Remember that thick and clunky book we all know as Yellow Pages, the one that would get flopped on your front doorstep every year? For decades, the Yellow Pages book was the one thing at everyone's fingertips whenever they needed a service of any kind. These days the phone book seems to be losing momentum. Nowadays many consumers use the browser on their smartphones to find the services they need. However, don’t count out the Yellow pages just yet.
Instead of just using the Yellow Pages as a booster seat, here are 5 reasons why your rehab clinic should advertise in the Yellow Pages:
There is no doubt that the Internet is a popular choice for consumers, and many clinics have scrapped advertising in the Yellow Pages. Take advantage of the fact that your competitors are not advertising in the yellow book. If all or some of your competitors have bailed out of advertising in the Yellow Pages, you could scoop up all the remaining referrals. With fewer competitive ads and a decline in demand for advertising in Yellow Pages, your ad prices will be much lower.
2) Print is not dead
In a study conducted by Burke Research firm, the Yellow Pages are still the most trusted information sources for consumers who shop locally. Yellow Pages outpace other search engines in terms of trust, accuracy and ease of use. The study found that consumers consult two to three sources to search for information, including using the Yellow Pages as a source to find information about local businesses. Furthermore, older consumers continue to use print directories at a higher rate than their younger counterparts, so if your clinic caters to this older demographic, you will need to continue advertising in the Yellow Pages.
3) Older demographic and smaller cities like Yellow Pages
In today’s fragmented marketing landscape, consumers of all demographics are picking up information everywhere. You can’t ignore any marketing medium. Instead, you should strategize how your Yellow Pages ad, your website, and your social media can all collectively work together to convert potential patients.
In 2011, eMarketer conducted a survey to determine the demographics of those who used yellow pages. Rural residents, people aged 65+, those with less than a high school education and those with incomes under $40,000 are more likely to use print paper directories. Moreover, rural areas often have spotty or slow Internet access. There are people who don’t use the computers and don’t trust the internet. For these people, it is faster to reach for the Yellow Pages than to boot up the computer.
4) Higher conversion rates then online
Online websites bring in browsers; print Yellow Pages brings in buyers. According to the Burke research, 8 out of 10 print Yellow Pages searches resulted in a purchase. With a good website, your conversion rate is much lower (i.e., 5 out of 100 website visitors)
Consumers open up the Yellow Pages with the intent to buy. You don’t have to create demand for your services; it’s already there.
5) Lower cost per assessment (CPA) then adwords
Before you decide to stop advertising in the Yellow Pages, measure it. Train your receptionist to ask every caller where they found the phone number they were calling and analyze which advertising medium is the most cost effective. Install a tracking number for every advertising campaign (ie google Adwords, doctor marketing, yellow pages, direct mail, etc.) to give you more accuracy.
Start measuring CPA (Cost per Assessment = total advertising cost / total assessments) and compare with all your different advertising campaigns. With a good yellow pages advertisement, you may be surprised with a CPA that is better than Google Adwords.
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