In a message dated 97-04-26 11:00:31 EDT, you write: > What have some of you done who mostly work for yourself, especially if >you >> don't offer rebuilding? Have you found yellow pages advertising cost >> effective? >> >> Sincerely, >> Wally Scherer Although we don't ask everytime a customer calls, we do get feed back that they found my name in the Yellow Pages. Does it pay for itself? Yes . It pays for itself in that it puts my name in front of customers every day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. For what it costs me, I can't buy that kind of advertising in the newspaper on the radio. There are 2 circumstances where being in the Yellow Pages is effective. One, I have in my ad that I am a member of the PTG. I get enough calls from customer looking for an RPT, that those calls alone pay for the ad. Although I also get calls from people who want to use my other services, rebuilding, appraising, etc, and wanting to buy or rent a piano, it is the tuning business that pays for it all. The other reason it is important I have my name in the YP is for my repeat customers. I send my customers reminder notices for 4 years, but even after all of that, most of them do not have my phone number handy. They know my name, or if not exactly, they know it is a little different. If I was not in the YP, they wouldn't know where to look, or how to spell it. It is just like your dentist, or plumber. You know who he is, but do you know his phone number. No matter how small a town you live in, it doesn't hurt to have your name in the YP. No tonly for new customers, but also for your regular clientelle. It more than pays for itself. Willem Blees RPT St. Louis
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