Yellow Page

I would be interested in hearing folks feedback on how beneifical / successful yellow page ads are. I haven't bitten the bullet yet since they seem expensive. My advertizing has been on word of mouth, mailings, koozies (holder to keep your beverage cold), brochures, pens and hats. I really interested in everyone feedback and cost of ads. Thanks, Woodie

You can get a free listing in your local phone book. Just a listing is all a person needs , I think. I thought about paying a little to have my web site listed this year. You should have a web site for sure, if you don't have one.

Bande is right you get a free listing in your local yellow pages but it will only be listed under one heading , i have two this year both 1 1/2 inch cost me 98.00 a month . i'm not sure how many people will pick from the yp but if someone sees your name somewhere they need to be able to find the number. i lost 2 jobs last year because i didn't have a listing ,when i called the customer back they said they went with someone else because i wasn't listed and they thought i was a scammer. As far as web sites they are quickly becoming a must have just don't let Don do it. Just kidding Don, he does a great job and had my site up and running in only a couple days at a far cheaper price than anyone else. A web site is only good if people can get to it make sure you put your web address on all your papers, bizz cards ,proposals, i have mine across both sides and back of each truck.

I have listings in both the SWB Yellow Pages and the Metro Phone Book. Reason is? Well the SWB comes out around the first quarter of the year. The Metro comes out around the 3rd quarter of the Year. Statistics show (what I do) is that majority of individuals will throw out the phone book they have whenever the new one comes out. This is my first year (4 yrs in business) to be in both. I am keeping track of new work and where it comes from. So I may drop one or the other if they don't pay for themselves, but I do believe that you should have a list of some sort simply because of the "Not a scammer" factor. Web sites are definitely a great way of advertising of course if it's listed on your business card or vehicles (I do both). But I also agree with The stripezone, 80% of my business is word of mouth or seeing my 7 x 16 trailer with my 4 x 8 company logo go by. But in the past I have gotten work and asked where they got my name, the customer stated "I looked in the phone book and your ad looked professional and that you actually spent time on putting it together". Never tried the Koozies, I've done pens and hats. But you should also look to see if there are any local Real Estate or Property Management organizations around such as BOMA (Business Offices and Management Association) or IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management) if you can join one or both of those your name will be getting out in front of Property Managers at least once a month. Just my thoughts who really knows human nature about decision making, it's a booger to figure out.

The main things about yellow page ads are (according to the guy that was the big-time yellow page consultant for major corporations who spoke in Vegas 2 years ago) 1. The position of your ad is the most important thing (of course the content has to be good) but a smaller ad in the right spot can do better than a big half or full page. Likewise a 1/2 page can be useless in the wrong page position. You can get the page position you want but it's like pulling teeth and is a process of elimination on your part. You can't just say "I want here" you have to go by all this stuff like how many of what size ads are already under that heading, how old they are (display ads move up anytime someone "older" moves out, so you could have a great position this year, somebody who was in one year longer than you drops their ad, and now you are at the bottom against the crease--worst place of all). Tons of research show people look much more at specific areas of a page, that's why this is #1. 2. Research shows color makes money for nobody but the phone company. Color ads get no better response than plain, a waste of money. 3. Less than 3% (more like 2%) of commercial customers will look in the yellow pages for a pavement services provider. 4. Approx. 50% of residential customers will use the yellow pages BUT the downside is of that 50% , 95% will call an average of 3 listings (so you have two competitors to start with) 5. "Other Books" are almost worthless compared to "the phone company" books. Except in rare instances in rare markets. As someone posted, maybe worth a try but in general, nationwide, less than 7% of people use "other" books. And remember a big factor is everybody with a telephone gets a "phone company" book for each line, a "other" book may say they distribute 500,000 copies but who knows where or how? My personal observation & experience (and I got this from another contractor who attended my marketing class about 4 or 5 years ago, he said they had done it, so I tried it too, and he was right). A small "in line" ad with a box around it with your company name , maybe a little line like "Since 1978" or "Complete Pavement Maintenance" and a larger line that says "For complete information visit:" Then in bold letters www.yourcompany.com will do as much or more good than a much more expensive display ad. The web address screams "professional company" and if you can get them to your site you have LOTS more selling room than in the phone book. He told me his company's results so I tried it (I advertised in 4 area "phone company" books) and my yellow page calls actually increased...not by any earthshaking amount BUT my yellow page COST went down by hundreds of dollars a month! So the net gain in cost-effectiveness was huge. The biggest problem with contractors & yellow pages is most do not calculate cost-effectiveness. A contractor spends $300 a month on an ad. One customer calls and says I found you in the yellow pages and he sells a $300 job. He thinks the ad "paid for itself". Of course we all know to "make" $300 the job would have probably had to be twice as much due to overhead BUT when I talk to contractors, even if they consider that, they fail to add into the "monthly" yellow page costs the annual amount divided by their "season". So if the ad is $300 a month and in your area you only "work" or really get inquiries 7 months out of the year, that ad actually costs you about $515 a month for the months it is "working". Of course if you stripe and snow plow then it may work all year but most contractors don't. AND if you stripe ALL your work is commercial and even the "expert" said only about 3% of those customers will even look in the book to start with. I agree, you must be "in" the book. BUT I choose to invest most of my efforts towards the other 97% since I do mostly commercial. Residential contractors have a tougher time of it, and in Atlanta I talked to 1 residential contractor who took the guy's class in Vegas the year before then said he did EVERY ONE of the tricks & tips the fellow gave (and there were a lot) and his yellow page-generated sales did increase by over 40%. (Please don't ask me for more detail on the guy's course. I could only stay for about an hour of it and he was one of those with little info in the handout, mainly expected everyone to constantly take notes...which I didn't do. )

It is not free . A one line ad in the yellow pages (ABC Striper [phone removed]) is free if you pay for a business line, a business line is typically twice the cost of a residential line. If cost is an issue you can take alternative measures to get in the yellow pages dirt cheap. List your cell phone number and business name for around $10.00 per month.

I happen to be in the middle of 3 counties , so it is free in 2 books, I have to pay 50 a year to list my web site, which I am going to do.

It all depends on the phone directory company, some in our market will offer free listings, mostly because their books are new or are not that good, so they offer the free listings to "fill them up". On the flip side you have the big players that are so outrageous in price its not worth it at all. Best advice is what Don said, do a small b/w ad with your web site, I used to not believe in the "web" stuff but I believe it now it has done wonders for us.

Something is wrong with that picture Brad. Make sure they are not charging you $50 for some "on-line" yellow pages (worthless) Or maybe the $50 is because you don't have a little box ad, just the "line listing" and the $50 is to add the extra line with the web address. If that's the case get a price on their smallest "in column" box ad. Depending on the company it might not cost much more and will give you room for about 3-4 lines & you get the box around it that makes it stand out more.

Here in the area i live we have a phone book that covers 3 counties and has about 30 little towns and communities in them and i got a good size add in the yellow pages in 2 places and it cost $184.00 dollars a year i thought that was high untill i read some of these post....i have had good return from my yellow page ad in my area.

Thats low...in our market with the "most used" book a full page full color is $60,000+ per year... that seems like a waste of money if you ask me, I guess thats why you only see doctors, lawyers, dentists etc in the full pagers.........

It's in the book Don, not online prices more reasonable here. I look for the price to go up though, seems like everything else goes up in the price of fuel.