Yellow Pages advertising works.
According the Small Business Administration, the average rate of business dissolutions over a six-year period is 62 percent. Less than 20 percent of businesses advertising in the Akron Yellow Pages six years ago have disappeared.
What those successful advertisers learned can help you predict the success of your ad and make it better. Here are seven lessons.
1. Bigger is rarely better.
The most successful ads in competitive categories were close in size. Where one ad was larger than all the others, it was later reduced or eliminated in almost 80 percent of the cases.
Of all the ads in the Yellow Pages six years ago, almost 90 percent were one-quarter page in size or smaller. Less than 2 percent were full page ads.
2. Smaller equals more vulnerable.
Advertisers with smaller sized ads were the ones most likely to “disappear” or go out of business. Seventy percent of the businesses with one-sixteenth page ads (the smallest size available) in the book six years ago are now missing. But the size of the ad isn’t necessarily to blame. In most cases, businesses with larger ads are more financially stable. Insufficient capital, a primary cause of business failure, may be what led to the disappearance of many smaller advertisers.
3. One is the loneliest number.
Having no competition had a negative impact on advertisers, whereas heavy competition did not seem to affect the success rate. Only 30 percent have kept their ads in categories where there were no other advertisers.
4. Yellow Pages readers are colorblind.
Most of the ads that have remained the same or increased in size were printed in simple black ink. Of these ads that were successful, less than 2 percent were printed in full color. A study conducted by the National Association of Directory Marketing proves that conservative use of color is more appealing to Yellow Pages readers. Why pay higher rates to get a lower response?
5. Don’t accept a Trojan horse
Despite designing billions of dollars worth of Yellow Pages ads for others, Ameritech hires professional advertising agencies to develop its own ad campaigns. This alone should convince you to seek outside help. Keep in mind that what you want—the least expensive ad that takes away the most possible business from your competitors—is the exact opposite of what a Yellow Pages publisher is trying to accomplish.
Anything that threatens the survival of your competitors and the renewal of their advertising is a major threat to the publisher’s profits. An independent ad agency is only concerned with your success.
6. What you don’t know (or understand) can hurt you.
Newspaper and magazine publishers generally provide rate sheets to their advertisers. This clearly shows ad costs as well as available discounts and when they apply. Ameritech does not.
Your Yellow Pages sales rep “discusses” your advertising needs with you, makes recommendations and provides rates accordingly. To qualify for discounts, you must increase your ad size. Your sales rep may be focused more on short term gain than maintaining a long term relationship with you. This means you could end up with a larger ad than you need or can afford. There are many things you can do to reduce this risk.
n Ask your rep to send you printed information before scheduling a face to face meeting. Ask to be provided with full price rates for each of the ad sizes printed in black ink only, black and one color, black and two colors, three colors and full color.
n Ask for the exact closing date. Some reps will imply that you have much less time than you really do. They are in a hurry to get you “signed.”
n The number of directories delivered is not the same as the actual number of households and businesses receiving them. Statistics can be manipulated to prove different points.
n Read the fine print. Your ad is not guaranteed any specific position. The publisher isn’t liable for errors or omissions. So make certain that you inspect and approve every detail on the final proof of your ad.
7. Keep your expectations realistic.
If your research shows that an average of 50 area residents purchase the product or service you sell each month, a Yellow Pages ad will not increase that. Television and other forms of advertising can work to create an interest in something where none previously existed. But a great Yellow Pages ad helps you get the attention of someone already looking for what you are selling.