In 2007 Sensis offered to supply us with a metered phone for 2 ads as an inducement for us to participate in the yellow pages directory (which we had intended not to do as we had very little response from our Ad in the Yellow pages for some time previously, despite being listed in first position in our advertising category). The metered phone was pivotal in changing our minds about participation. We were devastated when the publication appeared without a metered phone in either ad, because we had so many times in the approval process advised them of the need for metered phones. As part of the investigation process, we contacted our Yellow pages Representative (the person who confirmed we would have a metered phone on both numbers if we participated in the publication) and she advised in March, 2008 that she had 10 clients who she promiced metered phones but Yellow pages reneged. She advised that as a company, Yellow Pages had “oversold” the availability of metered phones and that it was a management decision (which she had no input into) as to which clients would be culled from the program.

I refused to pay the account and would like to hear from any onganisations that have similar experiences.

Anyway, my only point here, in special reference to the current employees who have chimed in to this debate (whom I know quite well – i.e. especially Adrian who I met many times at the year-beginning start ups):

Please remember that Sensis spends an absolute fortune at the beginning of each and every year to brain-wash their sales teams into believing in Yellow Pages again. This is after spending an entire year on the road being told by ALMOST EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL THEY MEET that the book is useless now due to the internet.

I think the term that often floats around the office about said brain-washed individuals is that they BLEED YELLOW – ew!

Anyway, it is pointless trying to convince a brain-washed Yellow Pages sales rep that they are, in fact, selling useless adverts printed on yellow toilet paper (often with errors).

And that’s my two yellow cents worth!

http://yellowpagethedinosaur.blogspot.com/

I read the comments from both sides with interest. I am in the IT industry, but have a lot of RE’s as clients and just about all have ditched anything other than a line or small box entry with the Yellow Pages why? cause like I’ve found out in the last 2 years, apart from a small group of industries the Yellow Pages is DEAD.

In my own industry, for years clients have told me that they found me in the YP’s but now particularly in the last six month I have noticed just about all my clients except those who have lost their internet connection now go online and it’s not to YP’s online but to Google, Yahoo and Live etc. Even despite Sensis having a seach engine my website stats show that less than 1 in 200-300 hits on my site come from Sensis.

I spent over $6000 last year on YP’s and almost $700 on Google clicks, yet google has brought in approx. 95% of new business and the work (Gross) that came in from YP’s hasn’t even paid for the ad. So thinking hard and fast with what to do when the YP’s rep turns up in the next 2 months, my decision is to have just a small box focusing on by contact details and getting the internet back on line and a bold small listing in the White Pages for those looking for my business by name.

I’ll focus more on my web presence and focus more on my existing customer base (easier to keep existing customers than get new ones) and be around $5000 richer on the bottom line

One thing that I do know that, and I look at my own buying habits for pretty much anything these days as a starting point, is thatmore and more, offline media influences my online search behaviour today whereas 5 years ago it did not, at least not to the same extent I see it doing now.

In keeping with the jovial piss-taking theme of some recent posts was my tongue-in-cheek remark about selling real estate!

One thing I am absolutely sure of, is that if you tried your hand in real estate, after you had wasted your money for the first year in the Yellow Pages you would see what Glenn is talking about, and spend it more wisely in the second year. You see it’s one thing to be quoting statistics that nobody believes anymore, and entirely another to put your money where your mouth is. The fact is, we have all done it, we are not talking from inexperience, we are talking from actual, get your hands dirty, spend your money and wonder when the phone is going to ring, try something else, succeed and look back experience.

The public these days are far more educated, far more inclined to want to know all about a property before they see it, and less inclined to ring an agent and ask to be shown a whole swag of properties to confuse them. Once upon a time the agent was the starting point, these days the property is the starting point.

Non specific advertising is a waste of money, and that’s not just my opinion, that’s a fact. It doesn’t matter how much you try to convince yourself that Yellow Pages is the bees knees in advertising– It just isn’t anymore. I am of course talking Real Estate advertising, I would never presume to make such absolute statements about any other industry, because I know very little about other industries. Is that a hint ??????