Sales & Marketing: Yellow Page Ad Service

Landscape contractors often ask me what I think of Yellow Page ads, and my blunt answer is usually, "They’re a waste of money." I know this from personal experience. But research statistics show that a large amount is spent annually on Yellow Page ads. The Kelsey Group estimates that 46 percent of the $22 billion small business owners spend on advertising this year will go toward Yellow Page ads. That’s almost $11 billion! Put simply, that’s too much to invest in the phonebook.

When it comes to business, landscape contractors are like dentists, mechanics and hairdressers: We’re all in the service industry, and our success depends upon how well we meet our clients’ needs and earn their trust. For example, when you need a new dentist, where do you turn first? When your car needs a tune-up, whom do you call first? When you need a haircut better than the local barber can deliver, where do you look first? I think you get the point.

Dentistry, car repair and hair styling are services you want done well. But since the quality from person to person in these industries can differ wildly (Ever get a buzz-cut when you only wanted a trim?), you tend to ask family, friends and neighbors – people whose judgment you trust – for recommendations. Their opinions count more than the Yellow Pages. Or, to put it another way, your reputation is your best ad. But how do you establish a good reputation and make it known? Here are three ways that have worked for me:

1. Deliver exceptional service to every client – big or small. Several years ago I got a call out of the blue from a woman who said she had heard Grunder Landscaping had the best mulch in town and would we deliver her a load? Of course we would! We sent a driver out right away to deliver her our "special mulch," which he did with the same level of professionalism and courtesy we expect our employees to show all of our clients. Today that woman is our largest client, the kind of client you could only dream about. Our mulch was no better than our competition’s mulch, but our service was. Do a job well and years later you might find yourself still reaping the rewards.

2. Put your clients to work for you. When you complete a job, follow up in person with your clients to make sure they’re pleased with your work. And if for some reason they’re not, do what it takes to make them so and then turn the tables. Send them a letter offering them a gift certificate, cash or some other benefit for every client they refer to you who signs up. And if you’ve followed my first suggestion and delivered them exceptional service, you may find you don’t even have to ask. On the strength of neighbor-to-neighbor recommendations alone, I’ve sometimes succeeded in landing every job on a street.

3. Practice smart-bomb marketing. Smart-bomb marketing is the opposite of Yellow Page ads because it’s smart. The price of a Yellow Page ad is based on how many homes that edition of the phonebook is delivered to – the more homes, the more you pay for the ad. What it’s not based on is how many of those homes are actually good prospects for your business, and often that’s not many at all.

Smart-bomb marketing is marketing that is aimed right at your intended target or customer. To get a better bang for your buck, drop "bombs" of catchy and inexpensive promotional postcards, flyers, newsletters or even door hangers to those neighborhoods’ homes you’re already working at or to those you’ve identified as a good potential clients. You’ll likely see a far better return on your investment. And if you see a lawn you think you could improve, knock on the door and tell the homeowner so. No one ever got anywhere in business without at least a little bit of gumption.

Don’t get me wrong: Yellow Page ads sometimes have their place. They can be a good first step for a new company to announce its presence and establish its credibility, or for an older company looking to change or rejuvenate its image. But there’s nothing smart about spending $11 billion dollars on the phonebook.

Marty Grunder is a speaker, consultant, author and landscape contractor with Grunder Landscaping Co. He can be reached at 937/847-9944 and via www.martygrunder.com.