YP people came and spent a couple of hours with me yesterday morning

Desk Jockey

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
64,833
Location
A planet far far away
Name
Rico Suave
YP people came and spent a couple of hours with me yesterday morning and while I was all prepared to shut them down and funnel those funds elsewhere they made a pretty good pitch.

A package deal (I hate a package deal) YP online, display ads in carpet, fire, water and nice large panoramic postcards (4)-Mailings to targeted prospects.

I liked it, combined with direct contact and radio I thought complimented what we are already doing. The pieces are high quality .70 a piece, designed & mailed.

Nothing is settled on, Dan is on vacation this week and so I still have time to think it over.

So tell me why I shouldn't. or Does it make sense? :confused:
 

Ken Snow

RIP
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
6,987
Location
Bingham Farms MI
Name
Ken Snow
I still do a lot of YP in metro detroit mostly through YP online. They pretty much give away the books now and package it with online. Each time I want to cancel I look at the data and the roi is pretty good so I keep renewing. I am at 6 f'n figures with them UGH!!!! Eval for yourself, don't take the word of people here. You can prob negotiate a 2-3 month trial and just cancel if not working.
 

Desk Jockey

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
64,833
Location
A planet far far away
Name
Rico Suave
I might have to do that. Thanks Ken!

They are only talking around 2K for everything and that's Topeka & Lawrence. Sounded like decent value for the money. :very_drunk:
 

Shane Deubell

Supportive Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
4,052
I would strip out the value of the print ad and go by that number.

Never have used a yp online service for paid search, how do they count searches?
How do you verify the lead came from them? a seperate #

For direct mail how do they define "targeted", by zip code, route or individual address?
 

Desk Jockey

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
64,833
Location
A planet far far away
Name
Rico Suave
I agree the displays have little value in my opinion. They trotted out a study of phone book usage in the KC metro area and it should that there is still a a very good percentage of the 35-65 that use the actual book. I never do, heck I don't know that anyone does in our home but Dan says he does all the time and at his home too. :eekk:

Yes tracking numbers, landing pages, analytical data is their thing. They say next year they can then tell me what to spend on and what not. (it will be spend more I bet!)

Direct mail you pick the filter, they have 80-options.

Income, homeowner, pets, pets that piss on the carpet, homeowners that piss on the carpet. You can really drill down to who you want and pick your budget to who you want to mail to.

Like I said I was ready to give them the bum steer but then I liked what I was hearing and I could have a little more hands off and let them do some of this. ????

I'll see what big "D" thinks when he gets back from vacation. And you know what he only gave me two days notice that he would be gone all week. Bastard! :mad:

I've been playing my music loud all week, spent the afternoon with big John yesterday and just chillin today! :icon_cool:
 

Royal Man

Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2006
Messages
4,989
Location
Lincoln NE
Name
Dave Yoakum
When they laid a similar study for my area I found out that the study was done to people that are listed in the phone book. So, it was done to landline only. (Does anybody even have a landline anymore?) So, the study had no relevance. How long has I been since you use a phone book? It's been well over a decade for me.
 

Desk Jockey

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
64,833
Location
A planet far far away
Name
Rico Suave
I think they mentioned that but I never believe them any way. You can manipulate stats too easily in your favor.
I just liked that they weren't asking for an arm and a leg.

Phone book? Not for a long time! Google and smart phones replaced it.
 

Shane Deubell

Supportive Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
4,052
I agree the displays have little value in my opinion. They trotted out a study of phone book usage in the KC metro area and it should that there is still a a very good percentage of the 35-65 that use the actual book. I never do, heck I don't know that anyone does in our home but Dan says he does all the time and at his home too. :eekk:

Yes tracking numbers, landing pages, analytical data is their thing. They say next year they can then tell me what to spend on and what not. (it will be spend more I bet!)

Direct mail you pick the filter, they have 80-options.

Income, homeowner, pets, pets that piss on the carpet, homeowners that piss on the carpet. You can really drill down to who you want and pick your budget to who you want to mail to.

Like I said I was ready to give them the bum steer but then I liked what I was hearing and I could have a little more hands off and let them do some of this. ????

I'll see what big "D" thinks when he gets back from vacation. And you know what he only gave me two days notice that he would be gone all week. Bastard! :mad:

I've been playing my music loud all week, spent the afternoon with big John yesterday and just chillin today! :icon_cool:

Sorry richard, i didnt really mean it the way it was written. Just trying to stay away from the useless discussions that ken is referring to and ask specific questions.

0 experience with yp and water damage, we had 2 full pages for carpet cleaning in our first 2 years.

Google is the king for internet search and yp is far down list in your market, see no value in a directory unless they are #1-2 and you are #1-2.
Would rather use a review type service {angie,yelp} and 50 -100 free ones then yp.

For direct mail i can only give you the prices we have had after 420k pieces over last 5 years.
.16 per piece junk mail day
.20 in-house - routes (ignoring/manipulating labor costs)
.25 using a service- routes
.30 using a service -individual households by a list we provide-
 
Last edited:

Newman

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2008
Messages
1,062
Location
St. Charles, IL USA
Name
Chris Newman
IMHO - Never use tracking numbers. That phone number ends up all over the place in print and online. What if you want to drop the campaign? You have paid good money to advertise a phone number that even your existing customers can find and call, getting the disconnected recording.

Have them lay out the best deal - then offer them 1/2 of the asking price for the same package and leave the room. They need you more than you need them.
 

rwcarpet

Supportive Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2009
Messages
3,084
Location
Youngstown, Ohio
Name
Robert Hodge
YP "forgot" to put me in 2 years ago. Haven't been in since. YP ads did draw "price shoppers", which I don't deal with. I've got a long enough residual list of long term customers, and from them, many refrerals.B-Bye YP's.
 

Ron Werner

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
8,725
Location
Sooke BC, Lower Vancouver Island
Name
Ron Werner
I can't tell you whether the deal is good for you. You know your busn better than I. I have been in your shoes however. Sitting with my YP rep, all set to just say junk it for the next year, and they offer me a package that sounds good, so I sign up for another year and barely break even. This past year they didn't even get me in the right subject heading, and I stuck firm and ended all my YP ads. Now I am using it for a selling point with clients to get them to talk about me, I tell a client that I am not in the YP's and that I am relying on word of mouth this year.
 

Steve Toburen

Supportive Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
1,912
Location
Durango, Colorado/Santiago, Dominican Republic
Name
Steve Toburen
Now I am using it for a selling point with clients to get them to talk about me, I tell a client that I am not in the YP's and that I am relying on word of mouth this year.
Yeah, Ron, just for you Mark Twain fans I call this the "Tom Sawyer beg to paint the fence approach". This almost snooty exclusivity tactic can work really well for the right owner-operator!

Steve

PS Actually way back in the Dark Ages when I entered the industry there was a legendary California carpet cleaner who was retiring named Don Maplesden (I think). Don had created an exclusive clientele using a "By reference only" approach. People had to be referred by an existing client before he would "accept them". This approach worked super well for Don. (Of course, he WAS located in Beverly Hills. Your results may very!)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom