In today’s world with so many ways to get information, is there any kind of return on investment to the companies creating and distributing phone books?
Some people were sad earlier this year when the Encyclopedia Britannica went out of print. I can’t say I was one of them. Growing up we had a set of encyclopedia’s that were ancient. I rarely used them. As I got older I always went to the public library for the latest sources.
Apparently most people only open them one time a year and a set costs $1,400. There’s been lots of “news” about it, however this post gave the most interesting information about it.
What I want to know is, when will phone books die? What a waste of time, paper, and money. Mine get delivered to the front door and go right out the back door to the recycle bin. I’ve signed up for a few “do not want phone book lists” and mostly don’t get them any more.
I was at a small retail story recently and in came a person to deliver new phone books. The people at the front couldn’t figure out what to do with them. I felt sorry for the person delivering them because I had a hard time envisioning anyone excitedly receiving them.
I suppose there is a segment of society that still uses and needs phone books, but I really wonder how many?
July 23, 2012 at 6:04 am
For the 7 out o10 US adults who still use the books, they’ll be around. For those who would like to reduce or eliminate their delivery, a simple solution: http://www.yellowpagesoptout.com.
This site is quick and easy and is publisher supported, so no preciouse tax dollars are being spent. The Yellow Pages are still a great way to connect local businesses with new customers and our industry is proud of it’s environmental stewardship and for details about our activities, go to http://www.localsearchassociation.org.
July 22, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Dennis Fromholtzer works with a lot of the call tracking data the industry amasses. As you can see from this recent research, the results have been startling: http://adp.org/sites/default/files/YP%20Calls%20Increase%20by%2017.pdf
Here is some additional data from his research which does note that there has been some shift online: http://www.marquettegroup.com/key-research-findings-on-the-shift-toward-digital-media/
Market Authority also does some direct research, not online survey’s, to get deeper into usage results, especially the whole perception that people “never” use print: http://news.yahoo.com/185-000-interviews-market-authority-inc-announces-american-090224878.html
There is no doubt that we all have a lot more options these days when it comes to information on local SMB’s, and some categories have clearly become more online centric, e.g. travel. But in more rural areas, print YP still brings exceptional returns. Even in the more urban areas, advertisers are finding that one call from a print YP ad is yielding as much if not more business than 35+ clicks online.
If you aren’t using print YP anymore, well, I would still challenge you that in many cases I can find the answer quicker and with more relevant, useful information than you can online when it comes to local businesses. And much of what you are finding online is coming from the work of industry reps working with those businesses. I don’t think its print OR online, it’s really print AND online YP that are still working for these local SMB’s. If it wasn’t, why would so many continue to spend money in these products???
Ken Clark
July 20, 2012 at 11:52 am
“Waste of time, paper, and money” — for whom? Call tracking results from ads with unique telephone numbers in those books has shown a 15% YOY increase in calls so someone must be using them. 75% of adults use them at least once a year. And when you do your Googling for things online, where do you think all of that data comes from?
I think if you’d talk to the millions of SMB’s using those books year in and year out you might be singing a different tune.
July 21, 2012 at 1:23 am
Hi Kenc,
Thanks for your comment. Do you have a reference for any of these stats? I’d be curious to read more on that. I’d think there would be more ROI from SEO or SEM work.
Honestly, I haven’t used a phone book in seven or eight years and the SMBs I know do not advertise in the yellow pages. And I guess you are right, if I had time to talk to millions of them I might find some that do. 🙂
John