Yesterday…. Marketing was Such an Easy Game….

“Back in my day… we had to walk to school.  Uphill both ways.  In the snow.”

“The Internet?  We didn’t have that.  We had something called ‘a library.’”

Things always used to be more difficult.  Just listen to any Grandfather.  But one thing that even Grandpa can agree with is that small business marketing used to be a lot easier.  There was one thing that every small business had in common – an ad in the Yellow Pages.  According to Wikipedia, the Yellow Pages originated in 1883 when a printer ran out of white paper and used yellow instead.  Reuben H. Donnelley capitalized on this idea and published the first official yellow pages directory in 1886.



Yup.  Those are Yellow Page directories.  Your marketing revenue hard at work!

There is no question that the Yellow Pages was an invaluable resource throughout the 20th century.  It brought business information into every single home in the country.  It shaped the way consumers and businesses interacted with each other.  Imagine the power of a medium that allowed brand new businesses to compete with well-established companies on a level playing field.  Even out of town businesses could compete on a local level by purchasing an ad and listing in the local Yellow Pages.  This revolutionized small business forever.  The result is still visible – look at how many businesses’ names start with the letter A or AA for no real reason.  No reason except that they then showed up first in the categorical listings of the Yellow Pages!

I spend a lot of time every single week talking to business owners about their marketing.  And I still run into a large number of businesses that rely on the phone book’s ever-diminishing returns (coupled with ever-increasing costs) as their main means of advertising.  I am going to focus this week on discussing this advertising medium:  the good, the bad, and the downright ludicrous.  I want you to take a good, hard look at whether this is still the best way for your business to spend your marketing dollars.

If you have an opinion one way or the other, drop me a line.  I’d love to include your thoughts!

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