Talking to a prospective client the other day about their Yellow Pages advertising which has cost them a packet but is not working for them very well.
They are a catering business. This is a category crying out for an integrated yellow pages and web strategy; a Yeb page. (I know you’d want to know that Yeb is also the Biblical name for the island of Elephantine).
Certain categories of business do not really need a Yeb page; carpet cleaning, air-conditioners and electricians for instance. But highly visual and aesthetic products/services should be taking maximum advantage. Catering is a prime example. When I book a caterer I want to know what it’s going to cost and I want to see what the food looks like. Only one Yellow Pages ad I looked at did this well.
When I book a caterer I’d like to see pictures of what they cooked last Saturday and an endorsement from the happy customer. I’d like to be able to check availability for the date I have in mind. I’d like to see pictures of ALL the menu items available and the prices along side. This requires someone in the business to be hot on the digital camera side of things but the rest is a piece of cake. As they say.
It is a slightly risky marketing tactic because only 40% of people use the web several times a week. So make sure you do it well and make sure your phone number is also prominent.
95% of businesses who place their web address in their Yellow Pages ad don’t actually promote it. It just sits passively at the bottom of the ad. People are used to seeing web addresses now; they’re just background noise.
Highly web savvy customers who are REALLY interested in your product MIGHT visit your web page but if your strategy is to use your web presence as a competitive advantage, give your readers a bit of a clue. “Pics of our dishes at www.dzcatering.com.au”. Or “All our prices on-line at www.dzcatering.com.au”.
Don’t say “visit our web page”. These are not tourists, they’re customers looking for relevant information.
