Yellow Pages Advertising

[Tonyr]

Ok you mob of geniouses, in your humble opinions and experiences, do display ads really work that much better than say coloured text column ads?

Previously I have a sizable text ad, coloured, but either the ad is not much good or people don't really use the yellow pages to find us, more use a newspaper etc.

This year coming I'm thinking of putting my new ad in, but it costs $2300....a bloody lot of money with no guarantees of what page....it should be the biggest except for jims big boring one.

I spend too much on ads now with poor results, and 2300 is over my budget, but if it can bring in the work obviously it was money well spent.

I will admit when I'm looking for a co. in the y.p I look for the the display ads, but lawnmowing can be done by any dill and clients know this, and as people are lazy maybe a big y.p being heavy may not get used, especially when you have a list of desperardos in the newspaper...

I really need yas help here please, which ad would you choose to use to find me??

[Hondy]

Don't know if I can help but what I have found in my area is that if I want domestic the local rag does the job and the Yellow Pages attracts more commercial enquiries.
As I say your area may be different.
I havn't advertised for a couple of years now, the yellow pages just got too expensive for me and wasn't getting the results that I expected.
Since pulling out of the YP's I probably got more calls for quotes than when I was paying the big dollars.(They must keep their old YP's)

[QLD turfcare]

If I was you, I would save my money, rather than spend it in the YP... I had a big display ad (as a builder) for a few years, and it made little difference... I asked people where they had found me, and it was not normally in the yellow pages...

The money is a lot, and for that amount, you could get a funky new website, new stationery, new signage for your truck, a heap of fridge magnets and stickers or such for promotions, a few King Gee shirts embroidered with your company name, and still have change left for some meat, some beer and a gas bottle refill to warm the meat up with...

If it works, you will be inundated with work, and not be able to handle it all, or if it doesn't then you have done your dough...

Good luck,

David

[Tonyr]

Thanks guys!

David, you and I are in the same yellow pages area, so ya know who is in there.

Do ya deal with Mark at NOWA in Bundy?

I bought my Toro off him last feb. looking after me well with stuff.

We are in a weird area, i found last season y.p only attracted commercial, govnt. newspaper was best for ressies, but also i noticed newspaper attracts bargain hunters, opposition checking up etc, pick up the local rag to find a lawnboy attitude, as here a lot think we are desperardos working for beer money, and newspapers are cheap, cheap ads, cheap lawnies!

I'm looking for the more educated client, more realistic, interstate investers etc, ones with money, not tight asss townies wanting bargains.

I see ya points and agree....just can't stop wandering if my current ad is why my y.p ain't firin' up, might be my ad, not yellow pages, who knows? :i dunno:

People here are sooo cheap, only the free paper ever pulls calls, and not many at that, paid paper nup.

[QLD turfcare]

Thanks guys!

David, you and I are in the same yellow pages area, so ya know who is in there.

Do ya deal with Mark at NOWA in Bundy?

I bought my Toro off him last feb. looking after me well with stuff.



Yep, he is a good guy to deal with, and less than 1 km away from me... I got the Kawasaki edger off him...

I know what you mean about the area being cheap... you have to go south to the sunny coast for any real money...

If you are after a different client, perhaps direct marketing is the way to go... if the schools, govt. depts etc already have mowing people, they are not going to go looking for others, or a better price... as long as the job gets done with few hassles... so you need to approach them and tell them why their mowing service is broken and what your solution is to fix it... even if you have to offer a half hour consultation to develop a plan, so you know you will mow every 2-3 weeks, and fertilize as appropriate... or if you see weeds in a lawn, tell them how you can sort it out...

Once you get a clear idea of what your business offers over others, then you have a competitive advantage and you can go out in the marketplace and take advantage of that...

So, if you offer a faster service for the same price, a better cut, no hassles to do the job, reliable, sprinkler systems, tree care or fertilizer, monthly accounts for real estate agents etc, etc, etc... then you can approach real estate agents, developers, churches, schools, councils etc and see if your direct approach is a lot more effective than just a blanket ad in the YP...

Good luck, and drop in next time you are at NOWA... :)

David

[Ebony]

Your current advert is fine Tony. It was a tough year, I personally believe you cannot judge to much on the past year or two as they have just been so out of character due to the extreme weather conditions.

I can't see why your current advert would not attract work, it's a good ad for the yellows, but that goat is cute lol

Take care

Ebony

[Tonyr]

Thanks David...

I hear ya points, makes sense...

While biz is growing, I'm into rough clean ups and acreage, vacant blocks etc, and I do chase govnt. and commercial.
I'm not just starting out, though my questions sound like I am, I am fine tuning my expenses you could say. I had other mowers before this Toro...yet I'm no veteran lol.

OK, lets go back to the start....in our y.p, if you were a client with a large lawn, vacant block, acreage, or commercial client, which of the 2 ads that I posted would grab you?

The display or the coloured text?
(I'm on page 371 in the current book, seeing it there, does my current ad stand out to you or not, I've had mixed responses in my research)

[Tonyr]

Thanks Ebony!

As I asked David, if you saw the 2 ads in the y.p, which would grab you?

My view is, the text is all info, but doesn't catch the eye enough, too much text, while the display catches the eye, but has less info.

I personally get attracted to display ads, but how people find us lawnies may be very different....

[GregG]

G'day Tony
Bloody hot down here its 39.7c, and I am upset that I can't find babysitters today :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: I have got my 2-3 days of work already for the week so I am happy. That is unless I get accepted for a big quote on a local new estate, then I will have 5 days of work ahead of me.
Anyway back to the original thread I have not yet rang YP as its not due till May next year, but I am intending on just a line add as my business name "Acres 2 Mow" says it all. If anything I may add "ACRES 2 MOW - Lawn, Garden and Property Maintenance".
Well I just rang YP and a line entry is free to all business's. A 41mm x 26mm text add is $590 and display 61mm x 41mm add about $1000, a rep is to visit me sometime. While those costs are OK I may still decide that a free line add is the way to go and $1000 is enough for a direct letter box drop to 6000 homes.
It depends what you want to do as to how you word the add, A perfect Cut Mowing Services is fine if all ya want to do is mowing, but if ya really want to do more say gardening the name should be maybe A Perfect Cut Property Services, and then detail what ya do. You still have Cut in the name and people may realise that means mowing , maybe not??.
But Tony as you have said in other threads that like me you are not trained in horticultre and if ya can get vacant blocks all day ya would be happy. So maybe A perfect Cut Mowing Services is best for ya with as ya have done having Property Maintenace included. I have done the same and someone can ask if I do something like say gardening or spraying and if I am not confident on the scale of their job I just say no and refer it on to someone more experienced.
I am learning quickly that Vacant blocks are easiest as it can be hard to quote exactly on trimming as so many new customers are unmaintained.

Thats a few of my ideas it may not suit your'e situation but all info is useful.

[Ebony]

Thats a few of my ideas it may not suit your'e situation but all info is useful.So True. This is a great thread btw... good discussions :)

Tony I personally would go for the goat, but then it's just such a cute advert. Actually I would personally go to the directory at the end of the section where it has suburbs and I would find one there. A line ad that is close to me.

Now I no longer use yellow pages at all, I generally use the local papers, and if I need to go to a directory I use a DTMS program called Phonedisk (that was stopped this year as telstra took the company to court :dean: - not happy Jan )

Ebony

[Lawns Plus]

Hi all, :wave-hi:
Thought I might bring this one back to the fore and ask others for their experience with yellow pages.
I think my ad seems to be working. Approx 60% of callers say they found Lawns Plus in Yellow, (either print or online). :) :) :)
However, getting listed was far from a smooth process!
I had to call them, even though I purchased online advertising the previous year after just missing the print directory closed and asked them to call me when canvassing started for the next year. :confused:
Long story, but we got there, designed the whole add myself because they didn't have enough time before close of directory,then they sent me a proof that had changed and was terrible (so much for no time for design/changes).
Well fortunately there was one more change, back to what I had sent them in the first place.
I reckon the fee should have been a lot less considering what they didn't have to do.
They assured me my case was the exception and not the norm :i dunno:
Anyone else have problems with Yellow Pages?

Regards, John

[lifestyle]

I went with a bold listing in the white pages this year, it costs (i think) 30ish dollars a month added to the phone account - which includes a bold online entry as well.

I've had customers tell me they saw the sign on my trailer and missed the number, but found my name in the white pages.

But of course we had to move 1 month after the directory came out didn't we :dean: so the after hours number is now a "not connected number" but the mobile is still contactable...