Yellow Page users are the hottest of all prospects – someone who has made the decision to buy, and now is looking for a place to do it. Does your ad convince them that your business is that place?
It doesn’t have to be the biggest, although that can certainly help. And if you do it right, it won’t even matter if your business is listed first. What matters is that your ad is the most persuasive.
“But, Lisa!” you’re saying in your most shocked whisper, “Everybody knows that the first listing in a category gets the most response! That’s why so many business names start with ‘A.’”
Well, yeah, if I’m faced with a list of indistinguishable company names, I’ll just go with the first one I see. And 99% of all Yellow Page ads seem to have the company name as their headline.
But your business may be better than the one that starts with “A.” So why don’t you tell me that? Move your company name to the bottom, beside your phone number, and greet me with a bold headline telling me just what’s so great about you. Invest in a few lines of copy (get rid of the photo of your store if you have to – I don’t really care about it, anyway) that prove you can deliver on some great promises.
Did you know that making those changes can increase your response by 600%? Yes, really. That beats having an “A” name any day!
Marketing: Can I Trust You?
We live in an unprecedented era of communication. Because of this, your prospects are literally bombarded from all directions with marketing messages. They’ve heard so many hyped claims, that they automatically distrust them all.
Developing A Focused Marketing Strategy
You want all of your marketing messages to have a single focus, so they pull together instead of competing with each other. Great! So how do you come up with one?
Get Personal: Letters vs. Direct Mail
One of the reasons direct mail works is the personal aspect. It’s ostensibly a letter from you to your prospect. Because of this, the more personal you make it, the better your response will be.
