By Michael Dorausch, D.C.
“Dr. Mike – there’s a sales rep on the phone, says they’re with the Yellow Pages.” is what I used to hear from my front desk manager frequently. The calls have decreased ( I no longer accept any calls from anyone claiming to work with any Yellow Pages company) but I still get offers in the mail for advertising offline and online in the… Yellow Pages.
Everybody has heard of the Yellow Pages, but who are they really? If you run a small or medium sized business, surely you’ve been contacted by yellow page reps or been pitched to advertise on Yellow Pages Local Directory Websites.
Let’s take a look at some of the mail I get…
In very bold black lettering I’m told Don’t accept imitations which is followed by ad copy that talks about there being only one Yellow Pages. Really? Company is based in New Jersey and what looks like a statement is actually a solicitation.
This one shows the very well know let your fingers do the walking logo, but is it the Yellow Pages? Clearly, in this case we can see it’s United Yellow Pages Inc. That company is based out of Garden Grove (or maybe that’s just a local office).
A letter I received from at&t advertising & publishing. Notice the blue text at the bottom. Is this San Francisco based mail coming from the Yellow Pages? Interesting that they’ve included such information in their marketing copy. Guess what’s inside?
The company (at&t) makes it very clear that they are NOT the Yellow Pages. They do however know own the .com for the domain, a smart move (imo).
Nearly all ad sales I’m seeing related to YP pitches have moved online (nobody is calling about advertising in the books – at least not in our area). Business owners are advised to continue watching out for internet directory scams and to try working w/legitimate entities.
Before advertising anywhere, do your research.
2 Comments
A ‘Yellow Book’ rep showed up at my office the other day. I wasn’t there. I wish I was. I enjoy asking these clowns pointed questions. The other doc told the rep that we weren’t interested in advertising. Here’s how the conversation went:
REP: Why not?
DOC: Dr. Fink has analyzed our marketing and found out that new patients do not find us through yellow page advertising.
REP:How does he know that?
DOC: We ask every new patient how they found out about us.
REP: See, that’s your first mistake.
DOC: What do you mean?
REP: They probably found your office through our book no matter what they told you.
DOC: What makes you say that?
REP: Well, I have statistics…
Unbelievable! Reminds me of the Mark Twain quote. “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.”
OMG I’m laughing!
I had a rep say EXACTLY the same thing in my office. Must be something they learn in Yellow Pages selling school.
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