A rep is coming 30 August to us, the fun starts thenThermo said:
Will let you know.
Read an article that 71% of Brits use internet to search for products and services, i.e. 44 million UK phone directories are never used (yearly)
yellow pages v Yell.com v Google v anything else!
- Thread starter matz
- Start date
Will let you know.
Read an article that 71% of Brits use internet to search for products and services, i.e. 44 million UK phone directories are never used (yearly)
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we had a rep turn up the other day. Told me our advert could be improved. i pointed out that they had designed the layout of it and charged us. Asked me how it was going. I told him we had plenty of work right up to the end of the year but we were really dissapointed with yellow pages (in fact told him a few times) funnily enough it seemed to go over his head. Then produced a load of forms etc and tried to get me to sign up to yell.com....provisionally. Funny though when i told him i wasnt signing anything he got the hump!
How did you get on woodyoulike?
im really keen to know if anyone has haggled with them as theyve always told me its a set price regardless of who or where you are. I think we are going to give up the yellow pages add so i will be intrested to see their comeback on that.
How did you get on woodyoulike?
im really keen to know if anyone has haggled with them as theyve always told me its a set price regardless of who or where you are. I think we are going to give up the yellow pages add so i will be intrested to see their comeback on that.
Thermo said:
Haggled the rep for one hour last Thursday. He came with loads of (nonsense) stories and examples of how others (with more expensive ads) faired with yellow pages. Every time I asked what the percentage of that was in the total amount of their sales and where most other sales came from: WOM he had to confess. But he insists on increasing our ad to a colour version - we won't.
Also talked abut Yell.com. I manage my own websites and we score always rather high on Google and the likes, where with Yell.com it's pot-luck if you end up on the first page, even with enhanced listing. His solution: to buy the top spot in our category! My answer: just delete our enhanced listing, we're more than happy with a free listing on Yell.com (I had stats to prove our website never gets visitors from Yell.com, because we score high on Google - where 71& of Brits look first before turning to Yell.com).
Yellow pages ad: we mentioned the budget amount for this year we're willing to spend with yellow pages (rather reduced it
) and are awaiting his answer. Dead-line is Friday it seems, but he's still coming back next Monday. Will keep your lot posted.Sponsored Links
Yeap, 'they' only call you when their insurer tells them to get three quotes (and then expect you to come out straight away to do a free survey and 'haggle' the insurer - no thanks!)gas4you said:
I've been in business for 4 yrs now , and have passed the supposed 3yr marker when most business go belly up.
I'm a Computer/Network engineer and when I started and I had almost zero cash, so advertising spend was limited to say the least.
I had my vehicle at the time signwritten (£90) and parked it outside the local Maplin's and PCWorld every weekend for a month. I got several profitable calls from that , several of whom I still service today. The cost was £5 per day for the parking + the initial signwriting.
A lineage ad in the Friday paper was next, which is by far the best form of advertising there is. I did box out my advert for a while and calls declined sharply. I am guessing that people think if he has a large prominent Ad he'll be expensive.
YP covers its costs, just! This is the least effective form of advertising that I have tried. As mentioned previously, when you complain you are told its your fault as you should have a larger Ad. Yeah right!
Yell.com is hellishly expensive, and to be honest I couldnt justify the cost- return.
YP are easy to negotiate with, as stated in a previous post they set the original price ridiculously high and they then negotiate down. No different to dodgy double glazing outfits. (applogies to any members who are dodgy double glazing salesmen )
Havent used Thompson , so cant comment.
My next step is some email marketing to local businesses, and see how that goes. This is attractive as its as free (except your time).
The only other marketing i do is with exisiting clients. Each new customer gets a bundle of cards to hand out to friends and family (or bin), whether they ask for them or not.
My dear departed father used to say that making a successful business was easy these days as there are so many con artists / dodgepots and people giving dire customer service that it was easy to diferentiate yourself and get the clients. He wasnt wrong, customer refferals now account for over 60% of my business.
Box
I'm a Computer/Network engineer and when I started and I had almost zero cash, so advertising spend was limited to say the least.
I had my vehicle at the time signwritten (£90) and parked it outside the local Maplin's and PCWorld every weekend for a month. I got several profitable calls from that , several of whom I still service today. The cost was £5 per day for the parking + the initial signwriting.
A lineage ad in the Friday paper was next, which is by far the best form of advertising there is. I did box out my advert for a while and calls declined sharply. I am guessing that people think if he has a large prominent Ad he'll be expensive.
YP covers its costs, just! This is the least effective form of advertising that I have tried. As mentioned previously, when you complain you are told its your fault as you should have a larger Ad. Yeah right!
Yell.com is hellishly expensive, and to be honest I couldnt justify the cost- return.
YP are easy to negotiate with, as stated in a previous post they set the original price ridiculously high and they then negotiate down. No different to dodgy double glazing outfits. (applogies to any members who are dodgy double glazing salesmen
)Havent used Thompson , so cant comment.
My next step is some email marketing to local businesses, and see how that goes. This is attractive as its as free (except your time).
The only other marketing i do is with exisiting clients. Each new customer gets a bundle of cards to hand out to friends and family (or bin), whether they ask for them or not.
My dear departed father used to say that making a successful business was easy these days as there are so many con artists / dodgepots and people giving dire customer service that it was easy to diferentiate yourself and get the clients. He wasnt wrong, customer refferals now account for over 60% of my business.
Box
Had some very bad experiences with yell, so chucked them out a couple of years back.
Haven't really read the entire thread (sorry!) but local paper and internet directories work for us.
Don't pay for anything, do your research and pretty much everything is free
Haven't really read the entire thread (sorry!) but local paper and internet directories work for us.
Don't pay for anything, do your research and pretty much everything is free
Yellow Pages rep came and went. Came back again and went. Wouldn't budge on prices - kept mentioning how other companies got many, many enquiries out of the yellow pages (until I asked where most of their enquiries came from: word-of-mouth).
And the reason why we didn't was because our ad wasn't - like most others - in full colour and so small. We would be better of going for a larger ad in multi-colour with pictures. My question: could he guarantee loads more (and better) enquiries then? Eh.......
Yellow Pages (and Yell.com) lost a client. We 'sacked' them
And the reason why we didn't was because our ad wasn't - like most others - in full colour and so small. We would be better of going for a larger ad in multi-colour with pictures. My question: could he guarantee loads more (and better) enquiries then? Eh.......
Yellow Pages (and Yell.com) lost a client. We 'sacked' them
Yellow Pages has definatly had its day
Our new one has hit the streets recently and we have had nothing from it, dont think that the guvnor will bother next year
As a customer not a trader its been suggested that I should avoid yellow pages or yel I recently had a bad experience using someone I sourced from yel partly my fault as I should of gone with my gut feel the guy wasnt right. A friend also used yel and also had bad luck. I wont use Yellow pages or yel again for any tradesman, 0800 numbers also put me off as it can appear to be 'untraceable' though in most case its probably legite.
All the best traders Ive got are through my local rag so I will always look here, if I cant get a recommendation.
Opps sorry, Im defo not from yell, I removed the references from the post.
I am self-employed though, IT firm I have a ltd, I get all my contracts through word of mouth.
So in fact you were 'showing off' your IT talent?
cheers wood you like. my "local rep" said he would send some pricing and new ad ideas through. never has. Phoned me up and i said id probably be dropping the yellow pages ad. Told him i was up to my eyes in it and he should phone back in a few weeks. He then said they wouldnt be in the area come mid october. great service!
Ill say it again the local friday-ad has paid for itself god knows how many times over, with some very very big jobs out of it. I think yellow pages is definetly going to get ditched.
Ill say it again the local friday-ad has paid for itself god knows how many times over, with some very very big jobs out of it. I think yellow pages is definetly going to get ditched.
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