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Yellow Pages Commando News by Dick Larkin
Yellow Pages for Crack Plumbers (and vice versa)
February 7, 2005
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Yellow Pages for Crack Plumbers (and vice versa)
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One Ringy-Dingy
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Answer to Last Week's Brainteaser
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Don't Look Down
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World's Coolest Nuns
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Bus Ad with Bite
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First Car
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He's no Crazy Eddie
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Hubba, hubba
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Whew! That was a close call.
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This Week's Brainteaser
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Quote of the Week
20% more photos this week. Know someone who would like to receive this
newsletter? Drop me a note, and I'll send it to
them.
Yellow Pages for Crack Plumbers (and vice versa)
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A plumber in Los Angeles called me and asked for
my crackerjack advice on developing a successful
Yellow Pages
program for him. He said that he has mortgaged
his home in the past to purchase Yellow Pages
advertising, and he's reluctant to do it again.
For inspiration, I looked through half a dozen
telephone directories that were loaded with
plumbing contractor ads. Man did I find
inspiration.
Here's what I noticed . . .
Not a single plumbing ad was designed
to appeal to women.
These ads looked like they had been designed to
appeal to,
well for lack of a better word, plumbers.
The ads were
were all macho and manly with big burly men
holding pipe-wrenches standing next to their
trucks. The pages were dripping with testosterone.
Yuck.
According to extensive Yellow Pages Association
research,
nearly all of the non-male shoppers referencing
"plumbing contractors" are women. Additionally,
91% of people referencing this heading make a
purchase. (See the link at the bottom of this
article for
the report).
Not in my House
In my house, I make all of the big decisions,
and my wife makes all of the little decisions.
This is a very successful arrangement for any
couple seeking harmony. In fact, we've been
married 12
years, and luckily we haven't encountered any big
decisions.
What Women Want
Most women prefer plumbing to remain invisible.
They
want to use their sink, drain it, and end up
with a clean sink
when finished.
A dirty, plugged sink gives them an
overwhelming desire for . . . you guessed it, a
clean sink. They are not looking for for a
pipe-wrench swinging Cro-Magnon with an
impressive fleet of trucks.
Given a choice, they'll be drawn to a company
promoting clean sinks, because that's what
they're after.
Also, as crazy as it sounds, women form emotional
bonds with companies who deliver cleanliness.
Go figure.
Here are a few tips to make your plumbing
contractor's display ad more appealing to female
shoppers.
- 1/3 of the ad should be a
"feel good"
photograph evoking cleanliness, comfort,
safety,
family, happiness, and so on. For example, a
baby in a bath covered with soap suds, a little
boy shaving with a toy razor, a woman relaxing
in a bath tub with a glass of wine surrounded by
candles.
It's critical that you use a
photograph and not a line art drawing. Nobody
believes that line art is real.
- The
ad could list a "Woman's Bill of
Rights"
when it comes to having plumbing work done. For
example,
- The
right to guaranteed on-time service.
- The
right to a
completely cleaned work area after the project
is complete.
- The
right to a written
estimate
before any cost is
incurred.
You get the
picture.
- The
ad could offer a free
report titled "10
Questions You MUST ASK Before Hiring Any
Plumber." The
person answering the phone should be a good
fact-finder and try to set an appointment for a
plumber to drop the report by the house if
there's an immediate need.
- The headline should
focus on what a
homemaker might want from the plumbing
firm.
-
"The Cleanest Plumber on the
Planet"
- "Don't
call ANY plumber . . . until you read
this"
-
"You Deserve a Better Plumber"
- "Your
Plumber for Life"
And guess what. Everything that you do that
works in the print Yellow pages will be just as
effective online.
This would be a poor example of marketing to women.
Here is a report with some Yellow Pages information regarding Plumbing Contractors.
One Ringy-Dingy
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Can you believe that there was a time when
consumers needed to be trained on how to use a
dial telephone?
AT&T introduced touch-tone telephones in 1963.
Only a handful of Americans under the age of 25 have
ever actually placed a call on a dial telephone.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The rise of the importance of social networking
and local marketing was the hottest topic at the
last Kelsey conference.
Recently I sat
down with Stu MacFarlane and Andrew Shotland of
InsiderPages.com (an idealab company).
They have made
tremendous progress incorporating the concept of
personal recommendations into their Internet
Yellow Pages.
Yahoo, tribe.net, PremierGuide, Judy's Book and
a few others
are pushing user reviews as well.
Give InsiderPages.com a whirl.
Answer to Last Week's Brainteaser
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 Buford and
Festus attended the Annual Hedgehog Toss
at the county fair.
This popular event had six men competing.
Each man had six buckets.
Each bucket held six mama hedgehogs.
Each mama hedgehog had six baby hedgehogs
(otherwise known as hedgehoglets).
How many legs are there in the competition?
This puzzler was a little more challenging than
at first glance.
See the Answer & Our Celebrity Winners
Don't Look Down
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These guys are real life
SpiderMen. I think they're working on an antenna
on the top of a skyscraper. Anybody know what
city this is?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There's a new blog on local media by the
analysts at the Kelsey Group It's a great way
to keep up with the rapid developments in this
space.
Kelsey's Local Media Blog
World's Coolest Nuns
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These nuns have a great sense of humor . . . and a
wicked set of barstools.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ken Clark publishes a bi-monthly newsletter on
the Yellow Pages industry that is always loaded
with good information.
www.yptalk.com
Bus Ad with Bite
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Now this is what you call making the most of
a medium.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yahoo! Yellow Pages introduced a new feature
that's really cool. You can send a business
listing to your cell phone.
It makes it quick and easy to take the address
and phone number with you.
More thoughts on Yahoo's new feature
First Car
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Looks like somebody just got their first car.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So, anybody want to start a pool on when SBC
announces that they've retained a strategic
advisor to provide guidance on maximizing value
from their
directory business?
SBC Directories on the Block?
He's no Crazy Eddie
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Yes he is, but he makes a great cup of coffee.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you want to know what's really going
on
in the Yellow Pages world, check out the
YPcommando blog.
The Yellow Pages Commando Blog
Hubba, hubba
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Yo, check out those cats.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A Jan. 26 USA TODAY Snapshot cites a
Harris Interactive survey that says 33% of those
surveyed say the Web is no substitute for "Using
the Phone Book."
Especially if you have small children
sitting at your table.
Whew! That was a close call.
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Just the thought that this sign is
necessary makes me feel icky.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Interactive Voice Response Yellow Pages?
It's pretty cool, and live in Canada.
Here's the number to try it out.
This Week's Brainteaser
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What word actually becomes longer when a letter
is removed?
Email your answer to
puzzler@dicklarkin.com
The winner will receive 15 minutes of
uninterrupted fame.
I'll also select one
winner to receive "The Courage to
Succeed" by
three time Olympian, Ruben Gonzalez.
To
improve your random chances of
winning,
please include your name and company name.
I draw the winner the day before I send the
following newsletter, so keep voting until the
polls close.
More about Ruben Gonzalez
Quote of the Week
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"A man's true wealth is the good he does in the
world."
- Mohammed
My favorite Yellow Pages advertising tip.
Contact Information
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email: news@ypcommando.com
voice: 858-614-5425
web: http://www.YPcommando.com
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