all agree that two-thirds of Americans do not carry phone books with them for easy access.
New Marketing Strategy
The future is here, and it’s time to adapt our marketing approach to better suit current customers. Today’s businesses need SEO, social media, and other inbound marketing services. Having a strong digital marketing plan may assist you stay ahead of potential consumers who are looking for goods and services on the internet. Your website, unlike a Yellow Pages ad, is a marketing tool that, when properly managed, may be updated on a regular basis to reflect the most up-to-date information about your firm.
It’s time to seriously consider implementing a digital marketing plan this year before you write that check if you were spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on the Yellow Pages. For the price of any current Yellow Pages ad, Star Digital Marketing can help build a digital marketing strategy for you. It’s time to take action for your company’s long-term success and stop wasting money on a marketing platform that isn’t viable anymore.
