It was certainly a pleasant trip down memory lane when I recently heard Darrell Lea reinvigorated one of the most iconic advertising campaigns in memory.
Who hasn’t encountered the infamous “not happy Jan” catch cry of Yellow Pages fame?
Unfortunately for whatever reason the new version of the advert had to be withdrawn but not before it had made me reflect on today’s marketing world versus the days when Yellow Pages was the fundamental basis for any company to spend marketing dollars.
Fundamental shifts in how we successfully advertise
Undoubtedly during the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s not only was pop music at its peak, so too was Yellow Pages.
In those days your telephone number was your number one asset and the backbone of SMB marketing.
Today we know 87% of consumers find business though a range of online directories.
Statistics also tell us that 76% of local searches result in a visit within 24 hours.
Finally, as we have learnt through Disruptive Selling™ at least 66.6% of the buyer’s journey is online and occurs before they engage a potential supplier.
This phenomenon is obviously particularly relevant in the entertainment, restaurant and hospitality industries - but still extremely relevant elsewhere.
Where we go wrong
In today’s world we consult Google or some other online directory as the first point of reference and it’s at this point that the marketing effort seems to go wrong simply on the basics.
In many cases the information is out-of-date if not totally incorrect and riddled with unmanaged ratings and reviews.
Moreover, more often than not details like opening times, special offers or events are once again absent or incorrect. Very few organisations leverage the information that can be provided to the directories provider.
Enter Local Listing
This is why I am very excited by the release of the Local Listing solution as part of the SO Connect stable of products.
The Local Listing solution now allows you to update your listing with the most current information dynamically, in one step updating the top 50 local sites, mostly in real-time.
This addition to the SO Connect product suite compliments the existing Review Management solution which allows you to manage and respond to both positive and negative posts.
Similarly the Guest Marketing solution will allow you to tailor your offer and messaging to a targeted market. For many small businesses this solution can even outperform SEO investments.
There is nothing more obviously important than getting you address correct; it is a crime not to get the basics right.
Go ahead, make my day!