I recently took some time to review the January issue of the National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB) Small Business Economic Trends report, which tracks the latest developments in small business sales, employment and other factors. The data, which is updated on a monthly basis, is clear: despite overall improvements in the economy, small business optimism and growth remains stalled.
Somewhat buried in the report, however, is one statistic that I think is important to call out. Last December, the single most important problem facing small businesses—by a 14-point margin—was poor sales. In fact, sales concerns are at an all-time high since NFIB began tracking the statistic in 1986.
Essentially, small businesses are making a plea for help. And no one is in a better position to help them generate sales than us. More than ever, we need to activate the new and innovative solutions that we’ve been building to help these business owners take advantage of the slowly improving economy.
Consider the stats: our print and online Yellow Pages products were used almost 17 billion times in 2009, produce one of the strongest ROI’s of any medium and are the most effective medium at generating new customers. We can help small businesses generate those much needed sales better than anyone.
While we can’t singlehandedly restore confidence to the small business sector, Yellow Pages can play an important role in its recovery. Our success will be the success of the small and medium-size business.
I came across an interesting article on CNN.com that questions the future of Twitter, which had enormous growth in early 2009 but has not seen its user base expand for nearly six months, according to several Web analytics firms.
In the article, one analyst suggests that Twitter may be a victim of its early success. After users flocked to the site to follow celebrities, athletes, and news organizations, some had possibility decided the site simply wasn’t for them. Others say that maybe there’s too much chatter on the site now for it to still be useful.
Yet Twitter and its supporters say that existing users are using the site now more than ever. According to Twitter CEO Evan Williams, Twitter saw its highest usage day ever following the earthquake in Haiti. Additionally, some experts think that the use of mobile devices and third-party programs like TweetDeck are skewing Twitter’s numbers lower – and that in fact its user base is still growing.
Several Yellow Pages companies have embraced Twitter. For example, SuperMedia launched its own handle, sp411, which provides local search results via the site. Other YP members, such as Yellow Pages Group, have launched their own handles as well as a channel to communicate with their customers.
It will be interesting to see how Twitter evolves to stay top of mind for users. Whatever its path or future success, it’s clear that social networking is here to stay and that its impact on local search is real. That’s going to make it harder than ever for local businesses to keep up with the trends and where our industry’s multichannel, platform agnostic direction can play a significant role.
In a press release this morning, the company introduced a new board of directors and its listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “DEXO.”
Dex One chairman and CEO David C. Swanson stressed his company’s plans to further develop a hybrid range of advertising solutions including online and mobile search, print yellow pages directories, voice-search platforms and pay-per-click networks.
“We selected the Dex One name because it clearly communicates who we are and what we do – Dex, your trusted marketing partner for over a hundred years, and now, your One stop shop for getting your business exposed to active buying consumers whether they’re searching our robust suite of Dex products or on other major search sites or search engines,” Swanson said.
As we’ve noted, Dex One currently lists 11.5 million businesses online through its DexKnows.com Web site, supplies content for YellowPages.com, and has deals with search engines such as Google and Yahoo. The company is also beginning to offer online video advertising and reputation management for companies seeking to improve their online customer reviews.
For our local business advertisers, generating leads is key. Data shows that 85% of Yellow Pages’ shoppers follow-up with a purchase after searching the “florists” heading … and more than 40% of these shoppers will end up purchasing from a florist that they have not used before.
Another interesting factoid about this heading is that a greater number of consumers – about 31% – consult this heading from work either via print or Internet Yellow Pages compared to other headings – about 22%.
If you’re among the 28 million who will purchase flowers this year, take a look at the tips below from our friends at the Society of American Florists to extend the life of your bouquet:
If your roses arrived in plastic water tubes, remove them before arranging.
Remove any leaves that will be under water, taking care not to damage the green bark.
Re-cut stems by removing 1-2 inches with a sharp knife.
Immediately after cutting, place roses in a clean, deep vase of water containing a flower food provided by your local florist.
Check the flower food solution daily and make sure to keep it full, clean, and fresh. Replace the solution if it becomes cloudy.
Even with such TLC, your flowers are likely to last just a few days, but the ROI for “florists” advertisers remains strong year-round. The “florists” heading is the 18th most referenced among more than 4,000 different Yellow Pages headings and generates over $30,000 in annual sales revenue per advertiser.
It’s the last day of a very busy month for Yellow Pages companies. We came out of the gates of 2010 with a number of important stories about the transformation of our industry, from SuperMedia, R.H. Donnelley (soon to be known as Dex One Corp.), and AT&T.
So it’s no surprise that yesterday, The Berry Companyannounced that it was entering into contracts with two Web site development and search engine marketing companies, Yodle, Inc. and Web.com Group Inc. These partnerships will help Berry to further expand beyond its traditional roots in print publishing to become an integrated provider of both print and digital local search services.
Earlier this month, Berry announced a transformative effort to put it in a stronger position to assist small businesses in developing a multi-platform approach to their advertising, including print directories, Internet Yellow Pages, web sites, search engine marketing optimization and video.
I think the comment from Scott Pomeroy, Berry’s president and CEO, in his announcement this week was a great statement that reflects what’s going on in our industry at large. He said, “The launch is the culmination of the strategy and plans we have been working on for the past two years. We are expanding our legacy role as a print yellow pages publisher to become a local search services provider in order to meet our clients’ need for leads from the many sources consumers use today as they search for local businesses. We have spent the last year re-engineering every aspect of our business, which we believe will fundamentally transform how we operate and serve our clients.”
I’m looking forward to seeing all the news of the past month turn into real results for Yellow Pages companies, and for our advertising customers as well.
In his presentation, Jobs noted that the iPad will support the iTunes store, most applications already available in its App Store, as well as a new iBookstore with books from major and independent publishers. The iPad will also feature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Internet connectivity and include an option for unlimited wireless data through AT&T.
With all the excitement surrounding the tablet, I’m eager to see what Yellow Pages companies develop to take advantage of this new technology. YP companies are already changing the ways we search for information online and via mobile. I can only imagine the possibilities that tablets will bring by providing YP clients with a greater ability to share dynamic content with their target consumers, wherever they are.
A while back we blogged about AT&T’s plans to offer a next-generation YellowPages.com offering geared at an under-30, social networking-oriented audience. Well, news came this week via Forbes.com that AT&T is now testing its new online platform that will allow users to browse local businesses using recommendations from their social networking connections.
Forbes says that the site – dubbed buzz.com – lets users poll their friends about certain businesses, ask user-appointed experts for their recommendations, and surf listings based on their location. Users will be able to import their existing social graphs from their e-mail accounts or Facebook profiles, instead of needing to replicate their social networks on the site.
Here’s an interesting story from our Yellow Pages friends up north: Yellow Pages Group, a leading Canadian local commercial search provider, announced this week that it has purchased Restaurantica.com, a popular restaurant and dining online community.
The move is the latest in a growing trend among Yellow Pages companies towards developing or acquiring new online and mobile tools as a means of generating new revenues.
Yellow Pages Group, which already runs the YellowPages.ca online search engine, will benefit from the addition of a restaurant-related site that hosts user reviews, which are becoming increasingly popular among users.
According to the company, 80% of dining decisions are significantly influenced by user recommendations and reviews. The site also comes with more than 50,000 restaurant customers, who will in turn become Yellow Pages customers.
Restaurantica currently lists around 400,000 restaurants, bars and cafes, with more than 200,000 user-generated reviews, according to the announcement press release. Additionally, the site, which has its own iPhone app, attracts more than 540,000 visits and 1.7 million page views per month.
New web verticals such as Restuarantica and EveryCarListed.com, a SuperMedia site dedicated to car sales, represent Yellow Pages’ expanding influence in the digital space – and a sign of more to come.
Recently on this blog, we’ve focused on the growing importance of online and mobile opportunities for Yellow Pages companies and their small business advertisers. Recently, SuperMedia (formerly Idearc) emerged from bankruptcy with a commitment to developing those areas of its business.
But in Baltimore this month, the continued importance of print Yellow Pages as an marketing medium became clear after a legal battle emerged over which local law firm would be allowed to advertise on the back cover of this year’s directory.
The dispute, though unfortunate because it involved an error on the part of the local directory publisher, nonetheless emphasized the high regard small businesses still hold for print Yellow Pages.
Last week I wrote an article for Search Engine Land on the latest consumer usage trends and the new opportunities they offer for local search providers and small business customers.
As SuperMedia’s Chief Executive Scott Klein suggests, understanding new online and mobile local search initiatives is key for growth heading into the new year. Also important is ensuring directories and advertisers reflect the quickly changing search patterns of specific communities. Some things to consider include urban vs. rural technology access; age and gender; ethnic demographics; print directory usage patterns; and varying degrees of economic growth by region.
Growth in 2010 will certainly be shaped by our ability to develop innovative online and mobile capabilities. At the same time, a complete portfolio is what will allow us to reach as many of our unique consumers as possible in their specific communities.
You can read my full piece at Search Engine Land here.
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