I finally got around to viewing Yellowbook CEO Joe Walsh’s recent appearance on FoxBusinessNetwork. The line of questioning presumed the obsolescence of print, which Walsh certainly anticipated. He made a few assertions that one might expect — that people still use phone books, despite what you might think, and that Yellowbook has been responsive to environmental concerns, with smaller books and opt out and so on.
He also said a couple of things that were kind of interesting. He made a distinction not based on big versus small markets, but rather coastal versus heartland. Asked if phone books would still be around in five years, he said “Yes,” but added that in some coastal markets, the migration from print to digital usage might be completed within five years. In smaller markets in South Dakota, Mississippi and so on, print is strong today and will likely still be strong in five years. And when asked what his biggest seller is today, his answer without hesitation was “Web sites.” Click here or on the image below to watch the interview in its entirety.
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I get most my leads from their 360 products: I do printed phone book advertising and I’m tracking my calls–that gives me a large return on my money. I do the yellowbook.com ads–with the platform and partnerships,–I get clicks. (tracked–to prove it) My website is a Yellowbook website that performs significantly better than the one I spent a ton of money for from a SEO company. My ad rep does way more than just sell me. She gives me pointers of new things I can do on my own to be more successful. I’m very happy with the company and my return has helped me grow tremendously in harder times. Don’t believe people that say “it’s only internet”–It isn’t. You need a balance because not everyone is 4G–Not everyone is hooked in 24/7.Bottomline: if you aren’t where you client is looking: you are not getting the call, email, click, —and you will be giving your lead to your competitor. I choose to be found!
Great Comments. I feel exactly the same and find alot of value with doing both traditional and digital advertising. Those that tell you it is all digital always have the hidden agenda.