This feature in Cleaner reports noteworthy conversations that take place in Cleaner Discussion, an e-mail based forum for industry professionals sponsored by COLE Publishing. Cleaner Discussion provides for the exchange of information and ideas on pipe cleaning rehabilitation and maintenance, trucks and equipment, high-pressure cleaning, business improvement topics, and much more. To find out more about Cleaner Discussion, or to subscribe, visit www.cleaner.com.
Question:
I put a lot of money into phone directory advertising and I am wondering: Does it pay off? I have asked a handful of customers, and they reply with, “I got your number from the local plumber or hardware store, or from a friend.” I don’t hear much about the phone book. It takes a number of phone books to cover our area, and that is getting expensive. I see and hear a lot about Internet web pages, and I am looking for feedback.
Answers:
We are just going through the phone books that we advertise in (about 14), trying to decide if it’s worth it to have anything more than a bold listing. A good amount of our calls are word-of-mouth. We do have a web site that generates interest sporadically.
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The Yellow Pages are a necessary evil, but in the last seven years I have cut my bill by about 50 percent. When I go to the Yellow Pages, I never call a company with the largest ad. I know how much ads cost, and I know I will be paying for their ad. Many customers know the high price of Yellow Pages ads, and they also will not call the companies with full-page ads. The Yellow Pages representative has tried hard to get me to spend money to advertise online, but I turn them down. After cutting my ads down 50 percent, I have not seen a decrease in business. If you don’t have a web site, I would get one, but don’t expect it to start your phone ringing off the hook. The Internet is just another way to advertise.
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I’m a very small fish. I never got much from the phone book. I get a few calls from the Internet. I don’t feel customers have a clue what Yellow Pages cost. I ask every customer how they were referred to me (initial phone call). I don’t respond to any phone questions until they answer this question. In most cases their answer is a referral from a plumber or another customer. Referrals tell me they want quality service, not a phone estimate. Get them talking. They will tell you everything if you listen. The question about phone books is an important one. What types of customers use the Yellow Pages? I don’t know, but I should.
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We just started our company three years ago, and because we used a cell phone for our business phone we could not get into the phone book. Our main source of advertising was a local cable ad, which was pretty expensive but definitely got us rolling.
It took us two years to get a small Yellow Pages ad and had to argue to get it then, but it also put us in the white pages. Even though our business name was easy to remember, the people had a hard time finding our number. Even the referrals (the best advertisement) had trouble finding our number.
We were parking our truck on a very visible lot (great advertisement) and had many people say they drove to where the truck was parked to get our phone number. The first two months in the Yellow Pages, our business doubled. The Yellow Pages will also help with the newcomers to the area.
We have a web page, and it does very little in the line of getting local customers. It is, however, a necessity now days. With PayPal and a page for payment of services, it has enabled us to easily take credit and debit card payments with minimal expense.
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Internet is going to be the future of advertising. You’re still going to have to advertise in the Yellow Pages if you’re just starting out. Referral companies are good, too. Service Magic is a great lead company — that is through the Internet. Yellow Pages online is expensive. I’ve tried and will never do it again. Word-of-mouth is still the best advertising. I would prefer Internet over Yellow Pages right now.
