Yellow Pages Advert Renewal. Yes Or No?

[ProDave]

It's that time of year.  I had my first call today from my "account manager" at Yellow pages to discuss my renewal.

I put him off for a few days as I was up a ladder when he called and explained it was not a convenient time.

Back last summer, I was complaining I was too busy. For clarification, that means I was working nearly full time, but I don't want or need to work full time and swore then I would not renew it this time.

I wasn't happy with the last printed edition of Yellow Pages, particularly the fact they put all the "free line entry" adverts just in alphabetical order at the back (not listed by category)

And as regards Yell.com, well I keep getting emails telling me they have changed their name to http://hibu.co.uk/

How bonkers is that. Take a name that everyone knows, and change it to something completely stupid and totally not intuitive.

Most of my work seems to come from word of mouth now from satisfied customers recommending me, regular estate agents jobs, and work for a couple of builders. So given I don't want to work any more hours than I do already, I see little point with the yellow pages adverts. 

Can anyone give me a good reason why I would regret not advertising with them this year?

And I guess if I end up with no work, it will prove a point and I can advertise again the year after.

 

[Evans Electric]

Can only speak for my own situation Dave .

I was in two editions in the ELECSA box, as I'm in between so Sutton Coldfield /North B,ham   and the Walsall,/ West Brom .  Got nothing from Walsall so cancelled that last year .    Had nothing from Sutton Coldfield this year so I won't renew that either .

Had very few enquiries from the Pages and only ever did one job .    As you say , recommendations and regulars. 

To find a builder I think people are using the web pages more so perhaps the dreaded Register may come into its own.

 

[Steve3948]

I cannot remember the last job I got from someone finding me in the YP NIC block advert.

I think it's only use is if someone knows you but has lost your number.

When I first started I had big adverts YP and Thompsons, cost a fortune, got my name out there but the jobs profits did not cover the adverts.

My web site gets a fair few hits a day, but I think it's people trying to sell not buy.

Word of mouth and recommendation is by far the best and costs nothing.

 

[batty]

I am in the YP but can't remember the last time I had a job from it. I only have a small box though. Personally I find I have my regular customers and the rest come from recommendation which I prefer.

 

[kerching]

Personally I don't advertise, apart from one advert on the back page of my wife's Horse Club Annual Show magazine. This costs me £35

All my work comes from recommends or word of mouth or repeat customers. I would get very twitchy doing a job for someone who I did not " know ". And wouldn't sleep,until I got paid. Since I was 'forced' to go on my own 4 years ago I have not had a slack day, and long may it continue, so no advertising seems to work for me. If things get a bit slow then I may well change my strategy

 

[ProDave]

Thanks. You are doing a good job of persuading me to make the YP salesman a very disappointed chap when he phones back.

 

[steptoe]

Dave, I wouldnt, especially in your neck of the woods Id have thought it very much word of mouth,

just about a year in now this time of SE and Im more busy than I can handle,

fair enough, I do a fair bit of subby work, but even without that my private customers are building up almost weekly, certainly getting at least one more a month[private landlords],

Ive never advertised, during any of my SE periods.

however, I am about to open a thread on a slightly related subject soon.

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Everyone i know wishes they had never signed up to YP. No jobs but plenty of muppet phone calls at all times asking for quotes.

 

[NozSpark]

I had an ad with them 8 years ago,,, for the princely sum of £400(ish) for the ad I got one,,,, yes that's one, £40 job

Total waste of money IMHO

 

[kme]

I must be bucking the trend, a little bit.

We`ve just had our renewal discussion. My issue was that they moved us from the "domestic installer" corporate box, to the "approved contractor" one.

Now, to my mind, its more likely that domestic customers will use YP - ergo they`re my "target audience". So I don`t WANT to be in the AC box - last year only generated one job, as far as I know.

So we will renew, but into the NIC "DI" box. If the response doesn`t improve in the next 12 months, I won`t renew next year. Simples

HTH 

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Any form of advertising is generally easy to evaluate...

How much you pay for it - How much you get back = Profit/Loss/Break even..

If you are making a loss it doesn't matter what anybody else is getting from their advertising..

as a Loss is a Loss!

If making a profit.. then it would seem stoopid not to continue..

Break even....  Personal preference.. may bring other leads later??

Personally myself I have a YP advert in the NIC corporate box in 1x YP book..

Costs around £190ish I think  (anyway less than £200)

This year (Jan/Feb 2013) I have had 5 enquirers generating £280ish of completed and paid for work!

During Nov-Dec 2012 I only had 1x enquiry..   but that did get approx £580 worth of work....

Dunno the full figures for the whole 12month period...

but I do know that every year I have been in YP it has paid for itself

When this years renewal comes up 'May/Jun' ish it will be a no brainier to keep it running..

have been in YP and single line of Yell.Com for 7 Years...

and self employed 14 Years...

A person who uses Yell.com or YP to find an electrician probably has no family or friends who know a good electrician...

So Probably that new customer from Yell  may also be more likely to pass details onto their family and friends as well!

Word of mouth is great....

It still is the first choice for most trade persons references and new contacts...

But you always have the customer base churn-rate ..

where old previous customers move out of the area (or country!)

elderly customers pass-away!

some customers have no need to use you again for several years ....

(e.g. if done a full rewire all bases covered and done a real good job.. no extras needed)

Some are just a bit forgetful and don't have your number to pass onto their friend even when they ask!

If a lot of your work comes from a small number of customers.. say builder, or sub-contract to larger company...

You have to consider the risks of that supplying company going out of buisness..

{cant have too many eggs in one basket as they say!}

So for most business you need to have options for generating brand - new customer ..

who have no prior links or contacts to you or your previous customers..

YP can work for this purpose..

BUT as has been said..

you need to make sure its at the target customers you are aiming for...

Mine works but at <£200 per year its not a big outlay anyway!

[few extra bits added this morning after a sleep!]

 

[wozz]

Used to spend a fair bit with them but now its £60 a year just to keep a presence, same with Thomsons although i do seem to get one or two calls from them and its £60 a year, i cant be certain but i think they kicked all the free stuff out and just have the paid for adverts.

 

[ProDave]

Used to spend a fair bit with them but now its £60 a year just to keep a presence, same with Thomsons although i do seem to get one or two calls from them and its £60 a year, i cant be certain but i think they kicked all the free stuff out and just have the paid for adverts.

I was quoted £57 to "maintain a presence"

The "free" stuff is still there at the back. But ALL just listed alphabetically, like in the ordinary phone book. So you can't just browse for an electrician. So it might as well not be there.

the free on line listing with yell.com is still there, and I will keep that.

 

[M107]

Well my cost has gone up to £389 this year. Yp is the only advertising I do and normal pays for itself...tell a lie I do go in the kids school book to parents, sets me back £40.

 

[Apache]

We have the smallest ad in the vet section.

Printed phonebooks are dead in the water. Last few years I have recycled mine still in the plastic wrapper.

 

[Steve3948]

+1 to that, just looked and YP and Thompsons still in wrapper on the shelf.

 

[m4tty]

Mine went straight in recycling. Why bother when Internet is faster

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

It does all depend on who you are targeting with your advertising..

there is a vast swath of the population who either

1/ do not have access to....   or   2/ do not feel  comfortable using...  the internet.....

If you are aiming at some of the older generation...

(often the greater proportion of homeowners as the younger generation are unable to afford to purchase their own home!)

There still is a large market out there who still use the traditional phone books / YP etc....

Basic business theory proves this as the books are still being produced and people are still advertising in them...

So although the younger generation may think phone books old hat...

They are not dead in the water quite yet!

Many of us on the forum probably don't use the phone books much as by definition we are internet competent..

and probably do a lot of tasks in our own homes ourselves anyway!!!

BUT... 

Based on the actual numbers of members on the forum -vs- the population as a whole we are a very small minority.

You probably aren't going to get much commercial work responding to yellow pages OR the business pages (do they still print that??)

But as an electrician, if you are looking for domestic work....

and a homeowner has an emergency cuz all of there power has gone off....

Internet surfing options may be limited...   And the traditional book still comes out.

Often as well some of the older generation used to have a contact for odd jobs/plumbing/electrical/gardening etc...

But their previous trades person themselves has either retired, or moved away..

so the old-fashioned phone books/YP's are used again!

If you are not looking to get any work from domestic, older, cash rich, homeowners..

then traditional books may be less appealing.

Its not uncommon for self employed persons to automatically think everyone else uses the same search methods to find traders as you may do yourself...

But reality often can prove to be different..

 

[binky]

still get a few calls from YP, but website and Google does far more for me than Yell or YP. Just done a job for YP rep, even she tells me selling Google Ad-words is all that is really keeping them going

 

[Riggy]

I had the call this week as well. The guy seemed totally confused by my assertion that I didn't want any new customers!