Ad Prices for Yellow Pages

[Alan]

I use no yellow page ads, at all. In fact, the book in my area won't even
give me a free listing because I use my home number for the business instead
of a separate business line.

NOTE: I am in a very rural area, so the situation is probably different.

But the calls I get from any advertising tend to be "How much do you
charge?" Sometimes I can convert that person to a regular customer, more
often, I never hear from them again or just tune for them once. 

BY FAR: Your best, least whiney, most loyal customers will come from
referrals or "I saw your truck at such-and-such church." It takes time to
build a clientele that way, of course, but I really dislike casual,
bargain-hunter business.

If you are in a highly competitive area, you may need to advertise ...

BUT carefully track it. Ask everyone who calls: "Where did you hear about
me?" and keep a log. Adjust your ad program according to the results. Many,
if not most, advertising dollars do not yield much bang for the buck.

Other things: Often public relations can be much more effective than direct
ads--and much cheaper. This can include getting involved in community
service organizations, e.g., Rotary, doing charitable work such as tunings
for Community Senior Centers which usually have starvation budgets, getting
your name in the paper any which way you can (short of the Michael Jackson
route), and so forth. Get visible. Network. Ask EVERYONE you meet, including
the clerk at the mini-mart: "Do you have a piano at your house?" No? "Do you
know someone who does? Please give them my card." Post flyers and cards
wherever merchants will let you. Write little piano articles for newspapers
or music organizations. Hunt up music teachers and meet them face-to-face.
Advertise in the "pick-'em-up-free" ad papers like "Thrifty Nickel." Attend
PTG seminars and conferences and take marketing classes.

Direct contact or direct referrals are key. Don't be just a number in a
book. Make it personal. If you had all the piano business you can handle,
you wouldn't need to advertise. If you don't, you have TIME to go out and
work (hustle, if you will) to build your business.

Yellow Page Ads are a wonderful business builder ... for the phone company. 

Alan R. Barnard
Salem, MO


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Doug Renz Piano Tuning / Repair
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2005 9:42 AM
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: Ad Prices for Yellow Pages


I am trying to plan for yellow page ads for next years phone book and trying
to see if the price quoted is "average".

$125 a month for a 16th page display graphic ad.

$80 a month for 1 inch text ad in main section and 1 free in "suburban"
section.

I heard on the list that a yellow page ad should cost no more than 1 tuning.
Is this true or just a guideline?

This  yellow page ad reaches a large city of 1.2 million residents.

The sales person said that graphic display ad's get more calls but I'm not
sure if yellow page ads work as well as "word of mouth, networking"
advertising.

What do you think?

Doug Renz
Associate PTG
pianotuner@frontiernet.net

_______________________________________________
pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives

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