Small Business Commando News

I’ve been experimenting with the Google Chrome browser, and overall am very impressed.  Like most Google offerings (Gmail, docs, etc) it’s fast, clean and raises my already elevated opinion of Google.
i even went so far as to make it my default browser (replacing Firefox).

That lasted less than a day and I switched back to Firefox because I use AdBlock Plus.  It is a free extension in Firefox that removes all sorts of banner and display advertising from web pages I visit.

Hey, Just because I’m in the advertising business doesn’t mean that I like to see the stuff.

in fact, that’s why I’m in the Directional Media side of advertising where we show relevant ads to people who are seeking solutions.

Most banner and display ads are intrusive and disruptive to the web experience.

I spend waaaay too much time online to allow unwanted ads to rent space on my monitor.

Note to Google . . .

Great job on the browser.  It’s really fast and has lots of benefits.  However, until you get the ad thingy fixed, I’m a Firefox guy.

The oldest known telephone directory, an 1878 copy of the New Haven, CT

There were individual cards before, but this is the first time the listings were published in a book.
391 subscribers - no numbers (that was before the invention of numbered dialing)
Included both private individuals (the wealthy ones who could afford the new gadget) and businesses.  Interestingly, it also included a classified section for business as well as several display advertisements.

Included simple instructions - Pick up the phone and ask for the party you are calling.

Click to watch video 

Special thanks to Ken Clark for alerting me to this gem.

More than 20 million US telephone households (17%) are now “wireless substitutors” - homes without landlines that rely solely on a mobile phone - and one in five households could be wireless-only by year’s end, according to a study by Nielsen Mobile.

This is a MAJOR PROBLEM for many businesses who rely on the telephone to generate business.

In the good old days, Ma Bell published a telephone directory of all numbers, residential and business in the market.  Alphabetical listings of residences and businesses were listed in the WHITE PAGES.

Business listings categorized by type were published in the YELLOW Pages.

Then a couple of things happened.

1.  Move businesses began relying on mobile phones instead of traditional land lines.  US Privacy laws prohibit publishing mobile telephone numbers without the publisher jumping through all sorts of hoops.

2.  Consumers increasinly went to unpublished numbers (prior to the “Do Not Call” legislation) to reduce the number of intrusive solicitations.

3.  Consumers and businesses are offered an increasingly varied number of ways to get phone service.  VOIP, cable, Skype, Vonage, and countless other providers make publishing a truly comprehensive directory impossible.

Where Customers Find Phone Numbers is a DVD program I recorded with Kathleen Pierz of The Pierz Group that details the results of a national survey.  If you rely on the phone to ring with customers, you need to know where they’re looking to find those numbers.

One of the most surprising facts from the research was that adults aged 25-34 were the heaviest users of print Yellow Pages.  As the perceived audience of print Yellow Pages ages, we see that the biggest users of print Yellow Pages are the Newly Wed and the Nearly Dead.

Click to Order

Where Customers Find Phone Numbers

How Directory Paper is Made

Have you ever sat staring at a phone book wondering how many acres of virgin forest were clear cut to make this one little directory (and who hasn’t had the thought?).I came across a fascinating (I don’t get out much) description of the paper behind the Yellow Pages.  Ken Clark’s YP Talk website has an excellent write up about the process.  Despite being in the industry since Moses came down the mountain delivering directories, I had no idea about the paper source.

The production of directory paper is far more eco-friendly that I ever imagined. Granted, this is from one of the most progressive plants, but it is encouraging.

Here are some highlights:

1. The combination of filler, recycled fiber and SFI certified residual sawmill chips to fiber makes up over 80% of the material in their finished product
2. The remaining fiber is residual sawmill chips from small local managed tree farms or from DNR managed Federal lands
3. 40 % Recycle Fiber content in finished product
4. This is the only mill that actively recycles old directory books
5. They use no Boreal, “old growth”, or rain forest fiber used in making this paper
6. The plant has no water or air permit violations, or other outstanding environmental issues – meaning they are playing by the rules and doing all they can

Special thanks to Phil Wojcik for telling me about this information.

To subscribe to YP Talk, go to YPTalk.com

Gene Daly, former President of Ketchum Directory Advertising joined SEO Logic as CEO.

It’s an interesting move for one of the stalwarts in the Yellow Pages industry.  SEO is very closely linked with a complete directional marketing plan.   SEO helps people looking for your type of product or service to find your business in the organic (free) listings.

Some of Gene’s Yellow Pages clients (according to the press release) were LensCrafters, Penske and DirectTV.  A CMR’s role is to handle the balance between national branding and marketing and local lead generation, and this challenge is faced constantly online.

I think this is a good move for both Gene and SEO Logic, and will keep an eye on their progress.

I’m here now . . . you can close your book anytime.

Marc Tellier, CEO of Canada’s Yellow Pages Group (not pictured here) speaking at The Kelsey Group’s DMS ‘08 conference in Atlanta dismissed the threat posed by Reach Local’s recent announcement to sell local online advertising in Canada.

“YPG has been providing advertising services, both print and online including Internet Yellow Pages and Google Adwords very successfully.  There’s no reason to expect anything other than continued success and growth of our advertiser base.”

Of the top 10 websites in Canada, we’re the only one that is Canadian.  The others are US based.

There is a significant role for paid placement and keyword based advertising to coexist.

In yesterday’s keynote presentation at the Kelsey Group’s DMS ‘08 conference in Atlanta by Marilyn Neal (not pictured here), Chairwoman of Local Insight Media took the Yellow Pages industry to task.

Marilyn Neal (not pictured here)

It was a very refreshing and invigorating presentation, and it could not have come at a better time for the industry.

Marilyn Neal has been a leader in the Yellow Pages / directional media for 40 years, and she is currently Local Insight Media.  She was at GTE, Verizon, DEX and now Local Insight Media.
It’s funny, because she’s not a typical conference speaker.  Rather than ply the audience about how great her company is (and she has plenty to brag about), she talked about the fundamentals of managing the business and running a disciplined sales organization.

There were a few messages that stuck with me.

• She is a “Sales driven leader.”   A major portion of her presentation revolved around management and control of the sales process.

• Respect the advertisers time and simplify the product offering.  This is especially important as the rep must cover multiple products (online and print) in the same call.  Customers are not allowing more time.
  Hold each sales manager accountable for checking the account prep before every sales call.  For those of you who don’t know what account prep is, it means preparing a custom presentation and recommendation that respects the customer’s time and presents the value story.

• She insists on 8 AM sales meetings every day with afternoon reporting of daily activity.  People in the post sales and production function are not allowed to contact the sales reps during selling hours.  Nor is mail allowed to be delivered on the sales floor during the sales day.

• She challenges sales managers to spend 3 days per week in the field with sales reps meeting with customers.

• Training, training, training.

• Every executive should spend at least one day per month meeting with customers.

• Every customer complaint must be addressed within 24 hours, and with the goal of 100% customer satisfaction.  She helped challenge GTE to earn the Malcolm Baldridge award by stressing customer service.

(This is not Marilyn Neal either
Marilyn challenged the industry leaders to stop allowing negative press and ideas that are based on opinion rather than facts to drag down the message.   She stressed the importance of supporting the sales team with facts, research and data to give them ammunition and confidence.

She challenged the industry to aggressively build relevant products that better match the needs of consumers and advertisers.  One example she gave was the Phoenix metropolitan directory.  She said that it takes 85 minutes to drive from one side of the market to the other.  The large directory does not properly address shopping patterns and isn’t serving the needs of people looking for local business.
Bottom line . . .

She’s bringing old school management practices back into the process, and is promoting technology as a means to better serve advertiser needs.

The “real” Marilyn Neal 

Chad Pinne , Director, YP Research & Analysis, ServiceMaster
Kerry Kielb, Sr. Marketing Manager, Rollins Orkin
Eric Schlanger, VP, Local Marketing, Avis Budget Group
Michael Strait, SVP, Telmetrics