Do you have a yellow pages phone book and do you use it????

[lukenick1]

Looking for feedback whether we should put an ad with menu in our local yellow pages phone book. We are a pizza shop. Do you use your phone book to find a pizza shop in town?? Our phone number is listed for free but we are thinking to put an ad with full menu and a link to our website. It's pretty pricey to advertise in it but we need more business.
Thanks

 

[SDSorority]

Looking for feedback whether we should put an ad with menu in our local yellow pages phone book. We are a pizza shop. Do you use your phone book to find a pizza shop in town?? Our phone number is listed for free but we are thinking to put an ad with full menu and a link to our website. It's pretty pricey to advertise in it but we need more business.
Thanks

We don't use ours, and in fact we recycle it as soon as we get it.

 

[katman2540]

Our goes right to the recycle bin as well. Is there an option for putting it just on their website? We have used that.

 

[lukenick1]

Our goes right to the recycle bin as well. Is there an option for putting it just on their website? We have used that.

If you google our shop it comes up with our web address. I guess the only people it would benefit is new move's and local hotel guests.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

We get the yellow pages each year but do not use it. How much does to cost to..................participate in value pack coupon mailers? Appear in your local Entertainment book?

I am assuming you are not part of a national chain.

 

[katman2540]

If you google our shop it comes up with our web address. I guess the only people it would benefit is new move's and local hotel guests.

It may also benefit people looking for a new pizza place who are dis-satisfied with their current one. We keep trying to find a good one around us and keep using the yellow pages site to find them. We have been here 4 years now.

 

[CTdiznymom]

I don't know why, but we get more phone books than I can count. Makes me crazy. The only time I use it is to find a home/appliance repair person. I think your $$ would be better spent in your local newspaper.

 

[mickeytattoo95]

Have you considered starting a Facebook page for your company. Offering a $1 off coupon when you "like" your pizza place could spread the word quick. Plus, that's a lot cheaper than an old school phone book!

 

[pezaddict231]

We also recycle ours as soon as we get it, it doesn't even come in the house. I think you would be better off advertising in the local paper or Pennysaver. An ad that has the menu and coupons would probably work well in either of those. I know I'm more likely to try a new place if there is a coupon.

 

[packofjedis]

What about contacting one of the local schools and volunteering to have a coupon put on one of their school fundraisers? I know around here football players from the school and my son's club soccer sold coupon cards. I've seen a kind where the coupon is reusable and a kind where you turn in the coupon to the store. Most of the time people want to get their money's worth out of those and are willing to try new places. I have no idea if there's a cost associated with it, but I'd imagine it's free for you to do it since you're offering a coupon to list on their card.

As far as phone books, every since internet became so commonplace, my phone books go straight to the recycle bin. Less clutter in my house and it's so much easier to google a place and find the phone number.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

We have a phone book and the only thing I have ever used it for is to find the phone number for our ISP when the internet went down

 

[beansmom]

since I worked at the YP for more than 20 years, it's sad to have to report that it is a dying dinosaur. I would use my advertising dollars to develop a good website, maybe take a coupon in the local Entertainment book...but nowdays everyone uses the internet to find ANYthing. And the disadvantage to YP advertising is that it's for a year and in some markets is very, very expensive...we're talking tens of thousands of dollars in some places.

Internet.

 

[wishesuponastar]

I use my phone book if my computer is not logged on, it's quick for me to look in the book. But if I want to try a pizza place I look for those coupons that get mailed to us. Good luck to you in drumming up more sales.

 

[ORDisneyfans]

We never use our yellow pages! Our area gets 3-4 different books a year. Most people don't realiuze it and throw out or recycle the old one before the year is even up. I think it is ridiculously expensive! We own an HVAC business and rely on referrals and stickers on our equipment. (23 yrs) We haven't had an ad in the yb for at least 14 years!

As for pizza I second the recommendation for val pak, discount cards from the schools and entertainment book. We have a favorite place that is in the entertainment book. Buy one item get 2nd free,then every time we go in after that we get 20% off the ticket if we show are card. We love it! The pizza place we like has a coupon on the football teams card buy one pizza get 2nd half off! We use it all the time! Of course we also buy drinks, salads etc. so not a big loss for them. Mom and pop shop with great pizza, sandwiches and all the sports channels! They also offer teams a giant cheese or pep. pizza (table size) at the end of each season. Parents always buy some too as well as the salads and drinks. Plus we remember and the kids always want to go ther next time.

Good luck with your dilema. Advertising is a tough one!

 

[kathie859]

YP are useless. DH worked for YP for over 25 yrs and took early retirement when he was 55. We seem to get about 4 small and 1 large YPs for our area and they are thrown in the bottom of a closet. If I need to look up a business, I use my IPad.

For pizza, I use the mailers that we get with various coupons.

 

[lukenick1]

Thank you everyone!
We are a Mom and Pop shop who has been in business 16 yrs but we took a hard hit with the economy. Just looking at more ways to boost business back up again and if it means big discounts then that's what we are willing to do. Yellow Book was going to be some money monthly so I'm glad we got some feedback. Majority of people now use the internet (myself included) but the sales guy seemed so convincing. Guess they are struggling too

 

[mom2travel]

Can you do an online ad instead? We almost never use our paper yellow pages but I do search online and use YP there

Advertising in local school directories is a good idea too and probably not very expensive

 

[Colleen27]

Add us to the club that recycles the phone book as soon as it comes. It is just useless to use, though that's partially because of where we live (small town and the phone book covers the county - no sense in looking for a pizza place or a dry cleaner or any of that routine stuff because most of the listings are 30 miles away!).

I think for a pizza place or other restaurant direct mailings, coupons, and targeted marketing like sponsorships/ads at events with a lot of teens or families would be more effective than a YP ad. I know that's how we find new places to try - menus/coupons that come in the mail have a designated spot in the kitchen drawer for those nights I don't feel like cooking, and we've discovered a couple places we like because they sponsored the kids' sports/activities.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

Facebook, Facebook, Facebook and Groupon, Groupon, Groupon.

 

[EPCOT is a verb]

Phone books and Yellow Pages go directly to recycling. I can't remember how we lived without the internet.