Inspired by a list of the Top 25 Things Vanishing from America (which includes Yellow Pages at number 24) Chris Silver Smith asks “So, when will print yellow pages ultimately go the way of the dinosaur?” From his article -
“I’ve written before about how print yellow pages usage is decreasing due to the internet and mobile phones, and even internet yellow pages usage may be dropping due to newer generations becoming less aware of what yellow pages are. Others such as Bill Gates have also predicted the end of the print yellow pages while analysts such as those with The Kelsey Group have only predicted a sharper decline in usage of print YP this year, compared with last.”
If you follow the discussions on the BizGeek forum at SalonGeek (where advertising and marketing are frequent topics) you’ve probably noticed that more and more salon owners are relying on their websites and/or internet advertising as their main source of new business. So, is Yellow Pages a dinosaur for salon and spa advertising?
Think Local, Act Local
It seems likely that people will use YP less and less but, as we wrote in our article on Getting Through the Credit Crunch, salon owners should think local and act local. It can be useful to monitor global and national trends, but your business is very localised - your customers probably come from a catchment area of only a few square miles. What matters to your salon business is what is happening in those few square miles - which may or may not match the larger trends.
Test and measure, test and measure…
So, how do you decide whether to advertise in Yellow Pages? Test and measure -
- Ask every new customer how they heard of you, and keep track of the results. Don’t just track the totals, look at the trends as well. Which sources are increasing and which are decreasing? This information will become your “Marketing Bible” - over time, it will tell you where to spend your advertising budget to get best results.
- Do a survey. Go out to your local shopping centre (or a local nightspot) and look for people like your existing customers - similar age, similar fashion-style, similar level of income. Do a quick survey (and give out some flyers or vouchers as an incentive) and ask them where they would look if they wanted to find a new salon, spa, nail technician, tanning service… Have a list of options (Yellow Pages, local newspaper, magazines, internet, etc.) and ask them to pick the ones they would be most likely to use.
Find out what your kind of customers, in your local area would use, and don’t be swayed by global trends or persuasive advertising reps!
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