Copyright 2005 Empower Business
Solutions
Each year there is a Yellow Pages arms race
where competitors in each category are
encouraged to out spend each other. There is
only one winner in this arms race, and it is
not you! Too many advertisers waste their money
on Yellow Pages advertising without first
considering their marketing strategy. Here are
seven ways you can waste your money.
1. Attempting to outspend your competitor
As soon as Yellow Pages has convinced you to
increase the prominence of your ad, they get
your competitors to match or outbid you. This
becomes an annual auction, with some categories
containing pages of half and full page ads. A
buyer can be overwhelmed with choice and may
make their decision before they even get to
your ad. Priority in listing is given to those
who have advertised the longest in a category
for a given ad size. You can only get closer to
the front by upsizing your ad or if someone
else closer to the front ceases
advertising.
2. Putting all your eggs in the Yellow Pages
basket
An advertising decision is something you should
only make after you have developed a marketing
strategy. Many businesses rush into advertising
in the Yellow Pages, just because that’s what
everyone else does. You don’t become a leader
by following the herd. You need to consider
your payback for your investment in this
marketing channel. Ask your Yellow Pages
consultant how many leads a particular size ad
generates in your category. Then ask yourself
how many of these leads will you convert into
sales, and then decide whether this is a good
investment.
3. Engaging in destructive Head to Head
Competition
When you advertise in the Yellow Pages, not
only can potential customers see your ad and
your offer, so can your competitors. This can
result in price competition that can turn your
product or service into a commodity. Yellow
Pages make comparison shopping easy for buyers
and market research easy for competitors.
4. Spending too much on prominence
When spending on a Yellow Pages ad, you can
invest in size and colour. Size is important,
but what you put in the ad, your copy, is far
more important. It is better to go down a size
and spend the money you save on a copywriter.
Good copy can generate up to 20 times the
response as poor copy. Colour is also
important, but not as important as size, so go
up a size rather than go to colour, which is
expensive for its return. If your category is
cluttered with large ads, investing in your
copy is essential.
5. Relying on Yellow Pages free design
service
Ad design is important. Yellow Pages do offer a
free design service, but its worth what you
pay. The typical design is done in 15 minutes.
As they are designing tens of thousands of ads
you can’t really expect any special attention-
especially as there is no charge for the
service! When they design your ad, they will
appeal to your vanity rather than to your
customers. So they will put “Joe’s Plumbing” in
the headline. But buyers don’t care who Joe is,
and are far more interested in why they should
use Joe. This requires some marketing analysis
of your points of difference and ultimate
service benefits, which won’t happen in 15
minutes!
6. Putting your ad in the wrong category
If you are a plumber, the decision of where to
place your ad is easy. But if your business is
in a fairly specialised market such as oil
refinery plumbing, there probably isn’t a good
category for you. In fact, for many B2B
businesses Yellow Pages is a poor marketing
tool. Ask yourself the question, where would a
buyer look to find out about your business- it
might not even be in the Yellow Pages.
7. Depending on old technology advertising
Every year internet advertising increases, with
less being spent on print advertising. Yellow
Pages is now available online and for certain
businesses this is a better option,
particularly with a link to their website. When
being sold paper Yellow Pages ads, you may be
offered complimentary online advertising.
However, unless your ad is near the front, you
will be invisible to buyers who rarely will
browse further than three pages. It is also
worth paying for a link to your website.
The Yellow Pages consultants are on commission
to sell you advertising. They only interested
in getting you to spend as much as possible,
not on providing the best marketing solution
for your business. Advertising is not the same
as marketing! Good marketing advice on whether
and how you should advertise is money well
spent. Not only can this increase sales, but it
can save you thousands of dollars in
advertising.
Before making a decision on Yellow Pages
advertising, you should consider all your
marketing channels, and make decisions on how
much you invest in each dependent on their
ability to attract leads. Having determined how
much you will invest in Yellow Pages, do some
market analysis and invest in your ad copy.
This is particularly important for larger ad
sizes. Yellow Pages advertising can be
rewarding, but should only be considered as
just one part of your overall marketing
strategy.
About the
Author
Dr Greg Chapman assists
small to medium sized businesses with business
planning, business systems and marketing
strategy. To find out how you can Multiply Your
Profits & Make Your Business Run without
You, and to find out How Good Your Business
Really Is with a Free Online Business Medical,
go to Empower Business Solutions website
at:
http://www.empowersolutions.com.au
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