In my post on Wednesday, I briefly mentioned the announcement by Yell Group, the U.K.’s largest Yellow Page publisher, that it will introduce a smaller compact version of its print directory in June to replace its traditionally larger format.
According to the company, the planned change in size—a reduction of five centimeters in height and four centimeters in width—represents the most significant revamp of the directory since it was first produced in the U.K. more than forty years ago.
In addition to its new size, the revised format incorporates various design changes, a new “local listings” feature, and an easier-to-read font. All editions of the directory will be produced with recycled fibre content and virgin pulp from sustainably managed forests, and are 100% recycleable.
Yell said its research found that 85% of users said they would prefer to receive the compact format directory rather than the standard A4 size. Additionally, research showed that usage increased 7% with the new format, which users found easier to read, use, and manage.
Yell’s announcement comes just days after the firm reported better-than-expected financials and said small businesses advertisers were beginning to return to market. According to the firm’s chief financial officer John Davis, “We are beginning to see a return of customer confidence.”
We look forward to seeing how small business takes advantage of this new format and the opportunities it provides in reaching their target consumers.
In my “Locals Only” column this month, I discuss the impact of recent announcements by major tech, online, and mobile companies regarding their plans for local search:
In mid-January, Google’s Mobile division announced that it is upgrading its search engine on Android-powered devices and the iPhone to present results reflective of the current or last locations of it users, while Twitter began testing a local trends tool which allows users to see trends in their local countries and cities in addition to those for the entire site.
According to a recent patent submission, Yahoo is in the process of developing a mobile local search application that will take into account a user’s location, the time of day, information in the user’s calendar, past behaviors, weather, social networking data, information about the proximity of a social contact, and other data when providing results.
AT&T told Forbes about its plans to launch buzz.com, a new local social search site that will reportedly let users poll their friends and ask experts for advice about different nearby businesses.
And Apple announced its new iPad tablet, which incorporates iPhone apps, Google Maps, a built-in compass, WiFi, and wireless data capabilities – allowing users to access location-based information from wherever they are.
With so much change, I think it’s important to reflect on how these new technologies and services will affect our industry— and what our small business clients will need to do to keep up.
There’s no doubt that as media continues to fragment, and marketing tools become more complicated and sophisticated, many opportunities and challenges lies ahead for the small business owner.
For my thoughts, check out my Search Engine Land column here.
I recently took some time to review the January issue of the National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB) Small Business Economic Trends report, which tracks the latest developments in small business sales, employment and other factors. The data, which is updated on a monthly basis, is clear: despite overall improvements in the economy, small business optimism and growth remains stalled.
Somewhat buried in the report, however, is one statistic that I think is important to call out. Last December, the single most important problem facing small businesses—by a 14-point margin—was poor sales. In fact, sales concerns are at an all-time high since NFIB began tracking the statistic in 1986.
Essentially, small businesses are making a plea for help. And no one is in a better position to help them generate sales than us. More than ever, we need to activate the new and innovative solutions that we’ve been building to help these business owners take advantage of the slowly improving economy.
Consider the stats: our print and online Yellow Pages products were used almost 17 billion times in 2009, produce one of the strongest ROI’s of any medium and are the most effective medium at generating new customers. We can help small businesses generate those much needed sales better than anyone.
While we can’t singlehandedly restore confidence to the small business sector, Yellow Pages can play an important role in its recovery. Our success will be the success of the small and medium-size business.
For our local business advertisers, generating leads is key. Data shows that 85% of Yellow Pages’ shoppers follow-up with a purchase after searching the “florists” heading … and more than 40% of these shoppers will end up purchasing from a florist that they have not used before.
Another interesting factoid about this heading is that a greater number of consumers – about 31% – consult this heading from work either via print or Internet Yellow Pages compared to other headings – about 22%.
If you’re among the 28 million who will purchase flowers this year, take a look at the tips below from our friends at the Society of American Florists to extend the life of your bouquet:
If your roses arrived in plastic water tubes, remove them before arranging.
Remove any leaves that will be under water, taking care not to damage the green bark.
Re-cut stems by removing 1-2 inches with a sharp knife.
Immediately after cutting, place roses in a clean, deep vase of water containing a flower food provided by your local florist.
Check the flower food solution daily and make sure to keep it full, clean, and fresh. Replace the solution if it becomes cloudy.
Even with such TLC, your flowers are likely to last just a few days, but the ROI for “florists” advertisers remains strong year-round. The “florists” heading is the 18th most referenced among more than 4,000 different Yellow Pages headings and generates over $30,000 in annual sales revenue per advertiser.
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.
With all the hustle and bustle and entertaining of the holidays, it’s no surprise many of us don’t make it to the December movie blockbusters. Research tells us that many Americans turn to the Yellow Pages for help researching local theaters in January in an effort to catch up on the movies they missed – without the lines. The “Theaters” heading makes its second biggest splash of the year in November.
It should come as no surprise that “Theaters” is the 20th most referenced heading of more than 4,000. According to the 2008 Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Theatrical Statistics Report, the theater industry is a nearly $10 billion industry domestically. One thing you may not know however is that the motion picture community comprises primarily of small businesses and entrepreneurs. Of the over 115,000 businesses nationwide, 81 percent employ fewer than 10 people, according to an MPAA economic impact report, which is probably why so many consumers turn to the Yellow Pages for local listings. I imagine that percentage drastically increases when referencing performing arts and children’s theaters.
Some interesting findings on who is searching for theaters:
Over 96 million searches per year
Prior to opening the Yellow Pages, 43% of the users had a decision to make – that is, 16% did not have any name in mind and 27% had two or more names in mind (notably higher than the all-heading average)
Almost all (98%) of the references in this heading are for personal reasons
88% percent of consumers referencing the heading follow up with a ticket purchase
Finally, good news for theaters, the average Yellow Pages consumer spends $71 at the point of purchase
I came across this article on Search Engine Land today from product marketing expert Lore Weimann, “Protecting Your Brand On The Online Yellow Pages” advising business owners to review their listings online and take a few steps to ensure they “get the best exposure on local yellow pages search” for their brands.
Weimann’s tips include:
Running a search of your top generic terms on the popular yellow page search pages and make note of the results including yellowbook.com, yellowpages.com, and superpages.com.
Being sure to advertise on your top terms.
Controlling your resellers and/or affiliates so that their advertising efforts, ad copy, and offers, are consistent with your own.
While I agree with this advice, I think it also highlights the need – more than ever – that yellow pages representatives provide informed marketing counsel to their customers.
As an industry, we’ve spent the last year transforming our approach to a more customer-centric consultancy model. Taking that extra half hour to walk through the what’s and why’s of a robust online search program really helps our customers achieve the maximum results online.
As Weimann notes – the local search space is growing every day. It is also changing by the minute, and the more guidance we can offer to deliver results in an integrated print, online and mobile world, the better.
Some conversation on Web 2.0 in San Francisco popped up in my news alert, shedding light on how one top media executive views the outlook for Yellow Pages in the digital space.
In an interview, AOL’s new CEO Tim Armstrong said he believes that Internet Yellow Pages “will become more important in the future than less.”
“I think in the future the [online] Yellow Pages business, if that’s what we’re calling it – how local businesses market themselves – will be exponentially better than it is today.”
Armstrong noted that the current Internet Yellow Pages experience is much like the early days of web search, when consumers had shifted their habits much faster than advertisers. He added that a variety of small companies were working on interesting solutions to further adapt Yellow Pages for the web.
Armstrong is no stranger to the local online experience. He founded Patch.com, a Web site that “digitizes towns” – putting everything from police, fire, and school information, to business and event listings online.
Currently, Patch is available for 12 towns in New Jersey and Connecticut, with 11 new towns planned for launch in the next three months. The site has started to sell local advertising through banner ads, classifieds, and other models.
Here’s Armstrong’s full interview. The Yellow Pages mention is at 21:30.
Following up on our post about advertisers’ growing interest in social media, I wanted to share this new study by BIA/Kelsey that finds small and mid-size businesses are increasingly leveraging social media in their marketing approaches.
Here are a couple interesting stats from the research:
32% plan on including social media in their marketing strategies during the next year through social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Specifically, 9% are currently using Twitter to marketing their brands.
39% plan to include customer ratings or reviews on their Web sites, 23% plan to incorporate video on their sites, and 31% plan to include links or ads placed on social networking sites or blogs.
The use of social media is more prevalent among younger businesses: 16% using social media have been in business for three years or less, while only 2% using social media have been in business for more than 11 years.
Social media is continuing to attract larger online audiences. Facebook’s U.S. growth increased by 8.6% in September 2009 to 88.3 million visitors, according to an analysis by InsideFacebook.com, which tracks Facebook’s self-reported demographic statistics for the U.S. market. Twitter had 23,5 million U.S. monthly users in September 2009, up more than 700% from its unique audience in September 2008, according to Compete.com, a web analytics company.
At Kelsey’s DMS conference last month, social media was a big topic of interest, and I think the findings of the survey show why. A third of small businesses plan to include social media next year, and it’s only likely to grow from there. This important shift in how newer companies are prioritizing their marketing strategies is a sign of bigger things to come, and a critical trend for Yellow Pages companies to consider. After all, shouldn’t we be there when the consumer comes looking for information?
In my “Locals Only” piece on Search Engine Land this week, I take a look at the national healthcare debate and the continued importance of local search to connect individuals and families with the right medical professionals.
Regardless of where national health care is headed, all Americans share the same challenge: finding good healthcare providers. According to a recent study by Knowledge Networks, 14 percent of all Yellow Pages usage, or roughly one out of every seven, is related to healthcare. In 2008, there were 2.4 billion references to healthcare headings. And in recent years, there has been a proliferation of vertical Web sites that offer local search tools, ranging from Angie’s List and City Search to webMD Physician Finder.
This means that local healthcare professionals or practices wanting to build a clientele of patients will need to take stock of all the tools available to you, from print yellow pages, internet yellow pages, city listings sites and local search verticals to determine which will reach your intended audience.
You can read my full piece at Search Engine Land here.
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