YOUR LOCAL DIRECTORY VS YELLOW PAGES
If you are considering where to allocate your marketing budget, please consider local directories; perhaps not just The Southampton Directory, as there are others in Chandlers Ford, Winchester, Bishops Waltham, Romsey and they really do work. Other Local Directories
The word “local” says it all. Residents like using their Local Directory because they know every advertiser serves them. You are paying to advertise to people not in your market.
Fewer competitors. A Local Directory probably has no more than 5 or 6 advertisers doing what you do, more likely only 3 or 4, in many case you will be the only one. Unlike Yellow Pages which sometimes has pages of advertisers in your category and your expensive entry is lost amongst so many advertisers.
Buyers AND Browsers. Because of the mix of editorial, community informaiton and advertising, readers BROWSE the Directory thus picking up on your advert along the way. Directories are ideal for products or services that readers may not think they need or aspire to having. Importantly though, readers also use the Local Directory when they want to BUY, especially trades. Yellow Pages does not attract browsers.
Repeat Exposure. There are many reasons to pick up the magazine and read it, exposing your advert every time, ie What’s On pages, time relevant articles, puzzles for the kids, recipes, lists of local clubs, competitions etc. No-one “reads” Yellow Pages!
Changing your Advert. You can change your advert every month in a Local Directory. Promote a sale, change contact details, add a new service, swap a picture to keep it fresh or relevant to the time year. Once in Yellow Pages, the advert remains the same for a year.
Year Round Support. Advertisers of The Southampton Directory benefit from free advice on any aspect of their business, primarly marketing and advertising. Many small businesses, often run single handedly, dont’ have the expertise, time or energy to deal with the advertising of their business. I often spend half an hour on the phone listening to an advertiser and then sharing my ideas, thoughts and ways of helping him/her to better promote their business. Yellow Pages does not offer a free, year round marketing support service.
NEGOTIATING WITH YELLOW PAGES
If you decide you can’t afford to pull out of Yellow Pages altogether, then at least downsize and release some funds – for local directories. Here’s a few tips on getting a good price from them (as they are heavily commission-led):
TIP 1. Some people may be better negotiators than you so call round a number of other businesses you know advertise in YP and see what price they’ve been quoted – there are very likely to be differences. Go back to YP with the lowest quote amongst them and demand the same price.
or
TIP 2. Get together with a number of other YP advertisers who haven’t signed up yet – say five or six. One person contacts YP and negotiates the price to lower than the sales person is offering and say – “There are 6 companies I am representing here … at this price all 6 will commit.” He or she won’t resist the opportunity of 6 orders from one call. But be honourable and all 6 commit. They may say it’s not possible but they will come back you – it’s too tempting for them not to.
and
TIP 3. Always ask for time to think about it and ask them to call you back on a specific date in future (as close to their deadline as you think). When they call back ask for extras (another category perhaps, yell.com, discount on colour) and use words “I will order today if I am happy with what you offer me.” They will want to offer you something! Politeness and a friendly manner goes a long way as they get a lot of negative response and they are more likely to be generous if you are nice to them.