Yellow Page Extortion
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Category: Carpet Cleaners Discussion
Forum Name: Business Marketing Advertising and Promotion Discussion
Forum Description: How do you successfully promote your business? Offer and receive advertising tips
URL: https://www.kleenkuip.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2885
Printed Date: 27/April/2024 at 7:54am
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Topic: Yellow Page Extortion
Posted By: pilediver
Subject: Yellow Page Extortion
Date Posted: 13/September/2006 at 12:48am
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I sat down with my local Yellow Page (now owned by Verizon) representative today and discussed my intentions for their next publications.
He informed me that, as of this year, any new accounts with Yellow Pages have to pay the first THREE MONTHS billings at the time of booking their advertising. He said this applies to all new advertisers. If a company was planning on being aggressive with their YP advertising that would be a lot of money out without receiving any benefit for six or seven months. The book closes in October and the publication comes out end of February or early March. I know there are lots of opinions about YP both pro and con but these guys are making my expenditure decisions way easier. Any thoughts? ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |
Replies:
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 13/September/2006 at 9:24pm
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location location location...lol ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: jtuseo
Date Posted: 13/September/2006 at 10:48pm
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advertize on the internet. Use the yellow pages to wrap fish ------------- WWW.PREFERREDCARPETCLEANING.COM |
Posted By: pilediver
Date Posted: 13/September/2006 at 11:05pm
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I have asked many of my customers if they use the internet to source local services and many do.
I will be putting a lot of effort into my website and into seach optimization. ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |
Posted By: Michael
Date Posted: 14/September/2006 at 4:56pm
Optimization is a real project. Even if you throw a lot of money at it, it will take awhile to score high on a Google search. But it's worth it. |
pilediver wrote:Posted By: dennis_is_ok
Date Posted: 14/September/2006 at 11:09pm
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nobody uses the book but they do use
- http://canada411.yellowpages.ca/ |
Posted By: pilediver
Date Posted: 14/September/2006 at 11:17pm
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I agree and you don't have to buy big advertisements to make an impact in this section. It puts the big spenders on par with the guy who is smart enough to say the right stuff in the right way. That is exactly what I intend on doing. Their extortion just caused them to lose 75% of what I was going to spend and that was a lot of money. Now I will spend it other ways and problably spend less of it.
I think there will be a big backlash to this policy. I only use the YP to look at my competitors ads. I use the internet to look up services on Canada 411 or a localized Google search. Screw YP even if it works I will go another way. ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 14/September/2006 at 11:38pm
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pile...yp is just a piece of the pie... you need it to become a whole pie...
YP
Direct Mail
Vehicle Advertising
Word of Mouth
Telemarketing
you need everything to get good flow.....but it will cost money... ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: jtuseo
Date Posted: 15/September/2006 at 10:17pm
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This is my formula
Year round Local newspapers, Internet, Mail post cards to my customers, Door hangers in April and before the holidays & during the slow months. I also advertize on the back of store receipts at waldbaums & stop and shop. I did that this year and got 350 new customers. I also live in Nyc I have unlimited amount of customers ------------- WWW.PREFERREDCARPETCLEANING.COM |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 16/September/2006 at 11:33pm
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is 350 customers a lot????
------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: Michael
Date Posted: 17/September/2006 at 12:51am
| The better question is, how much of a return did you make on your investment? |
Posted By: pilediver
Date Posted: 17/September/2006 at 2:25am
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There is no doubt that YP can offer a return on investment. However given the opportunities with the internet and the "tuned marketing" that we have available to us from proven commodities like Howard Partridge and others I can choose to not rely on the YP like I was intending. The YP policy of new businesses paying 3 months up front is discriminatory and doesn't make good business sense to me. In my YP marketplace you have to pass 5 double page advertisements before you get to several full page advertisements. To get visibility in this crowd costs lots of money. For my market that amounts to spending approximately $40,000 per year of which $10,000 must be paid up front six months ahead of the books being delivered.
I think I can spend it more effectively by using a mix of direct marketing, customer base referral marketing and a well done website that is search optimized. I will still do a small amount of YP advertising because I have to. YP books are becoming less preferred by many prospective customers in favor of YP web and phone directory internet and Google searches. Smaller advertisers that understand the importance of effective copy in advertisements and content on their websites can in today’s paradigm be on an even footing or ahead of the big dogs in their markets in the quest for new customers. ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 17/September/2006 at 12:44pm
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The YP is holding up someones couch...being used as a high chair......some times a plant stand....sometimes a step stool...or it's in a closet with all the years gone pass.....
People only use the damn thing when they have an emergency....plus you have pages and pages of competition.... if your ad doesn't stand out from the rest you are toast....
full or half page...or just don't bother..
rule of thumb....... most people call the biggest ads first
go big or go home ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: jtuseo
Date Posted: 17/September/2006 at 8:55pm
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your right. To make you laugh I did a small $80 permonth ad in the yp and to my surprise i landed 1 $250 job. She then refered me to a $275 job. I know that will be the only work I get from that yp ad though, but I landed two new cuties. ------------- WWW.PREFERREDCARPETCLEANING.COM |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 17/September/2006 at 9:11pm
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well you did great...you might break even ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: carpetologist
Date Posted: 18/September/2006 at 1:01pm
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The Flip Side
I too struggled with Yellow Pages for years wondering if it really ever paid off. But I can see Yello Pages rationale in asking for three months up-front. In our market by the time Yello Pages hits the street 20% of the advertisers are all ready out of business. Now, who is stiffing who?
The fact is that our industry has a very low rating with the Yellow Pages business office.
If you are not sales orientated or a mover and a shaker in promoting your business and shy the Yellow Pages seems to be your only option. ------------- Kleen Kuip Supply Mart Inc. http://www.kleenkuip.com - New & Used Professional Carpet Cleaning Machines, Restoration Equipment, Training, Service and Supplies |
Posted By: nightrider
Date Posted: 18/September/2006 at 3:18pm
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If the business world would wake up and show a little intestinal fortitude and turn the advertising tables on " THE YELLOW PAGES " with a twist by demanding a 3 month trial upon agreement of cancellation of telephone number should the trial period prove unsuccessful......Then and only THEN would you see The Yellow Pages change their advertising practices and dictatorship bully tactics.............................. just my way to vent ( I HATE THE YELLOW PAGES (TELE DIRECT ) AND BELL CANADA
Nightrider
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Posted By: jtuseo
Date Posted: 19/November/2006 at 9:28pm
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It is extortion. ------------- WWW.PREFERREDCARPETCLEANING.COM |
Posted By: Kelvin Magee
Date Posted: 13/February/2007 at 11:03am
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What a waist of money. My ad has been in the phonebook YP (business card size) for a month & has netted me zilch. Word of month is the best advertising. Lastly I joined a fishing forum here locally & posted a discussion about carpet cleaning. (Offered the local fishermen a discount) 90 percent of my business comes from these guys on the fishing forum, because they refer me to someone else!!!!! ------------- accutech |
Posted By: Michael
Date Posted: 13/February/2007 at 11:38am
I think after this Yellow Pages experience, I'll just stick to specialized directories. But hey, that's great you found a good forum to get yourself business! Being a part of local groups and events is a great way to network without being at "networking events." I try to do the same thing--I got involved with a community theater company and met a guy who happened to run the local puppet theater. 67 year-old wool carpet. 800.00 for the cleaning and 250.00 maintenance cleanings every 3 months. |
Posted By: bryan
Date Posted: 13/February/2007 at 7:50pm
| Maybe you should stick it out. If the smaller business get out the fastest, the ones most likely with the cheapest prices. This will just generate more business for the bigger adds. I have quarter page and seems to work ok for me. Don't get much return in the slower months, but summers are great. There are still a lot of people that don't like to use the internet, and door hangers you have to compete with lower prices. So for me yellow pages has given me the most amount of work out of all the other avenues. |
Posted By: Fiber Sucker
Date Posted: 13/February/2007 at 10:24pm
I AGREE |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 13/February/2007 at 10:28pm
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smart thinking.....ad placement is also important ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: duckcountry
Date Posted: 16/February/2007 at 1:25am
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I got the call from the yellow pages today. "I don't suppose you could use more business yada yada yada". I told him I would not be interested. Sending a customer to the Yellow Pages is like going to a Speed Dating event. Your customer gets to find out about all your competition. Unless your ad is doing something that makes it jump off the page you are one of many. I would prefer the customer is focused on only me. That is not going to happen when I am grouped with all the me-toos out there. Face it. The only company guaranteed to make money off your ad in the yellow pages is the publisher of the yellow pages directory. Try this. Ask the salesman if he/she would sell the advertising space to you for a percentage of the business you GET from the ad? Whatever the answer is, that is your answer too. Doorhangers do well because - your ad has the exclusive attention of the prospect and I get at least 2 sales per hundred. If the phone book did that good .... yeah, right. |
Posted By: pilediver
Date Posted: 16/February/2007 at 1:48am
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You go Duck!! Get a good website built and pump it up with Google AdWords. ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |
Posted By: rah67123
Date Posted: 13/July/2007 at 9:31am
| Hey wait just a minute here, I am a carpet & Duct cleaner but I also am a sales rep for Verizon Yellow Pages. I agree that the price has been steep in the past but with the influx of other books coming into the market, Verizon has made alot of adjustments with the rate structure. Make sure that your ad answers some basic questions such as, Who you are, what you offer, your number, obviously, what makes you better than the others at what you do. Come up with a headline at the top of the ad for example, "Atlanta's Best Carpet & Duct Cleaning" Some businesses make the mistake of having the business name really big at the top. Catch the customers attention with good ad copy and they will read the ad. Nightrider mentioned adding the prices to the ad and this is something that I'm considering. |
Posted By: pilediver
Date Posted: 13/July/2007 at 1:52pm
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Sorry, I 'm not convinced. I got column listings with a little box in the column. Downsized from a full page - guess what? - business is up.
I still think I am beening ripped off for my in-column ad. ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |
Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 13/July/2007 at 5:08pm
YP is and always has been a rip off. Mostly price shoppers  ------------- 
The STD Meter |
Posted By: pilediver
Date Posted: 13/July/2007 at 5:59pm
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And impulse purchasers that can be lucrative but they are few and far between. ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |
Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 13/July/2007 at 6:01pm
Not enough to cover the cost of your ad  -------------
The STD Meter |
Posted By: pilediver
Date Posted: 13/July/2007 at 6:08pm
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I agree. ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |
Posted By: rah67123
Date Posted: 14/July/2007 at 10:21am
| Well I'm not going to argue with you because it sounds like you've got this marketing thing down to a science. Thats one reason that I dont like to post very often is because usually someone wants to argue with you on this board. Hey! my wife would love this. I'm not trying to sell you something, I'm not Ken Harris, I was just trying to point out some basic things. |
Posted By: pilediver
Date Posted: 14/July/2007 at 11:34am
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You will find most cleaners feel YP is a rip off and that is not an exageration. It is hard to call something on one hand a rip off or overpriced and on the other had a value.
They quit making real estate books for the realtors and they will eventually quit making phone books too for the very same reason. Web based advertising for me is far more effective and a good value. Ever noticed how big the ads are in a phone book for marketing and advertising agencies??????? ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |
Posted By: MR. STEAMER
Date Posted: 14/July/2007 at 4:22pm
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What I can't believe this topic is almost over a year old.
I have a one liner in the yellowpages this year... Like I said last year go big or go home...LOL not one call from the YP.. I have a friend that pays 200 bucks a month for a small ad...books at least 1 call a week...go figure ------------- www.mr-steamer.com |
Posted By: rah67123
Date Posted: 14/July/2007 at 9:32pm
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I believe that the yellow pages will give you a better return on your investment than any other type of advertising if it is done right. The next best is newspaper but talk about extortion, its shelf life is one day and then it ends up on the bottom of a bird cage. I just wish that I had the time to go out and talk to businesses like restaurants and hotels. Do any of you do this and/or telemarketing? |
Posted By: pilediver
Date Posted: 14/July/2007 at 9:51pm
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YP if done right costs about 2500 a month in my market - along with the other 6 companies who have also done it right - NO THANKS! ------------- http://www.expertcarpetcare.ca>Carpet Cleaning in Victoria BC |