phonebook vs internet

[graywater8]

I put alot of money into the phonebook, wondering does it pay off?. I have asked a handful of customer they reply with I got your # from the local plumber or hardware store, freind.Not much about the phonebook. In my area there or a few phonebooks to cover the area that is getting expensive. See and hear alot about internet web pages looking for feed back on the mater.
Thanks for the help

[chuckbiddinger]

The yellow pages is a necessary evil, but in the last 7 years I have cut my bill by about 50%.

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 Page ads and they also will not call the companies with full page ads. The Yellow Page rep has tried hard to get me to spend money to advertise on-line, but I turn them down.

After cutting my ads down 50%, 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, but as I said above, the Yellow Pages is a necessary evil.

Good Luck!

[Dennis]

I'm a very small fish, I never got much from the phone book. I get a few calls from 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 responsed to any phone questions until they answer this question. A referral from plumber or customer in most cases. Referral tells me they want quality service not a phone estimate. Get them talking, they will tell you everything if you listen. (sorry, I'm off the subject).
The phone book is a very important question. What type customers use the yellow pages? I don't know but should!
Best wishes, Dennis.... dennishoover.com

[jimmye]

We just started our company 3 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 it definitely got us rolling. It took us 2 years to get a small yellow pages ad and had to argue to get it then ($68 per month) 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 2 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 nowdays. With PayPal and a page for payment of services it has enabled us to easily take credit and debit card payments with minimal expense.

jimmye@semo.net

[DrainMedic]

Internet advertising is going to be the future of advertising. Your still going to have to advertise in the Yellow Pages book if your just starting out. Referral companies are good to. Service Magic is a great lead company, that is thru the internet. Yellow Pages online is expensive, ive tried, will never do it again. Word of mouth is still the best advertising. I would prefer Internet over Yellow pages right now.

[Trent]

We are just going through the phonebooks 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 as well. We do have a website that does generate interest sparadically.