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Adam's Advice: Make the Yellow Pages Work for You

Collaborating with one of our clients that was spending thousands of dollars on Yellow Pages ads, we decided to work with The Real Yellow Pages marketing department to conduct a marketing study and determine the cost-effectiveness of Yellow Pages ads to increase calls to the agency. We specifically wanted to measure the effectiveness of the ads using various sizes, colors, copy points, pictures and placements.

The study produced some interesting findings:

• Color ads increased calls by over 40%
• Placing ads under "Nurses", in addition to a heading like "Home Health" or "Home Care Services" increased calls by 30%
• Pictures in the ads helped increase inquiries
• Larger ads produced a greater response rate
• Including copy (specific information about the agency) increased response

We also gained some interesting insights into the consumers that use Yellow Pages and what works best for Home Care ads:

• A person who uses the Yellow Pages to select a Home Care company is usually a family member dealing with a crisis or a patient who requires help at home, themselves.
• Most people using the Yellow Pages have never used or required the services of a Home Care company before, and they needed information to help them understand "how it works." They are looking for guidance on how to make the correct choice, and other than price, they are not sure how to differentiate between agencies.
• The Yellow Pages helped agencies that were not well known to differentiate themselves and establish their "brand."
• Agencies that used a strong headline instead of simply putting their agency name in bold, large print have more effective ads. It's more important to state why someone should call your company, instead of simply telling them your name. Always advertise benefits in your headlines!

On a last note, I strongly recommend that you have your Yellow Pages ads professionally designed. Do not rely on the Yellow Pages to create an ad for you! They are in the business of filling pages and selling ad space - not coming up with exciting, attention-grabbing, effective ads.

Next week, I'll provide some pointers on responding to Yellow Page inquiries, because, after all, getting someone to call is only the first step!