Sometimes, we have advised clients to increase their stake in the directories. Many more times we have advised them to reduce their exposure, or eliminate it all together from their “advertising” mix.
Some clients accepted our advice, many more agreed with our assumptions but didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to step away from the phone directory punchbowl.
Saying no to the directories is no easy task. The emotional distress alone is enough to put most business people in group therapy for the rest of their lives. Dropping Yellow Pages advertising creates physical and mental symptoms much worse than alcohol or heroin withdrawal: sleepless night after sleepless night, wondering whether your business could possibly ever survive without Yellow Page advertising. In fact, most business people we have encountered feel it is better just to pay the enormous monthly fees than to sacrifice emotional harmony and possibly suffer from some harmful physical manifestations.
Perennial questions and outrageous misstatements of facts from grown, well educated adults always fascinated me. “Do you have any data on companies who have survived without Yellow Pages?” “Yes, but in our industry you have to be in the directories or you will cease to exist.” “I heard of a company that dropped their Yellow Pages and that was the last time their plant was ever seen again!”
So, why the tremors? Because you have been taught – read “sold” – by some of the best, most highly trained, sophisticated salesmen in the business world. The directories’ well schooled pitchmen made it abundantly clear to the business world that directory advertising will grow your business. Without it, your chances of survival were slim to none.
It was a simple, consistent, “advertising” program businesses could purchase for a monthly fee and then forget because the big directory companies were looking after your results. A very simple, but effective proposition. How effective was their story? When starting a business, the second most important startup function – after acquiring a telephone number – was to purchase your phone directory advertising.
And every year at renewal time, they injected a new deal or two into your veins just to keep you hooked. “Extra full page free for this year, then only a 20% increase each year for the next five years till you reach full payment.” “Color in all ads for free this year, but, of course, we will have to charge for it next year.” “Multiple listings for free for this year.” “Purchasing our new 800 number call-tracking services will prove our effectiveness.” One injection after another, until after many years the multiple needle sticks turned your wallet black and blue.
You were now hooked on so many special deals it was impossible to keep track of them, much less understand where your “program” was at any point in time. Be honest, how incredibly hard is it to outline your business’s Yellow Pages commitment? Try it sometime. It can’t be done.
Oh, and what about the bottom line goal which everyone so conveniently forgot? Did you – or could you – track new business from the directory? As a result of your puppy dog loyalty and your continuous, huge dollar commitment to the phone directories, how many more customers did you acquire? What? I can’t hear you. So if adding new features to your directory plan didn’t work, pulling out shouldn’t be a problem, right? Wrong.
Times have changed. The “big dog” phone directories have a worthy competitor who does deliver. BUT, pulling out of their books to get there will not be easy.
(Next … Part II: Saying Goodbye Is Never Easy … What Do You Mean I Can’t Cut Back?)
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