Businesses Use Yellow Page Advertising

Although Yellow Page Directories have been predicted to go the way of the dinosaur, businesses still use this multi-billion dollar medium (Grant) of advertising because it allows certain types of businesses to reach a broader market area, maintain a solid and consistent message, and create attention, interest, desire and action in consumers. Any type of business can engage in Yellow Page Advertising, but the businesses that most frequently find a strong return on investment fall into one, or more of the following categories: Retail, Restaurants, Emergency Services, and New Businesses.

Retail companies use yellow page advertising because retailers need to reach a large market to stay profitable. Word of Mouth Advertising, also known as Word of Mouth Marketing, Referrals and, what advertising consultants have come to know as the “Everybody knows me” objection, is a great source of maintaining current clientele and brining a few leads. But, retail businesses target a large population than their current customers and friends. So, the need to bring in fresh faces is a problem that is easily solvable. Yellow Page advertising works for retailers because it establishes their presence throughout a larger market area, through the utility directory, or through privately held phone directories like like DirectoryPlus®, The Yellow Pages®, Winsong®, Frontier®, Panorama®, The Black Book®, The Red Book® and The Local Pages®. For retailers in rural areas especially, where the majority of the population still turns to “The Phone Book” first, advertising in more than one directory becomes more than just an option—it means the difference between a successful business and a failed business.

Restaurants use yellow page advertising because it gives them the opportunity to maintain a solid and consistent message, and it allows them the opportunity to place their menu in the restaurant section, whetting their customer’s appetite before they’ve even left the house. Restaurants are more than a place to eat, they provide a holistic experience that creates deep connections within the psychology of a consumer. Maintaining a solid and consistent message, therefore, allows the experience to begin forming with the first exposure. Take-out restaurants are very adept at yellow page advertising, and by placing their menus at the hands of their consumers, they establish a relationship with their customers immediately, and create an easier order process for both restaurant staff and consumer.

Although the internet is quickly becoming the go-to for finding a variety of information and services, emergency service businesses use yellow page advertising because a phone book isn’t affected by emergency situations the same way the internet is. Doctors, dentists, chiropractors, attorneys, plumbers, HVAC repair, roofing repair, electricians, general contractors, and auto mechanics, rely on the real-life events that necessitate their services, and the physical nature of a phone book makes it easier to turn to. Doctors and dentists list by specialty, bringing in the right type of patient who may not have a referral. Chiropractors too specialize, and yellow page advertising pairs the need of the client with the service of the physician. Attorneys for criminal cases understand that phone books are easier to obtain for the incarcerated than the internet. Local directories can get wet, but they are also resilient and less apt to electrocute a consumer than a computer, and so plumbers turn to yellow page advertising when they want living clients. HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) contractors place ads because it broadens their market reach, and allows them to successfully compete with larger HVAC businesses. Electricians, general contractors and roofing repair companies advertise in the yellow pages because their services are most often called upon by home owners, many of whom grew up with phone books and still trust them over internet searches. Auto-mechanics turn toward smaller, privately owned directories rather than utility books because the compact nature of the smaller directories allows the mechanic’s customer to carry a phone book with them in the car, putting the mechanic’s information at their customer’s fingertips when they need it on the side of the road.

Finally, new businesses use yellow page advertising because it establishes their legitimacy, projects a sense of success even before the business has become fully entrenched, and it allows a new business to tie all of their advertising together, making every medium work for them. Consumers are weary of start-ups, especially those who have only a website to back up their claims. The real danger of internet scams, and of a business folding without being able to honor its agreements to consumers necessitates advertising among multiple media. Yellow Page advertising allows a company to walk a customer through his or her doubts, by pointing out the business’ yellow page ad, which establishes their legitimacy. It projects a sense of success even before the business has become firmly entrenched in the market because, as Steve McKee puts it (McKee): “People know that advertising is expensive, so the more a company advertises, the more successful it must be. And the more successful it is, the more it means that other people are choosing it. Which means that it may be a good idea for you and I to choose it as well.” Lastly, it allows a new business to tie all of their advertising together, making every medium work for them. A display ad in a phone directory can advise a prospect to visit the business’ website. Radio advertising, often an expensive medium, can direct consumers to either the website or, more easily, to the phone book.

The types of business that use Yellow Page Advertising are usually those that the consumer needs to get in touch with immediately, or that are trying to reach out to a broader consumer base. Many businesses profit from Yellow Page Advertising, but no business, whether large or small, should devote their entire marketing budget to Yellow Page Advertising alone.

Works Cited

Grant, Dr. Lynella. "If You Lost 70% of Your New Customers,." 2005. http://www.businessknowhow.com/. Article. 2 May 2013.

McKee, Steve. "In Advertising, Consistency Pays Off." 15 May 2009. BloombergBusinessweek. Document. 19 May 2013. <http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/may2009/sb20090515_045876.htm>.