This Buzz tip may ring a bell –
it’s a topic we’ve covered before, but certainly bears repeating. The service
industry is a heavy player in phone book advertising. How can you make the most
of your advertising dollars in a highly competitive market? Well, let’s take
some things into consideration before we tackle that question.
First, phone book usage (particularly in the
yellow section) is on the decline. If their own launch and heavy promotion of a
dot com doesn’t indicate their print division is hurting, here are a few facts
from a recent report in PHC magazine that look to further backup the fall of phone
books:
- Overall advertising page count is
dropping 8{938cd9e8dae860e800efc538277d4f7684e6f6981618ba70d1c34357a53c2e1f} a year - Phone book usage has dropped 25{938cd9e8dae860e800efc538277d4f7684e6f6981618ba70d1c34357a53c2e1f} since
1999 - Usage continues to fall around 5{938cd9e8dae860e800efc538277d4f7684e6f6981618ba70d1c34357a53c2e1f} a year
So what options are available to
help you maximize the impact of your yellow book business listing? There are
numerous avenues to take to achieve advertising bliss, let’s take a look:
- Running
a smaller size ad – It’s
not always the full page or double truck ad that gets the most attention.
Test this for yourself, open your phone book to the yellow pages and look
up auto dealers. Did the biggest ad catch your attention or was it onethat was designed better, had more effective use of color or a catchy call
to action? Take the time and effort to have your ads designed better with
a clearly defined call to action and you can have more impact in less
space. - Don’t
pay extra for front placement – Whenyou looked up that auto dealer, was it the first ad in the section or did
you find your choice in the middle? Phone book salespeople will typically
try to upsell you on that front placement, promising better results, but
the fact is few people start at the front of the section! - Have
your ads professionally designed – Phone book salespeople are not designers, and generally their“design team” back at the office is already behind the eight ball on
production of the book, limiting the amount of time they can spend on your
ad. If you decide to do a display ad in your local phone book, hire a
design professional or agency to draft your ad for you. It may cost a
little extra up front, but the results from having a jam-up ad will pay
off in the long run through increased calls due to a more professionalappearance, clearer calls to action and being able to reuse your ads
across multiple medias. - Don’t
buy a special phone number just for your Yellow Page ad – This is simply an add-on service with
no real return. Don’t buy into the “metering” game for your ad. If it’s
written and designed effectively you’ll know through increased business. - Use a
Border – It may
sound trivial, but make sure your ad is designed with a border around it
to help it stand out from the other ads around it. Ads without borders
typically have a “floaty” and “unfinished” look. - Make
your Phone Number the Primary Focus –
Remember, the primary purpose of any directory ad is to have
prospective clients call you, make sure your phone number is the main
attention grabber in the ad. Use one phone number and make it large!
With these few tips, you can
easily maximize the impact of your ad space and even save hundreds or more a
month in advertising dollars which can then be utilized elsewhere – like
newspaper ads, new vehicle graphics, printed marketing collateral, call back
tools or even a website!