Phone Book Ad vs. Website - Six Reasons to Reallocate Your Budget

If you currently have an ad in the local phone book, you won’t renew after you read this article. You will get far more bang for your buck by allocating those phone book dollars to your website.

Here’s why:

Space – First of all, a small ad in the phone book doesn’t give you room to say anything more than your basic information. Besides the space factor, you’re listed right next to every possible competitor in the city. Compare that to a website with an almost limitless amount of space to say whatever you need to say – website wins, hands down.

Flexibility – Your phone book ad is static for one full year – no changes can be made. Compare that to a website on which you can make changes daily. Say you’re a roofing company. Wouldn’t you want to make changes the day after a severe hailstorm in your area? With a website, it’s done. Website 2 – phone book 0.

Interactive – Website users can respond to surveys, coupons, etc. with the click of a mouse. You get real time feedback that can help improve future advertising and make it more effective. Plus, surveys also tell the consumer that his/her opinion matters. Phone book – zero interaction.

Analytics – There are some great tools for analyzing everything from the amount of traffic your website gets to average time viewers spend on a page. This information really helps you to see what’s working and what’s not. Phone book – you wait a year and then try to figure out if it worked.

Convenience – Ah, at last a category that doesn’t absolutely crush the competition. Phone books are convenient and not difficult to use. Heavy and cumbersome maybe, but not a lot of brainpower required. Websites are easy to use as well. We’ll call this one a tie.

Consumer Behavior – The most compelling reason to shift your advertising dollars to the web vs. the phone book, however, is that consumer behavior is changing. People have reprogrammed themselves to go to a website before the phone book. Between websites, cell phones and other options like 1-800-GOOG-411 or 1-800-FREE-411, consumers are simply becoming less and less dependent on phone directories. There’s no fighting changes in consumer behavior. They are going to the website. So use those marketing dollars wisely. Invest them where your customers are – on-line.

For more information call (913) 284-7821 or visit www.marketingxchange.com.