A creative Yellow Pages media plan makes the advertiser’s phone ring, cementing an existing relationship or creating solid new ones. The converse is also true, an unimaginative plan is a sure fire way to diminish call volume, destroy relationships and will certainly not attract new clients.
SEA has been creating YP media plans since 1982. Over the years we have created thousands of plans for CMRs, advertisers, and even for publishers. Our experience in YP media planning covers consumer and business products and services. Here are 3 more tips that may appear obvious but are just as easily overlooked in the planning process. More will follow in the coming weeks. If you have not received Part 1 (tips 1-3) and would like a copy, respond to info@sea-rch.com.
4. Target your customer. Even though directories are distributed to all households (and businesses) in their distribution areas, many distribution areas have concentrations of unique customers for specific products or services. For example, a distribution area may have above average concentrations of highly educated and wealthy shoppers. Others may have concentrations of less educated, lower cost homes. Or, you may want to focus on manufacturing industries. The agency should define the potential customer base for each product they represent.
Virtually any combination of demographic or business characteristics can be used to identify directory recipients; age, gender, income, home values, age of home and many more characteristics should be examined within directories served by the advertisers market area. Here’s why?
Knowing the demographic profile of your consumer can help you select those directories that are best suited for your advertiser. Why advertise in a directory if there are few potential customers receiving that directory. Further the greater the concentration of potential customers within the directory the greater the value of the directory to the advertiser. Directories are priced on the basis of overall distribution not on the basis of demographics providing opportunities for the agency to recommend directories that deliver more potential shoppers for the same price. Everybody loves a bargain but more importantly advertisers want their phones to ring. Concentrations of potential customers will make phones ring more frequently.
We’re not done with demographics. If you know the demographic profile of your customer you can tailor your ad copy to appeal to that customer. Ad copy often triggers response. If your basement is flooded would 24 hour service be more appealing than one offering a discount? We often neglect developing copy and placements that appeals to the specific customer we are trying to reach.
Be aware that similar demographic characteristics may have meanings in different parts of the country. The same household income in an urban area may well have different purchasing power in different markets. This just means is that you may need to consider different demographic characteristics in different areas. A national media plan is the sum of a series of local plans; plan at the local level, buy at the national level.
5. Know which directories your customers actually use. At one time it was sufficient to know that a directory published by a utility company generated more consumer usage than a competitive independently published directory. That’s no longer the case as many independents’ books enjoy equal or greater consumer usage than do utilities’ directories.
Many publishers provide proprietary usage data. By all means look at these data and see if they make sense to you. If they do, use them. If not, ask the publisher how they arrived at their numbers. For example, does the publisher define “usage” as any consumer using the directory at any time during the year? Do they mean that the directory is the one consumers use most often? Ultimately you will need to explain usage data to your advertisers so be sure you know what the publisher is offering. Further, do not confuse usage data with call tracking data. They are different as apples and oranges
(At the risk of making this piece a sales promotion) you can look into usage data offered by Directory Share Ratings (DSR™). Yes we have an ownership interest in DSR but those of you who know Sales Evaluation Associates (Sea-rch™) and our long history in the YP industry you agree that we have no bias toward any publishing company and we promote the highest standards of research. Indeed, a comprehensive statement of methodology is found at www.directoryshareratings.com. Our methodology has been independently audited and praised by a leading statistical research company. (Our independence is the likely reason why YPA has not recognized DSR as a source for syndicated YP usage data.)
DSR offers usage shares and ratings for every residential ZIP Code, over 30,000 in all. DSR compares usage amongst directories distributed within an advertiser’s market area, be it a ZIP Code, county, MSA, DMA, or radius ring around a business location. Visit www.directoryshareratings.com for additional information.
6. Accept that without an unlimited budget you can’t reach 100% of your potential customers. Every TV and radio media buyer accepts this simple fact. Magazines, newspapers, and direct mail advertisers also know that 100% reach is a near impossibility. Yellow Pages are no different. What advertisers can afford to place ads in all 292 directories distributed within the New York metro area or even the 45 directories in the Seattle MSA?
Follow the standard 80/20 rule, that is, 80 percent of your potential customers are likely to be found in 20 percent of the directories distributed in that market. That’s a 58 directory buy in New York and a 9 directory buy in Seattle; much more manageable and fiscally responsible.
We have several more YP media planning tips that we would like to share with you over the course of the next few months. If you have ideas that you would like to share with your fellow CMRs please let us know and we’ll do our best to distribute these ideas. A strong Yellow Pages industry means more business for us all.
