Four Ways Directory Assistants Help Businesses Buy Yellow Pages Ads

Directory assistants can help take away the confusion and pain for businesses who want to buy ads in Yellow Pages directories. Companies need to make every dollar count, to reach the biggest amount of people they possibly can, and directory assistants make sure their clients' Yellow Pages ads perform better than the competition.

A directory assistant is a consultant that specializes in guiding clients to best Yellow Pages advertising practices, and serving as a buyer of ads in order to help reduce prices through negotiated discounts.

Here are four strategies directory assistants use in Yellow Pages ad buying, to make sure they are both cost effective and reach the biggest number of customers.

Directory Assistants Strategy #1.

Only Place Yellow Pages Ads In Relevant Categories The temptation for a lot of businesses is to place their Yellow Pages ads in as many categories as possible. "This means the ad will be seen by more people," says the Yellow Pages sales rep. But chances are, placing the ad in several categories means reducing the size in order to keep costs low, which means smaller ads, which means they are less likely to be seen.

For example, if a business is in computer repair, they do not want to place ads in computer consulting, computer networking, or the catch-all "computers" category. Directory assistants help their clients focus on one niche, and own the biggest piece of real estate possible.

Directory Assistants Strategy #2.

Do Not Buy Their Internet Marketing Package Frankly the Yellow Pages ads people do not do a great job at Internet marketing. After customers buy their Yellow Pages ads, the sales rep will try to get their customers to upgrade their accounts and let them handle their Internet marketing.

The problem is, the Yellow Pages people are not Internet marketers any more than Internet marketing professionals have telephone directories. The websites for a business' listing is usually nothing more than a single web page that directs people to their website. But there is a directory that already does this: Google! Ultimately, the Yellow Pages people are trying to drive Internet traffic to their own website by having thousands of business listings on it. They place the customer's listing once, update the page as long as the customer is in the Yellow Pages, and nothing more. It does not take them a lot of extra time and effort to put a listing on their page to make it worth the extra monthly charges.

Directory assistants will advise their clients to opt out of this package and use the savings to get a bigger ad or at least a monthly savings. Better yet, many directory assistants can recommend an Internet marketing specialist to handle the online marketing portion of the business.

Directory Assistants Strategy #3.

Track The Results of the Yellow Pages Ads One of the dirty little secrets of Yellow Pages ads is that it is difficult to track any sales that come in as a direct result of the ads. If companies do not track sales of the ads, they do not know whether those ads are effective, or even needlessly sucking money out of the marketing budget. Directory assistants can help their clients track their Yellow Pages ROI. The easiest way to track the results is to ask customers when they call in whether they saw an ad in the Yellow Pages. Take the number of Yellow Pages-driven customers, figure their profits, and see if it is more or less than the cost of the ads. If it is more, keep advertising. If it is less, do not renew them the following year.

Directory Assistants Strategy #4.

Negotiate For a Better Price Yellow Pages prices are not carved in stone. Their sales reps have the flexibility to change the prices in order to make a sale, and directory assistants will do everything they can to make them earn it. They can even help negotiate package upgraded for the same amount.

Yellow Pages ads are still an effective way to reach people, and done properly, can be cost effective as well. Directory assistants can help their clients find the most effective package at the best possible price.