Billboard Advertising in San Antonio

Yellow pages is not advertising

Contrary to the title above, the yellow pages is not advertising. Remember how we have defined advertising: Establishing an equity stake in your target market. The yellow pages serves primarily as a resource where your prospects turn for information purposes such as a phone number, product/services listing, or address. Renaming your company to AAArdvark pest control is advertising sloth and is not a sustainable long-term approach to creating top of mind awareness in your target market.

The yellow pages provides a convenient place for the customer who is in the 2nd or 3rd stage of the buying cycle to evaluate companies, primarily based on the way the customer feels about the ad. The yellow pages have an incredibly high reach, almost 95% of US households have one copy.

Yellow pages minutia

They yellow pages publishers are able to recoup their costs and profit by selling advertising space under different headings. They yellow pages has a direct sales force but sometimes operate approved agencies. It is important to make a note, that since the “walking fingers” logo of the yellow pages is not copywrited, many scammers attempt to call on businesses to request false renewals. Remain vigilant.

Advertising in the yellow pages can be negotiated on a yearly contract or on monthly terms (over 12 months). Many of these contracts are automatically renewable contracts, so be aware that you might be stuck with another year’s worth of advertising if you do not call the yellow pages company to cancel your contract.

Today there are approximately 300 companies that publish the yellow pages (ever since Ma Bell gave birth to all of the baby bells in 1983). Although the yellow pages have a very high reach, very few U.S. adults use the yellow pages to find business. I can *almost* guarantee you that no one below the age of 30 has even used a yellow pages. The proliferation of online business listings is making the yellow pages defunct. According to my data, less than 60% of of adults refer to the yellow pages in a given week.

Advantages of yellow page advertising

For the time being, the yellow pages is still a source for leads and inbound calls. Your competitors are advertising there, so you should be right there next to them. The yellow pages offer a few advantageous features.

1. Inbound calls are warm and maybe even self-qualified. This makes it extremely easy to one-call-close ‘em. Your prospect called for a reason (maybe they are doing some comparative shopping), but you have a great opportunity to get them into your store or to consider your product.
2. The yellow pages offers very customized ad space. From being printed on the side of the book, to being listed under multiple headings relevant to your industry, you have an opportunity to create a copy that is unique and eye catching.
3. While the yellow pages does not offer an opportunity for your business to build any equity in your market, through the use of larger, more colorful ads, you can look very prestigious or large (but ask yourself if the yellow pages is the best place to build a local perception)
4. Lastly, the yellow pages gives your business a great opportunity to advertise right along side your competitors.

Disadvantages of yellow page advertising

1. Absolutely zero equity establishment. Yellow page advertising is not advertising. It is listing your business in a directory. The yellow pages are used only by customers who are in the market at almost at the point of purchase. At this stage, your company is forced to compete based on your flashy ad.
   1. It makes much more sense to build and maintain a brand equity first, and then have a very modest listing in the yellow pages.
2. As the mobile market begins to come of age, many of your younger customers are able to pull information on their PDA’s. There is no way anyone of your customers are going to have a yellow pages in their car. Therefore, your circulation is only limited to businesses and homes.

There are probably a few other disadvantages such as long lead time and inflexibility of the ad placement, but the primary point to drive home here is that the yellow pages trick marketing directors into thinking that “my great yellow page ad pulls so many customers”, when in fact your customer was in the market anyway and went into the phone book with zero idea of who you are. This is not how you want to build an image for your company.

Out of home advertising and billboards compliment yellow pages

By using a combination of media to diversify your advertising portfolio, you can ensure that you are building top of mind awareness and maintain a favorable listing in the yellow pages at t he same time.

• Outdoor advertising cannot be closed or turned off. Let the continuous nature of billboards and other out of home media drive people to your yellow page listing.
• Speaking to this point - let your outdoor advertising do the pre-sell to your yellow page listing. There is no doubt that billboards and out of home media create strong top of mind awareness - this can give direction to your consumer when they become a qualified prospect for your services

Remember, if you are serious about building a local perception of your small or medium sized business in a local market, choose a medium that will allow you to achieve this cost effectively.