Peter Zollman: Yellow pages cook up a recipe for disaster at newspapers

Peter Zollman: Yellow pages cook up a recipe for disaster at newspapers: "pzollman@aimgroup.com."

Peter Zollman has written a very interesting article showing how the online model spells trouble for the traditional newspapers.

Clearly, the ability to aggregate large quantities of locally relevant data is a huge boon to the local media and yellow pages companies.

Sensis has taken the lead in aggressively becoming the one major website in Australia. It helps that they effectively own the Yellow pages industry unchallenged down under. However, unwilling to rest on their position of dominance, they've set the stage where they are the key provider of local commerce and protected their domain.

It's highly unlikely that a US based telco would take such a grand move, but you never know. It wouldn't really take THAT much investment to have a business with massive upside potential.

Hearst had retained their ownership of Associated Publishing, a small publisher of Yellow Pages in west Texas. Associated runs a nice tight ship, but Hearst had kept them on a short leash.

A new CEO at Hearst, and the sleeping giant awakes. Most industry insiders I know were surprised when Hearst purchased White Directories. White is the third or fourth largest independent in the US operating under the brand "The Talking PhoneBoook". Like Associate, White is a top quality organization and Hearst is retaining management.

Over the coming year, several more YP companies will be in play because the market is hotter than it has ever been. The scare of losing the business to the internet is at bay, and investors can appreciate the huge and predictable cash flows.

Should Hearst wish to become a major player, they will have no problems finding companies of value. Their biggest issue will be outbidding the other companies who want a piece of the action.

InfoCommerce: BellSouth: Selling Up or Selling Out?

InfoCommerce: BellSouth: Selling Up or Selling Out?

InfoCommerce is a very thoughtful view at the IYP market.

Bell South and Google have signed an agreement where BS will be selling Google's AdWords.

For BS to pull this off, they need to really simplify the sales process. If you've ever bought key words on Google or Overture, you see that it can be a very daunting task.

I'm skeptical that they'll get this to work.

Florida Bar Cracking Down on Lawyer Ads

law.com - Article

This article about the Florida Bar cracking down on lawyer ads has me a little concerned.

Beyond misleading or fraudulent ads, they have gone after a law firm for using a pit bull theme as playing on people's emotions. Since when is the emotional aspect of advertising illegal?

I see the state bar doing double talk on this issue.

To be sure, the lawyer ads are probably tasteless. But does that make them illegal?

Senator Rod Smith, D-Gainesville says, "Somehow, images of Webster, Darrow, Marshall and Cox disappear when I am told of a television ad that suggests good legal counsel can be obtained by simply dialing 1-800-PIT-BULL."

It seems to me that at least some of these lawyers were masters of courtroom dramatics and theatrics. They probably didn't have the Johnny Cochran rhyming machine, but they knew how to manipulate juries.

The day that they outlaw courtroom drama and emotion is the day that they should outlaw advertising.

ADP Commentary on Verizon v. Yellow Book

I received the following memo from Larry Angove, President of the Association of Directory Publishers regarding Verizon v. Yellow Book.

As usual, Larry is very articulate and open minded in his assessment.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
COMMENTARY


Date: October 20, 2004

To: All ADP Members

From: Larry Angove

Re: Verizon v. Yellow Book

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


By now, most, if not all, of you are aware that a decision was entered earlier this month in Verizon’s lawsuit against Yellow Book USA.



The Court found that Yellow Book had been overzealous in some of its advertising claims but that Verizon had proven no damages in the preceding and was unlikely to be able to prove any harm in a scheduled December trial for damages, which was cancelled by the presiding Judge as part of his judgment.



Both publishers quickly distributed press releases offering their points of views on the judgment, as did the New York Law Journal, which termed the outcome “no harm, no foul”. In Verizon’s release, Lester Chu, VIS’ Vice President – Strategic Planning and Marketing, boasted that “We (Verizon) pride ourselves on integrity and ethics.” It is Verizon’s own contradiction of this high-road claim, as evidenced by its actions since the decision, which prompts me to offer this commentary.



Many, including myself, suspected from the beginning that this lawsuit was more about competition than advertising legalities. Now Verizon, in my view, clearly is confirming those suspicions. Apparently without regard for the yellow pages industry as a whole, Verizon has instead chosen to air, for competitive purposes, this bit of dirty laundry in the public through full page ads in major newspapers in areas where it competes with Yellow Book. The newspaper ads contain cherry-picked, self-serving snippets from the Court’s decision that, based on my multiple readings of the 15-page opinion, can only be characterized as malicious, mean-spirited spin inconsistent with the facts and plain language of the judgment.



But perhaps Verizon’s actions aren’t really that difficult to understand. When you spend tens of millions of dollars to end up with only the right to send out releases and place ads, what else can they do?



Attached please find a copy of Yellow Book’s October 20 full page in the Wall Street Journal.

MediaPost - Obit for the Yellow Pages

MediaPost Advertising & Media Directory


Here's an interesting article proclaiming that serch is writing the obituary for the Yellow Pages.

Maybe yes, maybe no. The article brushes past the concept that Yellow Pages has loads of advertising because they have loads of salespeople who sell the stuff.

Search will continue to make headway, but it will not be until they establish their own field sales force that they knock the YP companies out of business.

Last I checked, Google boys were more interested in buzzing around on Segeway scooters instead of managing the down and dirty business of local sales.

You don't need a Stanford MBA to sell local advertising. In fact, I think you're much better off without one.

Verizon considered #1 MegaBrand by AdAge

AD AGE MEGABRANDS REPORT: FIRST-HALF 2004: "CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Powered by its wireless unit, the Verizon megabrand drew $730.8 million in first-half 2004 measured advertising to lead all U.S. brand spending during the period.

Verizon has led every half-year analysis of the Top 200 Megabrands' spending by Advertising Age since replacing AT&T the end of 2002.

There's no question that Verizon is one of the heaviest advertisers in the world. Does this give Verizon a sustainable competitive advantage? Not necessarily.

It does show that they continue to be serious about being "The Brand" in their core business units. As a competitor to Verizon in many markets, I find that the brand strength is less important than the quality of customer service and perceived value.

Verizon SuperPages Wins Case Vs. Yellow Book

Verizon SuperPages Wins Case Vs. Yellow Book

I have to agree with Verizon that the Yellow Book ads were misleading by saying that more people used their book than the "Other Book".

The ads were good for increasing the exposure of the industry, and they did one hell of a job branding Yellow Book. Everytime I wore my TransWestern shirt in public, someone would say that they saw our "yellow book" ads on television.

I believe that Yellow Book would have been wiser to invest the money they spent on TV advertising (it had to be several million) on making better directories. For example, they could have given away quarter page ads to every restaurant in the country, and consumers would use their books because of their usefulness.

I just don't believe that TV advertising is a winning strategy unless your product is considered superior by consumers.

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Bristol/Somerset | Judges creased over ironing firm

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Bristol/Somerset | Judges creased over ironing firm

In the UK, the Yellow pages ran a competition for the best company name. A company that provides ironing services (what the heck?) calls itself "Crease Lightening".

The Brits think that this is hilarious. (yawn).

THERE'S NO PROFIT IN WINDSHIELD TIME

[This article came from Matt Michel of the Service Roundtable, a marketing specialist firm that brilliantly focuses on the HVAC industry.  He makes a strong push for community centered marketing, which includes community telephone directories.]

THERE’S NO PROFIT IN WINDSHIELD TIME

One of the blessings and curses of an in-home service company vis-à-vis 

a fixed retail location is the ability to go to the customer instead of 

waiting for the customer to come to you.  It’s a blessing because it 

offers a degree of flexibility the retailers envy.  It’s a curse because 

without discipline, the flexibility leads to an unfocused, inefficient 

service and marketing effort.

Retail operations like McDonald’s and Starbucks seem to be opening on 

every corner.  They’re ubiquitous because they understand the 

opportunity that exists in a relatively small geographical area.  Even big boxes, 

like Home Depot locate 10 to 15 miles apart.  If a Home Depot can 

survive on a five to eight radius, why do you travel more than 30 miles 

between calls?

Gotta Make Those Yellow Pages Pay

Here’s the problem.  Take out a big ad in a yellow pages directory 

serving a 2500 square mile territories and you feel obligated to take every 

call that comes your way no matter where it originates from because 

you’re spending a small fortune on the ad.  Stop!

Does 30 Miles Between Calls Make Sense?

Windshield time, the time spent driving between calls, is the bane of 

service efficiency.  There’s no profit in it.  It’s lost time.  

Windshield time represents fully burdened costs without revenue.  In metro 

areas especially, it makes little sense to drive 30 miles between calls.  

In metro areas a 30 mile travel distance can easily translate into a 90 

minute travel time if the traffic is heavy.  For example, a couple of 

weeks ago I spent 2-1/2 hours to cover 20 miles in our nation’s capitol.  

There are marathon runners who can cover this distance faster on foot.  

A couple of days ago, I drove 35 miles to a meeting paced the entire 

way by an air conditioning service truck.  When I finally exited, the 

Sprinter van kept going.  Unless the tech was taking a trip in the company 

truck, it’s hard to see how this is profitable.

Not Just Distance, But Travel Time

Travel time matters more than distance.  I live in a Dallas suburb 

that’s fairly inaccessible.  It’s bordered by lakes to the south and north.  

The roads into the town reach around the lake or pass through heavily 

congested surface streets.  While the demographics of my town are 

attractive, its inaccessibility gives it a travel time that’s double a 

comparable distance on the other side of the lake.  Nevertheless, I 

continually see trucks from companies located 30 and 40 miles away.

Define a Service Territory

My guess is that unless you operate in a rural market, within a five 

mile radius of your shop is more business than you could possibly handle.  

You fly by it rushing from call to call.  Maybe you’re in a position 

where you feel it’s necessary to accept all calls that come your way.  If 

so, set *some* limit.  Define some radius and stick to it.  

Exchange Calls

Contact competitors outside your defined service territory and work out 

an arrangement where you will refer calls to them that are outside of 

your territory, but within theirs if they will do the same.  You will 

still have overlaps where you compete, but outside of these areas, you 

aren’t competing.

A Core Territory

Next, define your core territory.  This is the territory where you want 

to focus your marketing efforts.  It might be as small as a single zip 

code.  It may be a five mile radius.  It might be a 20 minute drive 

time radius.  

Concentrate all of your discretionary marketing in your core territory.  

Even if you take calls from the next time zone, why spend money 

marketing to distant areas that cost more to serve than your surrounding 

geography?  

Pound your core territory over and over and over again with outdoor, 

direct mail, door hangers, cable (and yes, you can target zip codes with 

some cable companies), and other marketing.  Keep at it until you’re 

close to a household word in the area, until the referral machine kicks 

in, until you have a measurable share of the households in the area on 

your customer list.  What’s measurable?  Try two to five percent of all 

households or four to ten percent of owner-occupied households.

Units of Common Interest 

Frankly, I recommend focusing down to individual subdivisions.  Find 

units of common interest where homeowners talk with each other.  This 

could be an area served by a single elementary school.  It could be 

subdivisions with a homeowners association.  In short, find an area where you 

can afford to become the dominant marketer for a period of time.  

Become the neighborhood specialist.

Once you’ve attained a level of recognition, you can back off slightly 

and deploy your resources to the next area.  Marketing is like pushing 

a car.  It takes a lot of effort to start it rolling and less to keep 

it moving.  Once your marketing has momentum, you can devote resources 

to the next area, so long has you don’t let the momentum stop.

Minimize Windshield Time

What every service company should strive for, but will probably never 

achieve, is a situation where your customers are so concentrated that 

you can run maintenance all day and never travel more than a block 

between calls.  Think about it.  What would happen to your applied time if 

you were able to attain this level of concentration?  Could you pay your 

techs more and still drop more to the bottom line?  Would your 

marketing costs fall as referrals pick up because more and more neighbors use 

and recommend your company?

Windshield time may be a fact of life.  There’s still no profit in it, 

so do what you can to minimize it.

© 2004 Matt Michel

*****

PUT WINDSHIELD TIME TO PRODUCTIVE USE

Ruth King has written a book called Entrepreneurial Terror.  I haven’t 

read it yet because it hasn’t been released.  I have started listening 

to the audio CDs.  Help your blood pressure by doing more than rail at 

talk radio.  If you’re stuck behind the wheel, pop in a CD and learn 

something.  Check the audio version of Entrepreneurial Terror out at 

www.entrepreneurialterror.com or call 800.511.6844.

Ruth’s sort of inspired me.  We’re considering offering audio CD 

versions of some of the best of Comanche Marketing.  This is especially 

suitable for me because I’ve got a face suited for audio.  Is this a good 

idea or not?  Let me know by emailing me at 

matt.michel@serviceroundtable.com. 

*****

REPRINTING

Since you’re going to do it anyway, you’ve got permission to reprint 

this and pass it along. You may copy and reprint any of the marketing 

ideas you find here on web sites, newsletters, or in magazine articles, 

provided you send the me an e-mail with the location of electronic 

publications (matt.michel@serviceroundtable.com) or a copy of a printed 

publication (Matt Michel, Service Roundtable, P.O. Box 270842, Flower Mound, 

TX 75027-0842, USA). You must include the following citation:

Source: Comanche Marketing. Reprinted by permission.

Free subscriptions are available at:

www.serviceroundtable.com -- click on the Comanche Marketing tab

Copyright © 2004 Matt Michel

*****

Comanche Marketing is hosted by the Service Roundtable™. The Service 

Roundtable is an organization of contractors, by contractors, and for 

contractors. The Service Roundtable is dedicated to financial and business 

performance improvement of service contractors and provides a wealth of 

business tools and content for a very affordable monthly subscription. 

Visit the Service Roundtable at www.serviceroundtable.com.

*****

 

MediaDailyNews 10-4-04 - Dex Media Pursues SME Market, Analysts Ponder Relevancy

Dex Media Pursues SME Market, Analysts Ponder Relevancy.

Dex is partnering with Interland to build websites and SME Global Solutions to manage the search engine marketing. From what I can tell, there is a huge demand building in the small business community for these services. It may take a while, but I believe these services will be successful for Dex.

SME Global has developed a system where they manage the PPC advertising for every account. This enables the publisher to sell "packages of clicks" and SME is responsible for fulfillment. They really take the load off of the publisher. The single biggest downside that I see is that the delivery is very gray. You never know exactly which search engines and which search terms will be used to market your business. As long as the advertiser is confident that the publisher isn't screwing them, everything's OK.

A few years back, we ran a test with a banner serving company and we found a significant amount of fraud. It was a small, isolated test and we were able to minimize damages by killing it quickly.

I know the owners of SME global, and am confident that they will deliver what they promise.

http://www.mediapost.com/enews.htm?s=271872


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Settlement reached in Yellow Pages suit

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/9821013.htm?1c

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A class-action lawsuit that claimed
Southwestern Bell Advertising bilked advertisers out
of more than $20 million in late fees has been settled
for $21.7 million.

The deal was approved this week by Jackson County
Circuit Court Judge Tom Clark, who called it fair and
adequate.

Two Kansas City-area companies - Liberty Cellular Inc.
and Blast Inc. - filed the initial suit in November
2001 claiming SBC violated its contract by charging a
$25 late fee to advertisers who didn't pay their bills
on time.

The plaintiffs claimed the late fees were falsely
listed as collection activity fees on customer
invoices. Clark ruled last year that the billing was
"inherently deceptive" and that customers paid
"without full knowledge of the facts."

The suit was eventually given class-action status,
representing thousands of Yellow Pages advertisers in
Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Under the settlement, class members can receive direct
cash payments or account credits.

Southwestern Bell stopped charging the collection
activity fees in December and has agreed not to pursue
collection of fees that had been charged but not
collected.

A spokesman for SBC Yellow Pages in St. Louis, Donald
Fisher, said the settlement limited what the company
could say about the end of the litigation.