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Clearly, the Yellow Pages model is more expensive while also being significantly less flexible and scalable than online search engines.
3. Differentiation vs. Directory
- As a business owner, the last thing I would do is give
my prospects a detailed list of my competitors, including
addresses and phone numbers. But that is exactly what the
Yellow Pages do. Using search engines, you can
differentiate yourself from everyone else. So when the
ideal client is looking for what you do, they find you,
not all your competitors.
4. The Future Big Winner in Search
... Local Firms! The
traditional success model for winning online has been the
ability to sell your product or service nationally or
internationally. However, local or regional firms could
not leverage the national and international traffic that
search engines brought because they were only licensed or
had services available in a specific city, state or
region. Based on these trends there are five things you need to do today to differentiate you from your competition. We suggest that you change your strategy and reallocate your budget as follows: 1. Look at your Yellow Page investment - What did it cost you last year and what business came directly from it? If the numbers work, keep doing it. However if the answer to this question is "I don't know", we have a suggestion. Keep the yellow pages ad, just make it smaller. Take the 50% you save on your budgeted yellow page fees and use it to directly drive online prospects to your company. If you are satisfied with your results with yellow pages, take 20-30% of your current budget to be online. As phone books and directories continue to diminish in value, you will be ahead of the curve. 2. Have your own website - If you are in a directory and it has created a simple site for you, don't worry about tracking traffic, you probably aren't getting any. Make sure you have your site set up as your own, and that people can find you through normal search engines, not just through the directory. Also, remember that if clients find you through directories, you are introducing them to all your competitors. Be careful. 3. Measure - Look at your website. You should install a counter to know how many people come to your site. If you are signed up with an online or directory service, get your numbers from them. You will probably be surprised with the low amount of visitors and leads you get. If the directory provider can't (or doesn't want to) get you your performance numbers, fire them! 4. Add Relevant Location Text to your Site - People today are using search engines to find what you do in your city. Make sure that the search engines can easily know your address, city, state, zip, and even area code. If you have areas that you specialize in, make sure location info are on those pages too. Realize that yellow page books and yellow page online directories do not differentiate you from everyone else. Make sure your site tells what you do, where you are located and invites the client to take action with your firm. Search engines are the future: the question is - are you are going to be a player or a spectator? Good Selling Effective advertising is largely based on getting your message in front of your potential customers when they're willing to listen. Both forms of advertising do that, but the Web clearly allows you to say a lot more to those customers and to say it more frequently. We think the anonymity of online shopping and research should not be ignored. Consumers prefer being informed before talking to a sales person, even if they plan on making their purchase off-line. For example, car buyers are researching the fair price for the car they're interested in purchasing/leasing before they go to a dealership. If your website ranks high enough in search engines to be found by your potential customers, then it proves to your customer that you can handle their business, you'll generate well-qualified and cost effective leads for your business.
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*Note: this is based on a small Georgia community. |
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