The phone book is dead and the clientele that uses the phone book to search are not the "typical" clients that i go after. I always ask random callers how they got in touch with me and it seems more often than not the ones that are price shopping for the most desperate person they can find ended up on the other end of the line because of the phone book.... And I ain't your Huckleberry.
Needless to say I will not spend a dime to be in the phone book ever again... First for the reason above, and secondly because I do not use it myself. If I am searching for anything the first thing I do is whip out the ole iPhone and search. I threw away the phone book the day after it arrived, it is beyond obsolete.
What says you? Same experiences lately? Forever?
I do agree somewhat. But in my area, where cell service is very spotty, a good old phone book is still used. Otherwise I just search on the internet or google phone numbers. Way faster! Most of our clients are repeat customers, but we still do a small ad in the yellow pages.
The phone book is useless
IMO, just about any printed medium that's available online is obsolete.... phone books, newspapers, magazines...
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you...
I get enough jobs each year from my yellow page ad in the local phone book to justify keeping the ad.
I also get a listing on the internet with it. My office phone runs about $120 a month with the advertising.
Phone books still have their place and can be useful.
jud
I don't think they are useless at all.
In my neck of the woods, a cell phone will not work half the time and high speed internet is just coming to the country, but not everywhere. There is still a lot of people out here that need a phone book just like they needed it 40 years ago.
Randy
no yellow pages here... no advertising much at all. barely have a sign on my building and now that I have a new truck, no one even recognizes me. I can't tell you the last time a person cold called me and actually hired me.. usually trolling for 75 dollar FEMA's or some other crap. no thanks.
I stand corrected.... Over here in non-rural America where we have cell phone coverage and hi-speed internet the phone book is useless. I had one guy ask me if I would survey his place for free, and when I said no he asked if I would help him find someone that would do it for free, I asked him if he was a prank calling me and he WAS NOT.... he was just a rock eater.
Yall have fun with them podunk "phone book people," I am done with em.
But without a phone book what do your kids/grandkids sit on until they are high enough at the table?
The phone book is useless
Have never been listed in the phone book.
I routinely check the phone book for vendors in my area.
A comment on traditional print publications that are going to internet availability. You will lose me as a regular participant, thus reducing your value to advertisers. When a magazine shows up in my mailbox, I will go through it. If you wait for me to go looking for your internet version, it will be a long wait. The receipt of the magazine (or newspaper or whatever) nudges me to do something with it. No nudge, no attention.
Lots of older people still use the phone book to hunt down services --their money is green.
I shut my phone book ad off after last year I didnt take in a single client from the phone book. Literally everyone that called from the ad starts with..How much for a survey? These are not the clients I want. I am happy to let others have that work.
if you wet them down they make great bullet catchers. you can see exactly how much penetration and bullet expansion you get on center fire rifle rounds with a couple of wet phone books. other than that they are a waste of paper. i stopped paying for advertising in the yellow pages about 5 years ago.