Where are you?

A few years ago, my wife and I bought our first house. During the sales process, we went through what felt like hundreds of houses. Due to my inherent thrift, we started our search at what some would call the low end of the market. As such, we toured a lot of houses that were vacant, foreclosed, spider-infested and at least one with only three walls.

As we moved up market, we went through an older home (with all its walls) that had a relic of the past anchored to the kitchen wall. In a steel box at shoulder height, next to the telephone, sat a 1960s edition of the Yellow Pages.

A few weeks later, we found a house we liked (it had all four walls and no vermin). On the counter, along with all the spare keys and the code to the garage door opener, the previous owners left us a stack of a dozen phone books, many published more than 10 years ago.

The first thing I did was toss that stack of phone books in the recycling bin.

Now, if you still advertise in the Yellow Pages or similar books, and you get a tangible return on that investment, then by all means don’t stop. But, if you can’t readily articulate what you get back in dollars and cents for an ad in the phone book, take a look at this month’s cover story on page 40.

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, out of adults who say they sought out information on local businesses, 47 percent rely most on the internet, and 22 percent rely most on word of mouth from family and friends.

Homeowners, HOAs and property managers still need and want landscapers. But the process from that initial thought – “I think we should hire a landscaper” – to you shaking their hand at a walk-around has changed dramatically in the past 10 years.

These days, chances are pretty good that homeowner or board president will first ask his friends or colleagues for recommendations and then go to Google to find out more about those top picks.

So if you're not showing up where your prospects are looking, where are you? Missing out. The tools we give you this month will help you show up.

Just like buying a big ad in the Yellow Pages makes you stand out, having good SEO and a solid online presence makes you stand out, too. The message to customers and your ultimate goals are the same – the medium has just changed.

So put yourself in front of your new customers. They’re out there looking for you. Will you be there for them to find?