Can price shoppers be neutralized by an effective Yellow Pages ad?
Captain Electric’s Seven Steps to Success
A common complaint about Yellow Pages advertising is the low quality of customers the ads attract.
“Tire kickers, price shoppers, and whiners,” is how Mark Malone of Gulf Coast Air Conditioning* (name changed) describes the callers. “The leads I get from the Yellow Pages are usually only looking for the lowest price. I don’t even want them as customers, but I’m afraid to stop advertising because occasionally, one will turn into a large job.”
The Problem
The problem of price shoppers is two-fold. First, Yellow Pages is the most competitive type of advertising because every business in town is displayed side-by-side for easy comparison by price conscious shoppers. According to the Yellow Pages Association, 60% of the end users looking for a plumber or an air conditioning contractor in the Yellow Pages have to make a decision because they either have no name in mind or have two or more names in mind.
Second, most Yellow Pages ads fail to differentiate one business from another. You could swap the business name on most ads, and consumers wouldn’t notice any difference. Malone relies on the directory publisher’s design services to create his ads. “I’m paying for it, so I might as well use it.”
Would You Like Curry with Your Order, Sir?
Many directory publishers have moved their ad creation to India and Pakistan. This saves money for the publisher, but the ads rarely help a business attract the highest value customers. (I'm being kind.)
Professional Ad Design Services
Wise business owners can take control of their Yellow Pages ad design by using an independent designer. Because of the nuances of effective Yellow Pages advertising, selecting a designer with directory experience is critical. Mistakes will cost you for the life of the directory.
“Creating a high performing Yellow Pages ad takes effort, but it pays off handsomely. It has to capture attention and communicate high levels of trust, uniqueness, and quality,” says Joe Brown, President of Kenyon Design Group, a Carlsbad, California company specializing in Yellow Pages and web design services. “Directory companies offer free ad design, but that free ad can be very expensive because it attracts lower quality callers.”
Captain Electric’s Solution
Scott Glenn, General Manager of Captain Electric, a Salt Lake City based electrical contractor found a solution through Success Group International (SGI), a Clayton, MO based company offering support services to plumbers, HVAC, electricians and roofers. SGI created a series of Yellow Pages ads for Captain Electric that have continually attracted high caliber customers.
Sized Right
Captain Electric uses a full-page ad that appears to have a column of listings down the left side. Closer inspection shows that the listings are actually tongue-in-cheek ads for Captain Electric. The pseudo in-column ads have copy such as, “My husband tried to install the new ceiling fan and nearly killed himself in the process…”
By breaking with the traditional square ad with a heavy border, Captain Electric’s ad interrupts the end user, which is the first step to getting the ad read.
Powerful Headline
Captain Electric’s ad is unlike most Yellow Pages ads because it is consumer focused and thought provoking.
“Seven frustrating things electricians do to drive you crazy and how Captain Electric solves them.”
Average ads use the company name as the headline. In contrast, this ad immediately attracts “solutions oriented” shoppers by promising information enabling better decisions.
The sub-headline compels the consumer to read further. “What you should know before calling any electrician.”
Copy rich content
The body of the ad offers seven consumer benefits in two easy-to-read columns. Many companies offer similar services, but Captain Electric describes why each benefit is important.
Benefits over Price
Captain Electric promises upfront pricing, but does not mention low prices or discounts. Instead, every aspect of this ad highlights consumer benefits and building trust. You get the feeling that this company has thought through the relationship from the consumer’s perspective and is doing the right things.
Scott Glenn comments that most Yellow Pages ad sales reps have discouraged him from using this approach, but Glenn sticks to his guns. This ad works, and we believe that it attracts a high number of qualified leads. “Customers often tell me that they read every word of the ad. It’s not often that you hear that from a Yellow Pages caller.”
Appear local
When hiring in-home service companies, consumers overwhelmingly prefer local companies. To appear local in multiple cities, have separate phone numbers for each community you serve. The phone numbers all forward into your switchboard, but the customer gets the message that if you have a local number, the tech won’t drive as far.
Research on over 77,000 Yellow Pages ads using metered telephone lines found that ads with multiple local phone numbers received many more calls than ads with only one local number.
Ads with only a single toll-free number received the fewest calls. Having both local and toll free tends to increase call counts slightly.
Begin with the End in Mind
All good advertising results from identifying a specific action that you want from a specific group of people. Once you get clear on your ultimate objective, then you can design an ad program to achieve that goal.
About the author:
Dick Larkin, The Small Business Commando is an expert on Yellow Pages and Online Marketing for local businesses. He may be reached at Dick@DickLarkin.com |
