Is Your Yellow Pages Advertising Putting Cash in Your Pocket ... Or Sucking Cash Out?
Do you know? Is your Yellow Pages advertising spend generating a consistent flow of new clients? What can you do to maximize returns and stop worrying?
Yellow Pages advertising has vast potential. It helps you reach prospects who are targeted and ready to buy. But your success depends on the quality of your ad. And when it comes to Yellow Pages ad content, far too many advertisers are hopelessly lost. Learn How to Tell If Your Ad Campaign Is Working.
Most business owners are busy running their businesses and have little time to think about designing a Yellow Pages ad. That is why most of them gladly delegate this responsibility to the Yellow Pages design department. This is a critical error, because the key to a successful ad is distinguishing yourself from the competition.
Prospects go to the Yellow Pages when they are ready to buy and are confronted with several providers. Your ad will succeed to the extent that it differentiates your business from your competitors. Can you depend on the Yellow Pages in-house art department to create an ad that does that? Probably not.
What Yellow Page success boils down to is ad content. Not color. Not professional design. Sure, those things matter too; but they are nowhere near as important as the words you use to fill your ad. People turning to the Yellow Pages have already determined that they need you. They just need to know whether they should call company A, B, or C. Don't forget to List Your Business in Online Yellow Pages.
They will choose you if you can assure them that you offer something that your competitors don’t. Listing the brand names you carry and the “laundry list” of products or services you offer will not build credibility. Those things do not set you apart from your competitors who offer the same thing.
But plenty of other things do. Make a list of the things you do for your clients that make their lives easier, more lucrative, and more pleasant. These benefits are the kinds of things that will get your prospects to call you instead of the competition. Iron-clad guarantees, customer testimonials, offers for new customers, or a compelling headline can work wonders in a targeted, ready-to-buy medium such as the Yellow Pages.
Since most of your competitors are focusing on their company name and their laundry list of products and services, focusing on you benefit to the consumer will differentiate you. You will earn the credibility your competition likely lacks, which can encourage prospects to choose you with confidence.
Alan Saltz graduated with honors from Wharton and is the president of Guaranteed Marketing. He designs and critiques ads for business owners all over the world. He also reveals the secrets of high response Yellow Pages advertising through his Web site, YellowPagesProfit.com.
