Which source offers the community information on how to be green?
The print Yellow Pages of course. Channel 2 News in Reno, NV (link) offers this insight:
If you are looking for ways to go green, look no further than your phone book.
In all the yellow pages, you will find a 32 page guide with tips on how to become more environmentally friendly.
They include everything from where to recycle things like paper and plastic to information on the Lockwood Landfill. “Whether you want your phone books or not, everyone gets one so they are good information and you can also find information on illegal dumping,” said Maia Dickerson with Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful.
Print Yellow Pages Still A Powerfull Tool
As we’ve said many times, sure, the Internet can provide a wealth of information for a web-savy user. But it doesn’t totally replace all traditional meida, especially the print Yellow Pages.
From Vivek Naik in a post labeled “Yellow Pages Holds Its Own In The e-Age of Business Searches“, specific to office supplies:
“In March, businesses typically begin kicking back into gear and start thinking about their supply needs for the upcoming year,” said Scott Cullen, editorial director for OfficeSOLUTIONS magazine.The fact is illustrated by the example of people stocking up on supplies for office articles by checking out the Yellow Pages for suitable products, leads and references. According to the report, the most popular articles searches are for computers, computer parts and peripherals, tables, chairs, notebooks, pens, visiting cards and multi-purpose printers.According to the Yellow Pages, 91 percent of stores, warehouses or retail outlets where products are finally bought are mentioned in the related referenced Yellow Pages ad. In terms of the products, 65 percent are used for office use.Statistics also reveal that age groups are generally between 25 to 49 years old and include college graduates living in homes where the cumulative income of household members is at least $61,000 per annum.
Understanding the full merits of Yellow Pages advertising
Happen to catch the interview Stephannie Hobbs from the Yellow Pages Association had with Jim Blasingame from the Small Business Advocate:
Jim runs a well regarded widely distributed radio show/website/blog focused solely on small businesses. This interview provides a number of helpful tips for small businesses who traditionally struggle with their marketing programs even in the best of times. it runs just a couple of minutes and is well worth a listen…
AT&T Gains Further Approvals to Discontinue White Pages
As reported in the Dayton B2B online newspaper AT&T Ohio received state approval from The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to end automatic delivery to customers of printed, white-pages telephone directories in Ohio.
What the article also noted was that the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel office (which represents residential utility consumers in Ohio) had actually objected to the companies’ requests saying that:
“….many customers still rely on printed directories, and that making them request the phone books could deprive customers of information they want and need…”
I can only assuming that the Counsel’s office hasn’t received some of the whining going on among paper atheists who want you to believe no one wants a book of any kind, white or yellow.
Carpet and Rug Heading References Jump in February
From the Yellow Page Association today:
With winter in full swing, Americans are staying indoors and looking — to their floors and Yellow Pages — for a quick and inexpensive way to punch up their home decor. The Yellow Pages’ “Carpet and Rug Dealers” heading receives the highest usage levels in February and more than 43 million references annually(1).
Christopher Davis, president and chief executive officer of the World Floor Covering Association, said a major trade show in late January unveils new products to dealers, which generates a good deal of consumer press and interest at this time of year.
Carpet and rug consumers are most often women between the ages of 35 and 64 who have a postgraduate education and an income above $40,000(1).
“Our research shows that 90 percent of residential carpet replacement consumers are female,” Davis said. “They are well educated and have done their research — as every consumer should. Use the Yellow Pages to find your options and then get referrals from the Better Business Bureau, the World Floor Covering Association, or friends to find the best.”
After referencing the heading, 90 percent of users made a purchase at a place seen in the Yellow Pages(1). Fifty-six percent of the customers were new to the place of purchase, which was most often a locally-owned carpet dealer (81 percent)(1).
“Seventy percent of carpet sold at retail is from a ‘mom and pop’ shop,” said Davis. “No large chains have been able to overcome local dealers because every installation is a custom job, which larger retailers are unable to do.”
Larry Small, Director of Research for the Yellow Pages Association, said: “Local carpet and rug dealers recognize that Yellow Pages advertising influences local consumers, as well as achieves a superior return on investment. The average return on investment received from local display ads at the carpet/rug dealers heading is $45 of sales revenue for every $1 spent on advertising(2).”
For more information on Yellow Pages headings, visit http://www.ypassociation.org/.
(1) Knowledge Networks/SRI, May 2008
(2) CRM Associates 2007
Using the Yellow Pages for that special fisher in your life
Among the many great tips in this recent article was a solid suggestion:
Kayak trips on the many rivers, creeks and bays in this area are a blast. Just go to any of the local outfitters (listed in the Yellow Pages) and sign up. After a brief orientation session, you’re on your way in a rental yak. Cost is very reasonable.
In emergency situations turn to your print Yellow Pages
just as this blogger did:
Well, last night the power went out just before 7:00, and I used our phone book for the first time in years
Now just image the many other things he’s going to find in that Yellow Pages…
Paper fetishists??
Wow. This was the latest title one of my adorning fans has slammed me with. Bonus points to the creator for uniqueness but I am amazed at the level of pretentiousness that these computer eco-snobs demonstrate, especially their failure to see the whole picture. They don’t seem to recognize that the print Yellow Pages:
- Use no additional energy all year long unlike the computer you are probably reading this on, which does use electricity continuously.
- Requires no batteries or power or connectivity to make it work
- Is made with recycled paper, paper which normally would have been carted off to a landfill
- In the .3% of the landfill space it takes up, it does not pollute the landfill with the many toxins that all the electronic junk and batteries does.
- Is not made with plastics which requires petroleum (at some $80 or more per barrel of oil) like the computers, PDA’s, IPODs, fantastically equipped cell phones, switching equipment, cable shielding, and all the required related hardware does
- Is quicker in nearly every case I have seen to find the information you need
- Isn’t biased because of your age – with tattoos, sushi, and skateboards being some of the fastest growing print headings, I doubt it is only being used by “the elderly”
Ok, we all acknowledge that the Internet will someday be the preferred source for information. But currently, it is far from perfect. And please don’t ask me to click away on my cell phone using some 2 inch screen to find what I need, not when I can’t even drive around the major city I live in without losing the signal.
In many ways I can’t blame consumers who really don’t understand why multiple directories arrive at their doorstep. No one ever explained to them that these print products cover different geographic areas and shopping needs. Nor has anyone ever taken the opportunity to tell them the many things the industry does to be eco-oriented. In the absence of information, they will grab at anything they may see on the Web because if it’s on the Web, it has to be accurate, right?
Conservatively, the Yellow Pages industry generates nearly $1 trillion in commerce, much of it for small to midsized businesses at the local level in markets from the smallest town to major cities. That’s a lot of jobs and a lot of business at an economic time when we could all use a lot more of both.
The print Yellow Pages are a good thing.
Energy-Efficient Windows Found in the Print Yellow Pages
As we are entering “Energy Awareness Month” and the winter season, the Yellow Pages Association (YPA) has released information that the “Windows” heading in the print Yellow Pages ranks 85th out of more than 4,500 potential headings and generates 26 million references annually for advertisers. Clearly Americans are turning to the Yellow Pages to help save on utility bills.
The results that print Yellow Pages bring to advertisers as the most frequently referenced medium before a purchase decision is made for this heading can be seen in the 94% of purchasers who indicated they made a buying decision based on what saw in the Yellow Pages.
Another interesting note in the YPA release show that under the “Windows” heading, most users (73%) indicated looking at a local window company over a chain store. That kind of strong further demonstrates why the Yellow Pages are a top local resource for residential window needs.
New Generation Doesn’t Get It
I know we are in the age of the “I” generation – iPhones, iPods, I-have-a-blog. Many of the negative comments I respond to on blogs to people who say they never use a print phone book, is simply why? I have long argued that it is far quicker to grab a print Yellow Pages to find what you are looking for than to be clicking and surfing away thru myriads of websites. When you use a book you also get a quick visual indication (subjective as it is) about the viability of the business you are looking at – those print ads aren’t free and if that company has bought a half page ad this is probably not some fly-by-night, Johnny come lately company.
Sure, those online products can be good sources, especially if you are in a more mobile situation and may be away from where the books are. But they are still not to a point where they provide the same kinds of information that the books do.
I noticed this quote in a Calgary Herald online article. While the article had nothing to do with assessing the value of print vs. online, I thought the comment was very telling :
“… This is 2008, and there’s a whole generation of people who will spend two minutes looking up a phone number on their computer before they’ll take five seconds to find it in a phone book…”
Which leads me to the question – are the Gen X/Y folks who seem to be rejecting the print product more so than their parent’s generation missing a real opportunity with their totally inflexible view that if it isn’t online/digital we won’t use it????
