“Search Marketing” is a term canny small business operators are fast becoming more familiar with. Customers who want or need a product or service are increasingly turning first to the Internet to find it by using search engines, such as Google or Microsoft’s new Bing.
For decades the printed telephone directory and the accompanying “yellow pages” or business directory, was the most important way small businesses marketed. These directories were, in fact, the first “search marketing” tools. Businesses would compete for customers’ attention by placing ever larger and more eye-catching ads in the directory.
Another important quality of the phone directory was the fact that it focused on local businesses, so that customers knew that the product or service was available conveniently locally.
Well, the world changes and the good news for small businesses is that the change has made it very inexpensive (almost free) for you to reach your customer and offer your products or services in a way that printed directories could never match.
Keep in mind the fact that a great many of your customers are looking for your products, services, or your business online first. It’s the most convenient option. (Read: Small Business Not Keeping Up With Online Presence ) If they can’t find the information they want they will usually turn to the phone directory “yellow pages” second.
The practicality of phone directories slips a little more each year. The huge amount of waste they generate and the excessive, environmentally unfriendly “carbon footprint” of printed directories have many communities opting for an “Delivery Only When Requested” bylaw restrictions on directories, eliminating the one unique virtue they offered – mass distribution.
With the rapid growth of alternate telephone carriers, Voice Over Internet telephone services and cell phone networks, no telephone white pages contain all the phone numbers in any locality. People are becoming aware of this and consequently rely on Internet listing websites to check for numbers, quickly and conveniently, from a number of sources. The phone books are irrelevant for them and many just put them in the recycle bin.
In our opinion, it is time to change the marketing strategies for our clients. While we will maintain a listing in the directories, so that a client can be found there, we are advising our clients to cut the expensive display ads and to put the resources into online marketing (search engine optimization and in certain cases pay per click advertising, such as Google Adwords).
Look at your own advertising plan and budget. How are you allocating your resources? If your main strategy has centered on telephone directories, think about the future. If you do choose to put more emphasis online, be sure to tell your customers that’s where they can easily find you and find information on your products or services.
The best news of all is that the small business can easily do all that’s necessary to build their web presence themselves either free or at very little cost compared to the typical cost of phone directory advertising – all it takes is the time to go online and do it.
