Question: I’m embarrassed to say it, but I spend over $1000 a month advertising my business in the Yellow Pages. I really don’t know if it’s worth it or not for me to continue down this road. With the popularity of the internet and the number of people online do you think it still makes sense to advertise in the Yellow Pages?

My Answer: Here’s the truth. Yellow Pages, if you’re doing it correctly, can be an excellent media choice. In fact, I just listened to a business owner in the beauty and spa industry in another state mention that he is making an absolute killing off his Yellow Pages advertising because fewer and fewer businesses use this medium and the ones that do don’t know what in the world they are doing. So, he sticks out, in a very good way.
And, essentially, that is my answer to you. Yes, Yellow Pages works great (just like any media) IF you know what you are doing.
So, how do you do that?

First of all, and this is a point I harp on a lot, you have to be able to measure every marketing activity your business takes part in. And you need to be doing that so you can measure your return on investment.
In regards to your situation you’ve said that you spend over $1000 a month on Yellow Pages. But what has been you return on investment? Since you’ve already said you don’t know – that’s the first problem you have to address.

You might get $300 or $3000 worth of business every month from that ad. But if you aren’t measuring you are simply operating blind. In today’s economy you can’t do that for very long. So, your ad in Yellow Pages must be measurable. I’ll show you a couple of ways to do that in a second.

Secondly, find out where your prospects find you and where they congregate. The fact of the matter is the internet is growing in popularity but, for your particular business that may not be where your prospects hang out or where you most loyal customers come from.

Just last month, Elizabeth LaBorde – Vice President of Make-A-Wish Foundation told an industry magazine that their most loyal donors are still found through old fashioned direct mail going to prospects mail boxes. Not social media, telemarketing, email marketing, search engine marketing, Google Adwords, Yellow Pages or any other media.
But they are sticklers for measuring. You have to be also, regardless of the media.
I often joke that if I knew my clients stared up at the sky all day I’d hire a skywriter to plaster my message all over the horizon.

So, until you begin measuring how your ad is performing … it depends. Now, after digesting what I’ve just told you, if you think Yellow Pages is worth a shot then you must make your ad the absolute best it can be. Here are some points to keep in mind to do just that.

Not only are these proven by my personal work with clients but numerous studies have backed up my personal experience:
1.Put as much information in the ad that space permits. But not just any information, ask yourself what are some of the biggest fears and concerns your customers have and address them in your Yellow Pages ad.
2.Size really does matter. Minimum is a quarter column display ad.
3.Graphics and color really aren’t that important
4.You MUST grab attention. The most effective way to do that is to use a headline that speaks to your prospect. A very effective and proven way to do this is to tap into their overriding FEAR.
5.You must differentiate yourself from your competitors. One of the surest ways to do this is to NOT let the Yellow Pages rep put your ad together. Sorry, it’s the truth. The rep will deny it until he’s blue in the face. But, ignore this rule at your own peril.

6.Finally, put a call to action in your Yellow Pages ad that can be MEASURED. For example, put an extension in your phone number so that when that extension rings you know it’s coming from your Yellow Pages ad. Or, tell them in the ad to call a specific person in your office. Or, offer a free report, consultation, whatever in your ad so that when people call it tips you off that they are coming from the Yellow Pages.
If nothing else, simply make it a policy in your office to ask every prospect who calls or walks into your office, “how did you find or hear about us?” Having that information allows you to make better decisions in the future.

Curtis Alexander is a Business Growth Strategist. He can be reached at www.curtismalexander.com