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For the past 3 yrs I have more than paid for my 1/2 page YP ad each year. This year so far I’m seeing it not quite break even (more & more revenue is coming from customer referrals). I plan to show my salesperson all the numbers and see what he thinks…but, what do you think… should I do what I’m considering…going to 1/4 page and losing a little placement?
I plan on cutting my advertising 20% every year for the first 3-4 years and then leveling off thereafter.
Dan,
Your refered customers still use the phone book. If you have a smaller ad will that effect your customer’s image of you? Will you mantain the image in monthly newletters instead? The question to ponder “where can I get the best image for my buck? Will this image generate the calls? Just something to ponder… do you have enough customers?, are you only looking to maintain or build? If maintain is your answer, then where’s the image answer? Tough Question… one I refer to as a “buffer question” (pondering while working the buffer)
My goal is to become the largest carpet cleaner in my area by steadily increasing the size of my YP ad. The commercial work will definitely increase as your ad increases along w/ residential growth. Watching my business grow is what keeps me charged up. You can’t increase the size of the ad if you can’t afford it and you can’t afford not to increase it. You must find a balance to suit you growth desires.
How will anyone know about commercial services from the new ads? In my current ads commercial is mentioned along with evening apts, etc…
Gordon’s suggestion alone has paid for our 1/2 page ads…placing the pic of my son and myself in the ad. Almost everyone responding to the ad asks the same question ..”am I speaking with the man on the right or the left”? I almost always answer, “the handsome guy on the left”.
In out Yellow Books right now for us, it is more expensive to go to a 1/3 page than keeping 1/2 page. I am keeping 1/2 page and am the 2rd listing. $600/mo for the entire county in 2 books!
I just wish the ad could say something like SS, Chem Dry, ServiceMaster etc say. I met the YB rep yesterday and she said our ad was kind of like going into a boxing match with your hands tied behind your back… She reminded me that peple go into the YB to find services, not a cute Brand.
Interesting meeting
The best policy for growth is to have a substatial presence in all the PHONE PROVIDER’s books. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be in the revenue books as well if you can afford it.
Also, regardless of how well your ads work, if you can’t convert the calls to sales, nothig will ever pencil. I would suggest that everyone look at your closing rates before you look at the revenue generated by a book.
Good talk.
Something to consider Jeremy…i closed approximately 97-98% with the Smallest color ad in Verizon and 1/8 page ads in the Yellow Books.
Going to 1/2 page ads across the board and dropping the color, my closing rate is approximately 75% with MANY more shoppers, since we are closer to the front of the listing #3 or #4 in all 3 books…
When it costs me more to go to a 1/3 page ad than keep 1/2 page with my rating…I am apt to keep the 1/2 page. The only problem is that I cannot say now what I said before and am supposed to get more business because of it..We shall see. Strange advertising principle.
Does anyone have suggestions for Yellow page ads? Our renewel is up now and I’d like to change the ad. We are only getting about 2 calls amonth off the ad so I am guessing that the ad just isn’t that good.
They call it a dollar bill size ad. I’m not sure about the placement in the book since I inherited the ad and I live in another city. I’ll ask about that.
Placement is key, the average person only looks at the first 5-6 ads. Placement is determined by seniority and size. so if you don’t have seniority to need to go for size to put yourself past the people in front of you. you have a dollor bill size so if you went to a quarter page you would be in front of the dollor bills and if you went with a half page you would be in front of the quarter pages. I don’t know how much ads cast in your area but in seattle they can be pretty expensive.
We put a quarter page ad with white background in our phone providers book. I don’t have exact numbers on me now but in the month and a half that is’s been out we’ve probably pulled $1000 dollars. Now we’re brand new to seattle, no one knows our name, seeing as you’ve taken over the ad people already know your name so if you go bigger you’ll probably get a better return faster.
Justin
In adddition, since you are new…ask for a first-time discount. This will be your first ad and tell them you are looking to grow. Here in Lancaster county, PA we have 3 main books and we are paying approximately $1,800 a month for all three. Population is almost 500K.
We are placed #3 in all of the books.
We receive calls almost every day from them….it is really rare when we get zero.
Try to get to the front…it makes a huge difference. Be prepared with your 15-30 second pricing spiel and closing.
All the previous meessages are right on the target.
With no other advertising or other than minimum effort, we are 45% ahead of last year, thru June. Yellow Pages works.
Wish you the best.
I will check the position of the ad. If anyone can fax or e-mail versions of their Ad’s I would appreciate the help. Fax number 562-795-0152 or
e-mail gary81_1@hotmail.com. Thanks all
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