Phone Book or My Company Website

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Created on Sunday, 10 July 2011 12:21
Written by Robert Woonacott

In the past few weeks we have seen an increase in our customers wanting to get away from the original way they do business, and that is simple to see why. I want to shine some light on this, and I really need to be very clear about these matters, and if you have a website out on the internet right now it would be your most money saving way to advertise your products and services, and if you don’t believe me here are some facts.

Grand Haven Oneline Marketing

  • 54% of consumers say they replaced the Phone book with the Internet
  • 1.8 billion searches made by consumers looking for local businesses every month
  • 43% of searches on Google include a geographic identifier like a city or a zip code
  • 70% of Internet users report using Search Engines  to find a local service
  • Offline sales influenced by consumers’ online browsing and research will increase by 12% over the next five years.

In a conversation the other day with a potential customer of mine who is spending upwards of over $56, 00.00 a year in placing ads in the yellow pages asked me this question, “how can I know for sure that people are going to find my business not only on the web but also for those who are searching in the phone book for services, are those people who don’t have computers or have any need for a computer going to lose out if I don’t place some sort of advertising? “ my reply, If you are asking me if you should stop all advertising in the yellow pages I would say no, instead decrease your ad placement, I would recommend just a listing that will get you in the phone book, most people who are looking for a service don’t care how colorful your ads are, or how big they are, they are looking for a service that is close by and one that will answer the phone when called. If you have a website and your web development company knows what they are doing, then you need to focus on these areas only and then ask them how you can start promoting your services and products on the web.

I really want to draw attention to all the businesses out there who is reading this. I really need you to understand and set aside the fact that I am a business man who is in the business of web development and online marketing and social network marketing, with all that set aside and talking like a real person here, I really cannot express this enough, be careful of wolves in sheep’s clothing. There are tons of companies popping up all over the net and even in your local city’s that can claim that they will increase your visibility on the web, or setup a social network marketing campaign, I extremely caution you about these people and one of the biggest treats is none other than the yellow book.

The problem here is that although there are company’s out here that know what they are doing, the sad part is some of these people see the big advantage and are jumping in to this market, in hopes of getting enough customers to buy into their sales pitch long enough to make a living, as for the yellow pages, it is their last ditch effort to stop a sinking ship, and please don’t fall into that trap, and use smart business sense not to flounder.

There is a lot we all can learn from each other, and although the at this time the economy is in bad shape and it reflects on how we all do business, we all have to do what everyone else is doing, and that is to save money and conserve. You can spend just about a 1/3 of what you are spending right now in print advertising in the phone books, or yellow pages, cut down on that, get ahold of your web development company, and ask them if there are ways that they can help you to use your website as your main source of advertising on the web, and you are going to have to commit to it 100%. Look guys I am not going to blow wind up your skirts here, having a website takes a lot of commitment, and although there are companies like mine that can take over full control of your website, and online marketing, you need to invest a little time and research what is right for you. I just want to say it one more time though, beware of scams and those people in sheep’s clothing.