Print Yellow Pages Aren't Obsolete Yet

Would you use a typewriter in your new business? How about buying a pack of carbon sheets for making copies?

No, I don’t think so.

And neither do the wiki contributors at the Australian website ObsoleteSkills.com, an A-Z list of things we no longer need to know in the modern world.

But one of the included skills is, “looking up a business in the Yellow Pages.”

Whoa, slow down there.

Although I have previously written about how valuable it is to take your business online to be seen by the people who do NOT use the print Yellow Pages, there are still many people who do. Despite the trend that points toward the growing popularity of Internet searches, current user statistics of the Yellow Pages suggest that you shouldn’t abandon your business listing and/or advertising just yet.

While 93% of consumers use the Internet to search for businesses, stores and services, a whopping 95% of purchases are still made in brick-and-mortar stores. Plus, the 2007 Yellow Pages usage reports show that 86% of Americans used the print directory to inform purchasing decisions that year.

Is a print Yellow Pages advertisement enough? No. You have to be online, too.

But obsolete? Not yet. Not by a long shot.

Resources:
The best article I’ve seen on how to best use a Yellow Pages print ad:
http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/marketandprice/SERV_YELLOPAGES.html

The second best article I’ve seen on what to consider before placing a print Yellow Pages ad:
http://www.gaebler.com/Yellow-Pages-Advertising.htm