Golden pages?? Whats your view

izzydumpling

Hi, we are a SME retail company - enduring our annual GP battle. Would like to know if people are really bothering with them this year, what sort of return they have had on their advertsing - and how much of a discount (if any) they managed to get on the list price of the ad (without increasing the ad size).

They are the only sales reps i really dispise.... hate the way they pressure sell, and am convinced they even believe their own lies at this stage

Not sure if just ready to say good bye, adios, better off without you!

Iz

endplate

We went with them one year very expensive for a small white box. Didn't bother the next year and have noticed no difference in trade. Free listing is fine for me.

blue4ever

@izzydumpling

There are a variety of factors in your choice - an you have a huge influence on how your ad works.

Depends on the category, the side, your copy (huge factor).

The relevance of the Print Directory now.. its debatable. If your are in Dublin, the golden pages have it fairly well sown up with the Independent Directory closing.

I sent you a PM wit a few bits that you might find interesting.

C

Truvo Ireland

Izzydumpling,

I'm sorry to hear that you have had a disappointing experience. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss your advertising requirements and assure you that you will not receive any pushy sales approach, but a purely fact-based discussion that is focused on delivering return on your investment.
If you would like to give me a call, my number is 087 6892898.
Many thanks, Ian Crawford, National Sales Manager - Truvo.

blue4ever

Given the current climate and the less of a influence directories and, to a lesser extent other forms of media, have on driving business to SME's
you should be looking at a discount and not because you can: You should be working off a ROI basis - if your advertising isn't working - have a look at the reasons - if its the medium - then can it. If its the message - improve it.

If you are advertising 'because your competitors are there' - that's an awful reason to stay (and many do just that).

uniqpers

Just spotted this now. . . was at a seminar recently and found that one of the companies there, a local printer, found that they get 70% of their business through the Golden Pages.

I was speaking with one of the guys from Truvo before who was saying that when people are going to buy, after doing their research online then they go to the Golden Pages. . . i don't think that this is quite relevant though given the proliferation of Google Local.

bullfrog007

The Golden pages is a waste of time. I had a large ad with them and i had the phone lines that appeared in the ad checked every week. 2 calls a week from a €10,000 ad. And then theres online golden pages, sweet jesus that was an even bigger waste of time.
And before some Numpty out there working for Truvo starts on with the 'You might not have been a suitable business for the Golden pages' I am in the catogory of the Big 7, lawyers, Builders, Windows, waste disposal etc etc. 2 calls a week, waste of my time and money.
Oh and just a note to the sale people from Truvo, who show you satistics and 'Key word' hit rates

A Hit rate does not mean a sale,

For example, the Golden pages will show you on their sheets the number of Hits the word 'Lawyer' gets, say its 30,000 hits, then they say that they will tie your business name to this 'Key word' and increase your hit rate. What their not telling you is that they could have a web customer in Hong gong typing different words in, and happens to come across your site, but hey, its a hit, just like they promised.....Not a sale.

If you want your business SALES to increase, do Google ad words, its simple, effective, and you dont need to tie up much needed capatial with the Golden pages.

Truvo Ireland

In a continued effort to deliver good customer service and return on investment to all of our clients, we have enhanced our existing product portfolio to offer customers tailored advertising programmes to suit their requirements whether it be print, online, mobile or a combination with a Google Adwords campaign.

88% of Irish people continue to use Golden Pages and goldenpages.ie, with 311 million searches annually, and Golden Pages remains the number one choice for people looking for local businesses.

As Blueforever said, the content of your advert plays a hugely important part in the success of your campaign so we always stress the need for our advertisers to carefully consider a number of factors - industry, copy, visuals, call to action etc. We now offer enriched content on goldenpages.ie such as video (we'll manage the whole process for you) to enable customers to connect with buyers in a much more engaging way. For our MySite product, it is crucial to the success of the campaign that customers login regularly to update their site with fresh and relevant content to help it index well on Google and other search engines.

Regarding Search Engines such as Google,Yahoo, Bing and others, it is true that Search Engine marketing can play a valuable part in your marketing campaign. This is why we now have a highly experienced team of experts in-house who manage SEM (such as Google Adwords) campaigns for a significant number of our clients. This, coupled with the Search Engine Optimisation benefits of a Truvo MySite allows our Advertisers the opportunity to attract more customers from their area of focus.

Additionally, we have a new online reporting tool called Truvo Lounge which gives our customers direct access to reports so that they have complete visibility of their programme's performance throughout the duration of their contract.

Truvo Ireland

Apologies Blue4ever, misspelled your name in my reply!

shoeaddict27

i don't think its worth paying out for the yellow pages. i worked in advertising for a large multinational and we had thought about using them but went against it. most people search for products and services in their area on the internet. if you have a decent website the you're good to go

maybe look at some of the local papers or free managezines in your area and see if they can offer you a trial advertising space to see if that would work better for you

skepticalone

i have to agree with the above poster , i took out an advert with golden pages which cost 9500 euros and found it had zero impact . Worst mistake ever, given the fact that most businesses could do a heck of a lot with the money , i might as well have burned the 10 k

blue4ever

Something has to give as Truvo in the US has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The real dilemma for the original print directories is that they are encumbered with the print volumes - could they abandon the print directories overnight?

Their own statement 'The Truvo Group has been significantly affected by the continuing shift from print media toward online products' - not the only medium but one that's under serious attack form online.

Garyr1

We havent advertised in the GP for over 6 years. Thats how long its been since we received any referrals or business of note from the rag. I cant remember the last time i picked one up, i think most people are the same. By the time you find the section you're looking, you have it googled, and a phone call made. Waste of time.

izzydumpling

88% of Irish people continue to use Golden Pages and goldenpages.ie, with 311 million searches annually, and Golden Pages remains the number one choice for people looking for local businesses.

I would like to know where this data came from and how old is it? I would seriously doubt 88% of people use goldenpages in either format!

Additionally, we have a new online reporting tool called Truvo Lounge which gives our customers direct access to reports so that they have complete visibility of their programme's performance

Yes - but it is not unbiased data and data is always open to manipulation (not saying you do, but it is possible!!)

IRE60

they say their website is "generating over 1.7 million searches each month" leaves a little deficiency- that 88% figure I think is well out of date and there is a complete blurring of the two products in that statement.

91011

I reckon it depends on your business.

If you're a regular retail shop there is probably no real benefit.

If you're targeting a under 35 age market, these will always use internet.

If you have a 24hr plumbing service or other rarely used service that suddenly is required - then its useful.

NCG

91011 wrote: »

I reckon it depends on your business.

If you're a regular retail shop there is probably no real benefit.

If you're targeting a under 35 age market, these will always use internet.

If you have a 24hr plumbing service or other rarely used service that suddenly is required - then its useful.

Agreed, depends on your desired customer demographic. We have clients referrals from both sources (GP & web), but one is a declining source and one increasing - you can guess which is which.

Red Oak Tax Refunds: John

IRE60 wrote: »

they say their website is "generating over 1.7 million searches each month" leaves a little deficiency- that 88% figure I think is well out of date and there is a complete blurring of the two products in that statement.

I was surprised to, but just had a look in google adplanner. This shows 4.1m page views in the most recent month and an upward trend for visits, so it appears reasonable to me at a quick glance.

GoTac

You would be better off spending your cash on add words