[nordan]

how many of you guys find your work out of the yellow pages . are we all at thier mercy .the big companys only seam to advertise them selfs that way .finding poeple how will pay a good price for a good job  is getting harder this days i think how ever you wish to advertise. :-/

[Ken Wainwright]

I think you are being a bit harsh Ian. There are many contributors to this and other bulletin boards who do not have the best command of the written word. With experience through my family with genuine dyslexics, I am fully aware that people who find it difficult with writing or grammar are very aware of their life disadvantage, and it can be a tremendous step of courage and self belief to take the bold step to put their words into writing on a public forum. To be ridiculed in this way is, I feel, totally out of order. At best it will give you, and only you, a momentary chuckle, at worst it would be embarassing for the recipient, and the loss of one or even more contributors to these forums in the future.

I feel an apology is in order.

Safe and happy cleaning:)
Ken

[Ken Wainwright]

Nordan

The subject of yellow pages has been well discussed on most forums in the past. Some people find it a very successful medium for generating new work Many don't. I have no idea what the magic formula is for successful advertising with any media.

For myself, Y/P is a necessary evil. If existing customers or someone you've been recommended to need to find your number, the usual fist choice is Y/P. For me, it works very well in this way. I now only use the NCCA corporate listing which gives me the attraction of a larger advert for just £125 in the B'ham S. edition. The cold enquiries I get from it are usually quality seekers rather than price hunters, so it works for me. Couldn't depend on it to make a living though. Rough guess is abot £1k of new work a year. Good value. Have had a half page ad. in the past and done no better from it. Lost money on that one.

Safe and happy cleaning:)
Ken

[BeeClean]

post of the month ken!! come on ian that was uncalled for

[strakercleaning]

Full marks Ken
I saw the post and bit my tongue
I think that Ian would have lost his customers respect if they had come onto forums, as a guest and seen his post
My idea of forums, is to speak about positive things and offer advice, where sought. My typing is not that good when done at speed and many people enter posts in the same way they text message on mobiles.
If you have nothing good to say........SAY NOTHING.

[Mike Halliday]

This year I'll have no Y/P advert at all. This is due partly to an oversight on my part, I moved and had my calls diverted electronically at the exchange. What I did'nt know is when you do this your number is theretically cancelled so the yellow pages thought I'd gone out of bussiness so did'nt contact me about renewing my ad.

so this year all my advertising will  state "find us in the Hull WHITE pages"

I'm now likeing the adea of not paying for a Y/P ad, I'm going to put the money into more profitable marketing

Mike

ps what did ian say that was so bad? its disapeared

[HQCS (John Kastrian)]

We have been in yellow pages only a short time and already beginning to wonder if it is worth it.
It seems most of the enquries generated from our ad is from other businesses trying to extract money from us in one way or another,and charites etc asking for donations.
I realise that most charities are very worthy causes,but it really gets my back up when you answer the phone and their first words are "I got your number from yellow pages".-John

[nordan]

ian i can spell ****** ok. just for you

[strakercleaning]

Nordan.....................rise above it.
2 wrongs do NOT make a right

[Ken Wainwright]

OK Ian

You can see where we're coming from, you're not in Coventry,you can come back now.

Nordan,

I know from your pm that you were offended, but there's no need for that.

Seems like I'm doing the moderators job here. Is the pay good? Is there a pension? Do I get Luncheon Vouchers? What about holiday pay?

Safe and happy cleaning:)
Ken

[Ian Gourlay]

I think there must be a post missing.

I hope the Ian you are refering too is not me.


I would not poke fun at anyones grammar or spelling

As both my children are Dyslesic and I probably am also.

We all have degrees

And Spell Checkers are wonderful.

Regarding Yellow pages

I am going to have my Carpets Cleaned Free for the Rest of my Life.

Because not Every Cleaner can Do the Most Thorough Clean Ever.

Regretably my advert is swamped but as it is one of the First I still get calls.

[BeeClean]

Its not you ian g! the offending post has been removed now maybe nordan can remove his as well and we can forget about it. its easy to post things in the heat of the moment and regret it after have done it myself should we have more moderators to pick these things up quicker

[Ken Wainwright]

Hi Simon

I hear what you're saying about extra moderators, but in reality, that would require 24/7 coverage to make it totally effective. Anything else would still be a compromise. But it's a valid viewpoint with it's own merits.

My own view is to leave things as they are. I, like you've just admitted to, have made mistakes in the past. But we only know they're mistakes when a different viewpoint is brought to our attention. Left as it is, we should all learn from our mistakes and practice more self discipline which would then make the Clean It Up experience even more worth while. It can also broaden the debate as this incident has.

Safe and happy cleaning:)
Ken

[BeeClean]

it is interesting to see how the forums are developing.  we seem to have more of these incidents here than elsewhere but i guess thats because of the number of members not quite sure what would happen if there were twice as many members as there are now :

[Ken Wainwright]

Twice the members=
Twice the debate=
Twice the viewpoints=
Twice the fun

Safe and happy cleaning:)
Ken

[strakercleaning]

Ten times the AGGRO :-/
BUT would we change it?....................

[mark_roberts]

I think the secret to yellow pages and any marketing for that matter is to keep it local.  In my ad I put the areas/towns I work in.  95% of the calls are within these areas and I would say about 50% of the jobs are within 5 miles of my house as my address (very important) is on it too.

The other secret is too be different with design and more importantly content.  Divert all calls to your mobile so you get the calls.  Ypage customers usually will not leave messages.

When on the phone have a script in your head selling the benefits of your service.  This isn't hard as most of the other cleaners will ask for a size and give a price with no information.  I know as I rang them all recently!!

Yes 2 or 3 out of 4 callers will be price shoppers but so what.  There usually not the customers we all want anyway as we all only serve highend homes  .

Yellow pages is just another marketing tool.  If you get a 4-1 return of more thats good in my book.

cheers
Mark

[woodman]

Hi Guys

Just received the new YP.

In it there are six Chem Dry ad's all covering basically the same areas.
Five of the Joe Polish type ad's,you know the type of thing, 4 reasons to use us,call our customer help line,Free clean if not 'The Best Clean You Have Ever Had' etc etc.
Then the usual smattering of local cleaners ad's.

Waste of money if you ask me unless you have an approach to advertising that differs from the rest your money would be better spent elswhere, IMO  

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I get 6 out of 10 customers calling and generates... well more than Kens £1k but i do have 1/2 page and its good for me. Yes I could run my business just from YP.

Shaun