Think Basis It's Good For Business

Since I pride myself on not holding back my opinion, no matter how controversial, I’m just going to come out and say it: the phone book may have outlasted its usefulness. I know, I know, but before you get all huffy about how much you love selecting a business based on arbitrarily choosing a company with a sleek looking ad and a reliable sounding name, at least take a second to hear me out.

Yes, I too love the idea of conveniently being able to pull up a list of all the relevant businesses in a specific category. However, rather than just randomly browsing through a directory of names and settling on one that seems good enough, I’d prefer to have my results offered up with just a little more information than what the company chose to print in their ad. Imagine if you were somehow able to not only see all the plumbers in your area, but also simultaneously browse through reviews from some of their previous customers. That sort of information might be kind of helpful if you were trying to figure out who’s best suited to fix your perpetually clogged toilet.

Fortunately, if you’ve used a computer, a cell phone, or even have a single friend under the age of 50, chances are you’re well aware that the informational utopia I just laid out has already been happening for the past few years. The fact is, if you already know exactly what business you want to call, a quick search by name is considerably easier than pawing through a one-thousand-plus page tome. And, if you don’t know who you want to call, then scanning through pages and pages of variously sized ads is hardly the most effective way to narrow down your options. I’d say I can’t remember the last time I picked up a phone book if it wasn’t for the fact that I vaguely recall taking the freshly delivered plastic bag of phone books directly from the front door to the dumpster sometime in mid-July. The last time I actually opened one? Well, that’s another story.

Judging from a recent thread on reddit, it’s pretty obvious I’m not the only one who feels this way. Not only have phone books outlasted their usefulness from a consumer standpoint, but from a marketing standpoint they rank somewhere between burning money and just printing out millions of colorful pamphlets you never intend to pass out. People aren’t looking for your business in the phone book, they’re looking for your business online.

Unless you’re selling mechanical stairlifts to senior citizens, it’s hard to make a case for traditional phone book advertising (and that’s still making the assumption that your geriatric clientele doesn’t have a single relative who loves them enough to help out with a quick online search.)

Granted, there have to be some people who are still using phone books. I mean, I did see someone using a pay phone a couple weeks ago and it totally blew my mind that not only did that mean pay phones still exist, but this guy actually needed one. However, when I took an informal poll at my local coffee shop by asking if anyone had used a phone book in the past year, I was met with nothing more than a bunch of blank stares before everyone went back to working on their laptops and texting on their iPhones.

It should tell you something when the most recent data you can get on Yellow Pages usage is from 2007, and the media kit cited stat that “About 45 percent of adults turn to the print Yellow Pages each week” is based on average usage over the past 20 years. These stats hardly offer a compelling argument that print yellow pages haven’t already spiraled into obsolescence.

I’m curious to hear what other people think on this one. Does anyone have any clients that are still seeing decent results from the Yellow Pages? Or have phone books joined the ranks of VHS tapes as something that’s long outlasted its usefulness?

Basically, what I’m wondering is, are phone books just on their way out, or have they already died off completely?

Having previously discussed some of the different small business approaches to online marketing, I’ve had several discussions over the past couple weeks with different colleagues about what can be done by the small business owner who falls into the, “We need to be online…” category of thinking. These are the companies that recognize the importance of having a quality website, know they have a lot to learn, but don’t have any idea where to begin.

For companies like this there are several major challenges standing in their way:

1) Time

Most small business owners are very motivated entrepreneurs that shoulder a massive amount of responsibility across almost all facets of their company. As a result, finding the necessary time to educate themselves about a topic which is almost entirely foreign to them is sometimes just too daunting to warrant starting in the first place.

2) Budget

Unlike most medium and larger businesses, there is typically no budget set aside specifically for Internet marketing, or even for building a website, and a lot of times since the money is going to be coming directly out of the owner’s pocket they will do whatever they can to find the best deal. Sometimes sacrificing quality or deciding to table a project they know they should probably complete.

3) Desire to Succeed

Because they are so invested in the success of their business, their passion for what they’re good at can combine with their ignorance to all things online and create a perfect storm of susceptibility to people who don’t have their best interests at heart.

But, what are the mom and pop retailers with an @aol.com email address and a fear of technology supposed to do? Shouldn’t there be somewhere they can turn for unbiased advice?

A Step in the Right Direction

In an article a few days ago, David Mihm discussed the need for more local outreach, and suggested it would be, “to our benefit as an industry to increase awareness of the opportunities in Local Search among our own communities.”

It is this philosophy that no doubt played a large role in both David, and Pat Sexton, creating a resource specifically geared toward helping small business owners learn more about how their businesses are listed online. Officially launching on January 20th, Getlisted.org offers a great starting point for the business owner with a tight budget and a minimal amount of time.

As one of my colleagues put it:

“Local search is one of the easiest ways to get your business noticed. You can often get top rankings in map listings which drive valuable and tangible returns. For someone who usually has to wear many hats throughout a very busy day, the service makes local search a virtual no-brainer.”

Undoubtedly this resource offers a tremendous amount of value to small business owners, but the biggest question is whether the people who need it most are going to have a way to find out about it.

Becoming a Voice in the Community

GetListed.org has already made its way across the SEO landscape, but the most important part is going to be the next step; making its way to local businesses that might be completely unaware they even need to claim their listing in the first place.

My feeling is that as a knowledgeable internet marketer, the best thing a person can do is try to share basic information with as many people in the community as possible. There’s plenty of business out there, and if you know what you’re doing then there will always be people who need your expertise. However, by building a reputation as someone who’s active in the local business community–and even willing to occasionally offer help with no ulterior motive–the rewards are going to be far greater than if you sit around waiting for someone to email you with a proposal request.

I’m challenging myself and others to find a way to reach out to at least a few of the small businesses right in their backyard that need help with some of the basics. This isn’t about doing a pro-bono redesign of someone’s site or giving away countless hours of your time, it’s about taking an hour or two a month to connect with people who have a strong desire to succeed and will be legitimately grateful for your help.

At the absolute worst you’re going to be giving up a couple hours of your time, and at best you’ll be making a lasting impact on someone’s business and building meaningful relationships within your community. Not exactly a bad scenario.