[feldon]

One of those that you either love or hate, but at some point in the future I will try out Yellow Pages and was wondering whether anyone who has been succesfull with this type of advertising would mind sending copy of what has worked for them.  I'm based in Oxfordshire.

Regards

Richard

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I think Tello Pages is coming to an end, about 5 years or so ago it was in its pomp but the decline has been incredible. 5 years ago I would average about 4 - 5 calls a day I am now lucky if I get that a week and then the quality of the customer has gone down also, just people who can just about read call you up and openly say that they are shopping for price.

Only reason I have stayed in is because I get old customers that look for me in it although I am going in this coming year I am convinced it will be my last as it isn't a good investment anymore but just hard to let go of as it WAS good, rather spend the money on either just a very small add in there and leaflets or I could just spend it all on websites.

Shaun

[clinton]

I agree shaun an do you remember even 15 years ago

Used to get so much work from it and always got at least 5 or 6 jobs every week from it

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I did avertise in it 15 years ago and it seemed to get better and better then it was though someone forgot to deliver it.

Shaun

[derek west]

once is enough for me, your doing the right thing finding ads that work. and like you said, youve got to give it ago just in case it works for you, good luck. i didn't have any. 3 calls in 5 months, you can only blame so much on the add.
derek

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Derek that really is poor I would be blaming your ad for that, honestly no joking!

Shaun

[clinton]

Think i went in for the first time in 1992

Then a few years later had a larger add and it used to get so much work and when i came home from work or even going shoping i used to have at  least 3 mesages on my answering machine

Think it started to die about 5 years ago

[clinton]

Think maybe to get calls is to take a half or a full page add out

[derek west]

still the same amount of clients out there, the idea is to find out where they went to, and how they now search.
internet is my next venture, ad words (allready) and SEO. flingers clossed.
derek

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I used to have half a page it cost £3500 plus vat but I used to get 10 times that back but now a days I get far far far less but like I say it's a reference point for old customers if they lose my number.

Shaun

[clinton]

You were always guaranteed that shaun.

Do the same as me and i put the money to one side and i had a good few grand to put towards a new car that i bought last week

Brian philbin came out of it totally

[Neil Williams]

Over the years I have stuck up for YP. Then last year spent out as good as £4k on it (granted that included the enhanced yell.com but anyway), the book came out and I thought great, less names in there than last year so we should do ok this time. WRONG, it's been rubbish.
So that will be £3,500 to spend on something else.
And for any YP reps who might get on here, yes I always ask where customer got the number from, and it's not the big yellow book. 

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I should have bought my Mrs a skip because every time I get in it there's lolly pop sticks and sweet wrappers strewn all over the place.

Years ago I used to have a Rolls Royce Corniche albeit getting on in age, I used to do weddings in it but did drive around in it during the week it was immaculate until the  then intended got in it with her "can I just use this" and "what does this do" and "can I just leave this in it for 2 minutes" and "can we bring my Mum" it ended up like Bill Maynards car in the Gaffer.

Shaun

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I always ask where customers got me from and even if they are old customers I'll try and ask again and some say that they had lost my number and went for the YP but even then the book is decreasing in customer value.

I was at a customers house on Friday and she had on her book shelves a YP from 2003 and it was twice the thickness but saying that with the changes to our YP (they split the area into 2) it doesn't tell a true story.

When i went upto Whitby so they couldn't pin a red cross on my door I picked up the areas YP and it was still full of cleaners I think that the further north you go people are still using it.

Shaun

[clinton]

Shaun

I think you are right there with the north not using the net as much and still going the y page routE.

the damage that y pages is now done and the less cleaners in y pages will not work for but against as for example you go into  shop with low stock and less choice you will leave and go where you will get a good choice

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Only way YP will become strong again with volume of cleaners is by going cheap but that brings out alsorts so I think it's going to be like Thomsons and only high value business in it like Window firms and Solicitors etc.

Net is good but not great couldn't based my business just on it as theret aren't enough flowing customers for my liking, when i first started there wasn't one advertising medium that was No1 you had to do a mixture and I think we have gone back to those days so perhaps we have been lazy.

Shaun

[clinton]

Shaun

The quality of the thompson local was always bad and hed lots of cheap cleaners in there that printed there prices the same as y pages will now go.

Same here i could not manage with just web sites as they dont bring enought enquirys.

[Ricky M]

 I have only 2 sources of Addvertising at the min , Yell page and BT book .

the add size in yell is one up from the smallest and I get around 4/5 calls per month
in BT its a 1/4 collum and gets me 10/20 p month
but in BT there are only 3 other CCs-Yell im on front page 
Role on web site , and the start of the 150,000 leaflets
Ricky

[JandS]

£560 down the drain for me with Thompsons.
And the ad was placed in a great position, top right hand corner it hit you straight away.
Came out I think in June and if I've had a dozen calls that's it.
Shows you how long since I've looked in BT book, I didn't even know they did ads.
Looks like it's fairly well used as well judging from what ability says.
Most of mine comes from ads in 6 local rags which have more than paid for themselves apart from the 2 over the Xmas period.
What's the deadline for BT and are they on a par with YP for pricing?
Thompsons prices are way over the top.

John

[Ricky M]

BT cheaper and room to haggle , ( Tip they can go as low as 60%)

Yell can come down 15% I think but pete sweens the man to ask

Ricky