Comments on: Dear YellowBook: Why?!

By: Computer Science Major

Computer Science Major — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:43:47 +0000

A late post, to say the least, but after having read the more thought out comments in this article, I think I'm more likely to go to the yellowpages phone book as a backup than I would have before. With search engines I often find that there's often too many listings that aren't relevant (too far away) and not enough that are relevant. At least with the book, I know that the businesses listed are nearby, and there's usually more of them listed. It's something that I've forgotten, but I've been in enough situations where I can't get a connection while traveling. Google text messages have been invaluable as well, but not everyone has texts to throw away. All of this costs money in some form or another. Have to buy a computer, or a phone, pay for service, and so on. For someone who can't afford it, it becomes a choice of going to the library or to one of the (rare) internet cafes that provide computers to use, or getting that phone book out of the cabinet.

I worry that we're becoming shortsighted in the digital age, and that we're slowly setting ourselves up for greater class inequalities. The Digital Divide isn't just in Africa, after all.

By: 6 Key Skills for Success in the Blogosphere | PRetty Social

6 Key Skills for Success in the Blogosphere | PRetty Social — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:07:41 +0000

[...] Skin: Not everyone is going to agree with you all the time. (Did you see my post on YellowBook?!) As bloggers, we’re putting our opinions on the line and sometimes people are going to disagree [...]

By: Nicole VanScoten

Nicole VanScoten — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:08:04 +0000

Thank you!!!

…for providing a factual and thought-provoking comment in a professional way

No more debating from my end. Frankly, at this point, I see both sides of the argument and while I personally feel like the book is useless (to me), I recently got in a small debate with my parents because they still use it. IMO, as time passes and Gen X's & Y's grow older & the Internet fully reaches the masses, the book will fade…but for now, I do see that some people still use it.

By: MBG

MBG — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:02:25 +0000

Actually, Nicole, the tracking is the best part of print advertising…you see, companies like Yellowbook (NOT Idearc, and I'm not sure about other publishers like Dex) include complete, transparent tracking for all of their advertisers – it's done using Tracking telephone numbers (Similar to when you set a phone to forward all calls) – the advertisers and their sales reps have 24/7 access to the call records, and even have the option of having all incoming calls recorded.

I know what you're thinking – but that means they have to chang their phone number?!

….If your first concern was that nobody was going to look at the advertisement, would it matter if the number was different? Nope. The reality is, in the 5 years I've been in the industry, I have had nearly 200 clients track their advertisements – I don't honestly remember a single advertiser that had fewer than 150 calls from a directory over the course of a year. I currently have a pizza restaurant that receives over 1200 calls per month – each of those calls is recorded to further prove that they are people calling to place orders, not simply 1200 of my closest friends calling a pizza restaurant to inflate the numbers.

By: MBG

MBG — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:55:05 +0000

I understand all of this, though I, like “dp” also work as an account executive for a Yellowpages publisher, and completely agree that the majority of my clients see a massive ROI from their advertising. At this point, close to 80% of my clients track their advertisements through the use of Unique telephone numbers which record call data as well as produce an mp3 file of every call that is generated from their ads. In listening to many of the calls (There have been hundreds of thousands of calls to my 150+ clients alone in 2009), I hear folks from all walks of life using the directory. Some are calling the dentist because they recently got free dental insurance from the state, others are calling in a group order from an office, to a pizza restaurant that has an amazingly simple ONLINE ORDERING PROCESS on their website – these people find it easier to look at the menu in the phone book and place the order. Just last week, I listened in on a call from a 23-year old male who needed to have teeth extracted – I knew his age because he told the secretary his D.O.B. in the call – he was calling from a housing project – where food barely exists, let alone a computer or internet access. Next up was an older gentleman calling the same dentist from a high-end, newly developed housing subdivision, because his wife needed teeth extracted also. So, while I agree that the internet is coming, it is still extremely difficult to find useful information for many types of businesses. Not every business is listed on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. and many of their listings are incomplete – at the same time, there are tens of thousands of websites out there claiming to be the best source for this or that, but only one or two telephone directories in each market. If I'm searching online for a roofing contractor in my hometown, RIGHT NOW – THIS VERY MOMENT, The closest result I find is a roofing contractor that is 17 miles away because it's the only roofing contractor in the area with a relevant website (I live in a highly populated suburb of Hartford, CT) The same is true for so many businesses. While I can see the point of not distributing directories unless they are requested, it would cripple a nearly $15Billion Industry (Yes, Billion with a B).

Nicole, as a marketing professional, you must recognize that in order for any particular advertising vehicle to be successful, it must be accessible to the masses. Please make note that the folks who found this blog, commented on this blog, and participated in the survey above are from a crowd who is “Internet Savvy”. This blog (& your survey as well) is BROKEN & biased because it doesn't reach the majority of people who DO use a print directory – why doesn't it reach them? Because THEY DONT USE THE INTERNET! I'd love to talk with you about this more, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

On a side note, you mentioned that Yellowbook should evaluate their business plan. I can tell you directly, that they have, and in a number of ways, you will see major changes from Yellowbook in the upcoming year, and hopefully a great deal of competition, as the company has entered many partnerships with digital media companies, Designing extremely functional & findable websites for every one of our clients, as well as entering into the $150Billion dollar realm of creative advertising through Internet Video, Broadcast Television, Cable Television, Radio, Internet Radio, Internet Display Advertising, etc. Best of luck…and to the folks above who claimed it was difficult to navigate a website to figure out how to opt-out of receiving a directory, maybe the internet is not that easy afterall….to opt out of receiving a directory, call Yellowbook at 800-929-3556. Listen to the prompts, select “To Opt ouf of receiving a directory press…”

By: Annon

Annon — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:33:03 +0000

“Additionally, your card idea is just as damning to the environment as you claim the phonebooks are. You propose that it would be wiser to print more paper and then have to use gas once to deliver the card…and then AGAIN when a person wanted to get the book delivered.”

What a load of crock!! This is the most foolish counter argument I've heard all day.

ANYWAY…for all those looking to opt-out of their spambook, just go here:

http://corporate.yellowbook.com/products/direct...

By: Annon

Annon — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:22:58 +0000

dp, I understand that you have no control of yellowbook's overall business practices, but the way I and many others see it (including the author of this blog), is that your company's product is nothing more than spam marketing. It's nice to know that yellowbook has an opt out policy, but you of all people must know how buried this option is inyour website. The navigation to get to that form you speak of is ridiculous: http://www.yellowbook.com > Yellowbook Products > Print > Directory Options…not very intuitive at ALL if you ask me…but I suppose when you're company is into spam marketing, you really don't want people who actually put a half-assed attempt into canceling your “service” from opting out.

SOOOOOOO…for all those looking to opt out of yellowbook, go here:

http://corporate.yellowbook.com/products/direct...

Spam = unsolicited mail. If your company weren't spam, you have an opt-IN policy, and you know that as well as the rest of us.

By: Erik

Erik — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:27:15 +0000

The YP sales reps have an amazing amount of training, able to come back with a response to any block you put in front of them. They really play up their relationship with Google Local Listings – to a layperson, stating you need to pay for YP to be in Google search results is almost always a sale.

By: UnMarketing » Blog Archive » Aiming Your Company at the Bottom of the Barrel

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:24:39 +0000

[...] Dear YellowBook: Why? – You must read this one, not just for the post, but the angry comments that were later found out to be actual employees of the YellowBook. Craptastic. Go get em Nicole [...]

By: prnicolev

prnicolev — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:53:14 +0000

Thanks for reminding me…I almost forgot the original post because of all the comments

I agree that the statement was a bit overboard in my initial post. I actually never thought this would cause such a debate so I really just wrote my initial thoughts when the YellowBook landed on my door…so thanks for all the great debate and keeping me more informed!

I really appreciate your thoughts and hearing the other side of the story Glad you like the blog! Hope to see comments on more of my posts!