"Important Research Into Yellow Pages
Advertising Shows You How To Make Your Ad A Real Winner And Wipeout Your
Competition"
by Steve Hackney
Most people fail with their Yellow Pages
advertising because they don't understand the principles of Yellow Pages
advertising.
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In fact this advertising medium suffers from what I call
the 'ad copy syndrome.' Basically this means people create their ads
like everyone else's because they assume incorrectly that that's the
best way to create them!
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When you study some very valid research on
Yellow Pages advertising you'll see exactly what you should and shouldn't do.
In fact much of the research dispels many myths and preconceived ideas about
Yellow Pages advertising.
I've listed below the most relevant research.
I've then included a small "Side Bar" where I add my own observations and
comments. Please read each note carefully…
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1. 60% of those who pick up the directory make an
immediate purchase (Mangel 1992) |
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This is no surprise to me - except I
think the figure is higher. If you ever needed any proof about the use of
directory advertising to attract new clients or customers this should be proof
enough! |
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2. "The more information contained in the ad the
better as long as the copy remains readable" Gerald L Lohse (1997). More
importantly Lohse found that the probability of selecting a business increased
as the number of words in the ad increased! |
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Surprised? Most advertisers think
people won't read lots of information. They're wrong - very wrong. People in
the "Direct Marketing" industry have known this for years. If someone is
interested in what you're selling they'll read as much information as possible.
It's your job to give them this information. |
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3. After graphics, colour has the smallest impact
on choice. Gerald L Lohse (1997) |
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Two gems in this one. What it's saying
is forget about graphics in your ad (why even bother using a designer - 'cos
that's all you'll get - nice fancy graphics'). Secondly this shows that colour
in an ad has only a small impact on the consumers choice of business. This fact
can save you thousands of dollars. |
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4. Directory advertising increases the
effectiveness of television advertising from 7.7% to 28.2%, newspaper
advertising from 23.6% to 42.4% and radio advertising from 4.2% to 25.3% - 1996
Media Impact Study, National Directory Monitor. |
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This basically shows the combined
effect of directory advertising on your other marketing tools. I call this the
'Combo Effect.'
Hopefully you don't just rely on
directory advertising for your business growth. Even with an extremely
effective directory ad (you'll have one soon) the success of your business will
be multiplied depending upon the additional marketing tools you use.
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5. Consumers noticed over 93% of quarter page
display ads, but only 26% of the plain listings, therefore the larger the ad
the more likely people are to notice the ad - Consumer Eye Movement Patterns On
directory Advertising - Gerald L Lohse 1996 |
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In case you ever wondered - size does
matter. I agree in principle to these results, but don't forget, a big ad with
the wrong information will never out pull a small ad with all the right
information. |
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6. 62% of people look at more than one ad when they
reference the directory. On average people look at 5.3 ads before deciding
which business to call. And 79% of people want more information from the ads -
Statistical Research Inc (SRI) |
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Two sides of the coin to consider here.
38% of people look at just one ad, which means your ad better grab attention
quickly. (You do this using an all powerful headline). Second it shows if they
are looking at 5 ads before they make a choice, you must give them a reason to
choose you over and above your competition. The only way you can do this is by
giving the consumer enough information to make an informed decision.
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VERY IMPORTANT
At this point I want to
mention the importance of differentiating your business from the competition.
If people on average look at 5 ads, and can't
differentiate between them (this happens 90% of the time, what they do is
choose to call all 5 or maybe ring 3 or 4 of these businesses.
Straight away you've limited your success. But
there's something even more important. If the consumer can't differentiate
between the businesses they ring, what's the one thing that enables them to
differentiate? That's right. They choose a business based on PRICE, and that's
NOT their fault it's YOUR FAULT!
What does all this mean?
This research tells us the following…
- Your ads must contain lots of
copy/information
- Size does matter - your ads can't be
any less than a quarter column display ad
- Graphics and colour aren't that
important
- You must grab the attention of the
consumer as soon as possible. This is done with a headline!
- You must differentiate yourself from
your competitors so the consumer chooses you above all others
Now's the time to start making changes to the way you market
and advertise your business. These results may sound radical to you - almost
unbelievable, but if you want success with your yellow Pages advertising this
is what must be done. The choice is yours!
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© Hackney Marketing Ltd
Steve
Hackney has spent 10 years and over $800,000 to discover the secrets of how
service businesses can generate 5 or 6 figure profits every single month.
Better still he reveals every closely guarded secret in his amazing free
mini-course titled, "How To Skyrocket The Sales And Profits Of Your Service
Business - Closely Guarded Secrets Revealed."
You can get Steve's FREE 5 part mini
marketing course by clicking...
http://www.powermarketingstrategy.com/a/?id=8B6D57&s=1&b=2 |
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