We frequently blog about the strong value that Yellow Pages’ integrated advertising options provide for businesses in their efforts to reach consumers.
If you aren’t familiar with QR code technology, it has to do with a matrix barcode, readable through QR scanners and mobile phones, that’s encoded with data. The barcode can include text, URL, or other data that provides the device with information or action items, like directing users to a specific website or downloading a file.
SuperMedia will use QR code in a variety of ways:
QR codes located on the cover and in the SuperYellowPages as advertisements promoting SuperMedia will prompt users to download the free SuperpagesMobile app.
SuperMedia ads with the QR codes in the SuperYellowPages will prompt users to register for the SuperGuarantee program.
QR codes on the back of SuperpagesDirect card packs will direct users to an array of local online coupons on Superpages.com.
The integration of QR technology will give SuperMedia print users more opportunities to take advantage of the company’s growing array of online and mobile offerings. For some, it may be the first time they’ve heard of SuperMedia’s mobile app or its online coupons site—and there couldn’t be an easier way for them to get on board.
I look forward to hearing more about how the QR code helps drive awareness for SuperMedia’s digital and mobile products, as well as the benefits it provides not only for consumers, but for our clients advertising with these new tools.
Dr. Dennis Fromholzer, president of CRM Associates, has been following Yellow Pages usage for many years. He sent to me this week some thoughts that sum up recent data regarding print usage. Thanks to Dennis for sharing his expert opinion with us.
A number of businesses, bloggers, media commentators, and even public officials are accepting or propagating the myth that “no one uses the print Yellow Pages anymore.” These statements typically are made based on personal experience or conversations with a few friends, and are largely made data-free. The usage and call tracking data tell just the opposite story. Data from multiple studies show that while print usage did drop in the past few years due to the recession, print directories are still widely used. In fact, as the economy has started to recover, usage of Yellow Pages has started to increase – completely contrary to the popularly held myth.
This post provides a high-level summary of the multiple studies of the trends in usage and in call response to Yellow Pages ads. The fact that multiple measures point to the same conclusion suggest that the result is real and not an aberration or artifact from a single study.
Several studies since the beginning of the year prove that Yellow Pages remain a vibrant, essential tool for consumers looking to find businesses. In a nutshell:
Total calls to Yellow Pages increased for both print and IYP in 2009 (CRM Associates 2010).
Calls per advertiser increased in 2009 for print display, space, and trade ads and for IYP ads (CRM Associations 2010 Metered Ad Study)
Calls either grew or were stable for 72% of top headings in 2009 compared with 82% of headings that showed a negative trend in 2008. (CRM Associates’ 2010 Metered Ad Study)
Compared with 10 years ago, 43% of the top 660 headings received at least as many references from print as 10 years ago; 33% (one third) of the headings received 20% or more print references than 10 years ago. (Knowledge Networks/SRI, CRM Associates)
The growth in usage of hundreds of headings clearly contradicts the suggestion that “there is a systematic migration of usage away from the print directories,” or that the Yellow Pages medium is “dying,” or that “no one uses the Yellow Pages anymore.” Rather, the fact that so many headings have experienced increased usage shows that the medium remains vibrant and relevant to today’s shoppers.
According to the story, SuperGuarantee—which promises consumers will be satisfied with services found in its listings—has helped fuel double-digital percentage growth in the number of people who use SuperMedia’s print directories in many cities across the U.S.
The program, introduced last year and expanded in March, ensures that customers of participating SuperGuarantee businesses can rely on SuperMedia to help resolve any service issues they experience—or SuperMedia will reimburse the customer up to $500 of the cost of labor for the service.
If SuperMedia’s newfound growth is any indication, print will remain an important component of local search as the industry continues to find new ways to bring value to the directory. It’s all part of the industry’s strategy of aligning print with increasingly popular digital and mobile platforms to create a truly integrated experience.
Today, I’m happy to see that our Australian member Sensis—which I cited in the article—also shares my view that generating local business visibility across various channels increases the opportunity for meaningful results.
In a post on the company’s blog, Speaking Sensis, Wayne Aspland discusses two recent studies which show that despite common perceptions, both digital and traditional media usage are up recently. As he explains, increases in online usage have not come at the expense of traditional usage – instead, digital and traditional usage have grown together.
Given this data, Wayne argues that “we should put an end to these phony media wars and start realizing we’re all in this together…because, clearly, that’s what consumers (and advertisers) want.”
In addition to capturing the greatest reach across media platforms for consumers searching for local businesses, results of the study—which cites data from Burke and comScore—indicated that print and Internet Yellow Pages generated approximately 16.9 billion combined references during the year. The study also found that Yellow Pages maintained high levels of consumer trust in its listings.
While reach and trust are both important indicators for evaluating Yellow Pages’ continued success as a visibility platform for local businesses in their communities, an additional key factor to consider has to do with what kinds of consumers Yellow Pages attract. Are these consumers who are interested in locating local businesses to make a purchase—and do they actually end up making purchases? Do they already know which businesses they’re looking for when they consult Yellow Pages, or are they using directories to find new businesses?
Today, we have new data from the study which show that the vast majority of consumers who consult print and Internet Yellow Pages sites for local business information are “ready to buy” after their search:
8 out of 10 Internet Yellow Pages searches were from people who said they were ready to buy, with 36% reporting they had made a purchase after finding a local business at an Internet Yellow Pages site, and an additional 44% saying they intended to make a purchase.
Approximately 8 out of 10 print Yellow Pages searches were from people who said they were ready to buy, with 39% reporting they had made a purchase after finding local business in a print Yellow Pages directory, and an additional 39% saying they intended to make a purchase.
Additionally, new data show that Yellow Pages platforms continue to attract new customers for local businesses:
40% of those who made a purchase said they found and made that purchase from a new company after reviewing local information on an Internet Yellow Pages site.
35% of those who made a purchase said they found and made a purchase from a new company after reviewing local information in a print Yellow Pages directory.
Of searches made by people who used Internet Yellow Pages, 37% said they had no company name in mind when they started their search.
Of references made by people who used print Yellow Pages, 34% said they had no company name in mind when they started their search.
For years, local businesses have relied on Yellow Pages to help them generate qualified new leads from consumers who are ready to buy products or services. These new data show that Yellow Pages’ print and online platforms continue to deliver on that promise. By implementing Yellow Pages’ hybrid approach, local businesses benefit from its unparalleled reach, trust, and ability to attract new customers who are willing to make purchases.
Last week I discussed the important role that age demographics play in determining which platform consumers use to search for local business information, according to the results of YPA’s recently released Local Media Tracking Study. Today I’d like to discuss additional results from our study which show above-average print Yellow Pages usage among Spanish-speaking consumers in the U.S.
Our study found that print Yellow Pages is the top individual source for Spanish-speaking consumers, when asked which media sources they used to search for local business information within the past year or past month. The results also showed that Spanish-speaking consumers said that print and Internet Yellow Pages were the source they last used, most used, and most preferred to search for local businesses.
Additionally, the report found that Spanish-speaking consumers are:
More likely than their English-speaking counterparts to indicate traditional media sources (newspapers, magazines, flyer/coupons) as the sources they last used, use most often, and prefer to use when searching for local businesses.
Significantly more likely to have no company in mind when searching for local business information.
More likely than their English-speaking counterparts (one-half vs. one-third, respectively) to indicate that when they made a purchase through Yellow Pages, they did so with a new company .
Twice as likely than their English-speaking consumers to view ads while using print Yellow Pages.
Back in January, I wrote a column for Search Engine Land which noted that marketers should always remember that media trends vary among different demographics. The data from our study shows that the growing Hispanic market in the U.S. lends itself to the print Yellow Pages product and that publishers who are not tapping into this market are missing a significant opportunity to attract new customers.
We all know that younger people are more likely to use search engines to find local businesses than their older counterparts. Here are the monthly reach numbers comparing use of search engines and print and Internet Yellow Pages:
That is significantly lower than search engines for these age cohorts, but considerably higher than what many might expect. The 35-54 age cohort is pretty much neck in neck—70% vs. 68% in the past month, and the print and Internet Yellow Pages combo is significantly higher for those aged 55 and above.
One other metric to keep in mind is disposable income. The Yellow Pages industry has positioned itself as the best source for generating qualified leads. By definition, a qualified lead is one where people are ready to make a purchase – in other words, they have the need and the resources to complete the sale.
Here is another chart from CNNMoney.com that takes a look at the median net worth of individuals by age group:
Age
<25
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
Net Worth
$1,475
$8,525
$51,575
$98,350
$180,125
$232,000
As you can see, the people in the print and Internet Yellow Pages “sweet spot” may not be the youngest consumers, but they have lots of disposable income. In other words—they’re the demographics that many local advertisers want to reach most.
Of course, we need to think about the industry’s long-term viability as today’s users age and gain more disposable income – and that’s why Yellow Pages companies are repositioning into a multi-platform approach for long-term viability.
Nearly two years ago, we began the process of reshaping how we collect Yellow Pages usage data. We wanted to create an index that measured Yellow Pages usage better than anything we had before, and to have the ability to compare that data with other sources of local information.
Today, I’m glad to say that hard work has paid off with the release of our first annual Local Media Tracking Study. Because this survey included 80% online interviews and 20% telephone interviews, I’m confident this reflects the population better than our previous survey, which was only conducted by telephone and focused solely on Yellow Pages usage.
Conducted by Burke, the study found that the Yellow Pages industry continues to have significant reach in local search, and that consumer trust in Yellow Pages remains strong. It also found that our reach and frequency grew between the first and second half of 2009, following the general economic trends we saw on a macro level.
Yellow Pages Products Capture Greatest Reach
In the survey, consumers were asked what sources they used in the last month to look up information to find a local business, or to look for a product or service in their local area.
In answer to that question, 65% said they used print and/or Internet Yellow Pages – more than any of the other sources. When analyzed individually, print Yellow Pages was 54% and Internet Yellow Pages was 33%.
Search engines scored 58%, followed by flyers/coupons, newspapers, and magazines. Because Yellow Pages companies have formed partnerships with search engines, it’s fair to say the Yellow Pages reach is quite high across a number of platforms.
Yellow Pages Continue to Maintain Consumer Trust
Trust has always been a big talking point for the Yellow Pages industry, and the data show why.
More than two-thirds of consumers (67%) said that print or Internet Yellow Pages are the source they trust most for finding local business information, compared to 33% for search engines.
When polled on accuracy of local business information, print and Internet Yellow Pages scored highest with 68%, compared to search engines with 32%.
Print and Internet Yellow Pages Generate 16.9 Billion References
In total, consumers referenced print and Internet Yellow Pages 16.9 billion times in 2009.
Separate research from comScore found that Internet Yellow Pages continued to chart growth, increasing from 4.6 billion searches in 2008 to 4.9 billion in 2009. Burke found that print Yellow Pages received 12 billion references in 2009.
The results also indicated growth in the reach (the number of U.S. adults who use Yellow Pages) and frequency (how often Yellow Pages are referenced per adult) in both print and Internet Yellow Pages between the first and second half of 2009:
The percentage who said they used print Yellow Pages within the last month increased 12 percent, from 51.5% in the first quarter to 57.6% in the fourth quarter.
Respondents also turned to print Yellow Pages more frequently as the year progressed. In the first quarter, there was an average of 0.93 references per U.S. adult per week. By the fourth quarter, that had grown 19 percent to 1.11 references per adult per week.
Internet Yellow Pages saw an even sharper 20% growth in reach during the year, from 31.6 percent in the first quarter to 37.9% in the fourth quarter.
The frequency of Internet Yellow Pages usage grew 24% from the first quarter (0.54 references per week per adult) to the fourth quarter (0.67 references per week per adult).
A Reflection on the Data
Overall, I’m pleased to see very solid performance by Yellow Pages. Of course, these results reflect the overall U.S. population, so there are differences between age groups and geographies. Not surprisingly, print Yellow Pages is less popular with the 18-24 crowd than other age categories, while print Yellow Pages reach is stronger with rural consumers than with urban and suburban. Internet Yellow Pages reach ranked highest with consumers under 55, and most popular with suburban users as compared to urban and rural.
I’ll blog more about these data points in the days and weeks ahead, but I believe they demonstrate a critical point: advertiser’s can benefit from the Yellow Pages industry’s new agency model – where depending on your business, target customer, and geographic location – you can work with your Yellow Pages rep to put together a program that will work best and focuses on the right kind of advertising. Whether that’s a display ad in the print directory, a video ad on an Internet Yellow Pages site, or a robust SEO/SEM program or sponsored YP listing in Bing – it’s up to you and your Yellow Pages rep to create a program that generates the sales the business needs to win.
Recently on this blog, we’ve focused on the growing importance of online and mobile opportunities for Yellow Pages companies and their small business advertisers. Recently, SuperMedia (formerly Idearc) emerged from bankruptcy with a commitment to developing those areas of its business.
But in Baltimore this month, the continued importance of print Yellow Pages as an marketing medium became clear after a legal battle emerged over which local law firm would be allowed to advertise on the back cover of this year’s directory.
The dispute, though unfortunate because it involved an error on the part of the local directory publisher, nonetheless emphasized the high regard small businesses still hold for print Yellow Pages.
While a number of hotel chains have discontinued the practice of providing Yellow Pages directories in each room, a newly released report from CRM Associates would indicate that this might be the wrong move. Data from Simmons Spring, 2009, suggests that frequent hotel guests are significantly more likely to use print directories than the average consumer.
Some of the findings from the Simmons data include:
Those who have stayed at a hotel/motel in the past 12 months are 30% more likely to be print yellow pages users than those who have not and 54% more likely to have used print yellow pages for business or travel purposes in the past 12 months.
Members of hotel frequent guest programs are 20% more likely to be print yellow pages users than those who are not and 22% more likely to have used print yellow pages for business or travel purposes in the past month.
Those who stay at hotels three or more times per year are 40% more likely to be print yellow pages users than those who do not stay at hotels and 84% more likely to have used print yellow pages for business or travel purposes in the past month.
42% of those that stay at hotels 11 or more nights per year have used print yellow pages directories in the past month at home; 20% have used print yellow pages while traveling or for business.
The message is clear: hotel guests, particularly frequent hotel guests, are above average users of print directories both personally and for business travel purposes. Not providing access to print directories in the hotels is likely to be a disservice to the hotel’s best customers. And who can afford poor customer service when business is slow?
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