Marketing Townsville

– Are You Wasting Your Yellow Pages Dollars?

There is a fundamental that is often missed in local business marketing..

We can use the Townsville Yellow Pages as an example because the YP bees are buzzing again.  Your rep will be calling – asking you to DECIDE your investment for the book to come out next year.

Here is the question:

When you invest in Yellow Pages Marketing Townsville, how many leads does it give you, and how much cash goes into your wallet because of that investment?

Is that a good question?

Note that it does ask how many times the phone rang with an enquiry [that would be your ‘response rate’].  It does not ask how many of those leads became customers [that would be your ‘conversion rate’ for that advert].  It does not ask what your gross profit for each sale produced from a lead from that advert.  Nor does it ask the average number of times a new customer from that advert will buy from you again.  Or if that new customer gives you any referrals (if you deserve them and have a system to collect them).  See my article on lifetime value.

It only asks  “how much money is that investment going to give you?”  Ie your “return on investment” or ROI.

And can you answer it?  Probably not for your Yellow Pages Marketing.  Because it goes for over a year – and you most likely don’t record the source of business for your new customers and analyse that data.  Probably.

When you buy an investment property the system is in place so that you know [even if only for your taxes,  what your net dollar return on your property is.   But you invest $30k in Yellow Pages – how much does that put in your pocket?

Are you still in “Business Kindy” if you don’t know?

Cheers

James Hooper

Ps Business Marketing Townsville – Do You Want Some Help?  We will be announcing some Business Seminars shortly called “Marketing Townsville”.  Please join the Townsville Business Builders Letter List – in the right column to keep informed.