CoolHandLuke said:
OK… I just went through our data base since the beginning of the year and looked at the lead source for every new job and the dollar amount of the job.
Well, I can't argue with that. I'm surprised and would still expect different results with different companies, but maybe the world is catching up to technology.
CoolHandLuke said:
Also keep in mind… for our print shop website, we only market it locally on the Internet. Also, we only have a tiny ad in one of the Yellow pages, and I’m assuming that’s Pacific Bell.
It's possible that this is part of it: until this thread I had
no idea there were regions with more than one yellow pages. It's a very strange concept to me.
Here there is one definitive Yellow Pages. With more than one, the market is splintered and they're not going to be very good. Here, it's the only source. They also spend a lot of money on advertising, I guess in an effort to convince people they're still relevant, but I think that probably helps.
If I had to choose which yellow pages to use... yeah, I can't see myself choosing any. When it's
The Yellow Pages, it's a bit different.
CoolHandLuke said:
Not only does the Internet bring us more business… but better business!
That also surprises me - I would have expected the internet to attract more clients who want low minimums than the Yellow Pages. Proving again why it's better to look through sales records than rely on conjecture.
CoolHandLuke said:
I guess where I live there are probably more homes wired for the Internet.
I haven't looked at the stats lately, but historically Australia has one of, if not the, best technology uptake rates in the world. Computer ownership and an internet connection was well above worldwide average throughout the 90s. We are well behind on broadband uptake rates though, as our broadband providers have been gouging us for 2nd rate services. It's only really this year that that's changed (we've gone from 256kbps packages at USD $30/month and 1.5mbps @ USD $45/month to 22mbps for USD $45/month - I don't know how that compares to the US, but I'm guessing not favourably).
Anyway, my point is that internet access is taken for granted here. So most likely one of two things is happening, either 1) I'm totally misjudging local Yellow Pages vs. internet use and am completely wrong, or 2) The Yellow Pages is winning anyway (perhaps due to advertising, perhaps due to simply being a better product here).
CoolHandLuke said:
If I do a LOCAL Google search in LA for screen printing... over 80 percent do not have a website. You DO NOT need a website to advertsing locally on Yahoo or Google. I'm not talking about getting found in the natural search engine results. ONLY the local listings through search.
Now I'm begining to see why you guys are using the phone book!
Heh, yeah. This is one of those cases where early technology uptake might have harmed me. I've tried using the local search functions as they've become available (i.e. when the Yellow Pages online started I tried that, when Citysearch started I tried that, etc.) and they've always been crap. If I'd come along later when they were polished I might have been using them, but I tried them early and dismissed them.
Recently a company launched itself with an expensive advertising campaign (TV saturation + billboards), calling itself "the local search engine". I needed a local business, so I tried them. It was absolutely useless... I don't know what they're doing spending so much money on this product, but it's crazy. I definitely would have been better off with the Yellow Pages. The fact that they think they can launch that product, spending all that money, post dot-com burst, and expect to make a profit... it's kind of scary. Is their competition just
that bad that they think they can get away with it? Perhaps.
I think what it comes down to is the
local technology. In my area local search engines suck, and the Yellow Pages don't. In other areas it's the other way around, so results will vary.
That said, I definitely wonder now if I am underestimating the business gained from the internet (even in a more offline business type). I'm fairly confident Yellow Pages ads are still worth it here, but perhaps there's not as much as a monopoly as they'd have us believe (hence the advertising dollars being spent to convince us of that).
CoolHandLuke said:
As for the Phone book providing credibility... now you're really searching!
It certainly did once upon a time (and not that long ago even) but I agree that's probably no longer the case.