Advertising with Goldenpages online

eddie73

Hi, am enquiring about advertising with goldenpages both online and print. I would like to hear other peoples experiences with the company and volume of calls per month before I subscribe and pay for the facility. Are they useful? I took an add out last year with the Independent directory and got 5 calls to date, which was very poor indeed.

Musha

Hi Eddie,

Have found both rubbish as far as generating sales leads, We have found a website and good google presence to be far more beneficial and cost effective
If you are going with the books, just a small two liner rather than the box ads
as the sales people will as allways try to sell you the "bigger and better" stuff.

We are not spending any more money on the books, most people have the net or WOM referals.

Zascar

Yeah get a quick website and a google adwords campaign - way better

Darragh29

Hi OP,

I'd strongly advise you to read this thead, I put a few comments in here about some bad business experiences I had and one was my dealings with the Golden Pages, it'll make sense if you read the whole thread...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055380853

My advice to you is to not go with Golden Pages. You'll have a very well presented and amicable sales person calling out to you with a very strong sales message but it is a HUGE outlay for a small business and your returns are unlikely to be anywhere near what they will lead you to expect.

What market are you operating in??? One lesson I learnt in the past from dealing with them is that they had sold me advertising that was actually useless because the service I was offering was based enormously on word of mouth recommendations. Basically for what I was offering, nobody was ever going to pick up the Golden Pages looking for it, they were going to ask their friend or a relative or a co-worker or someone like that.

Then when I brought this up with them, they suggested that I throw more money at the problem by buying online advertising from them!

For solicitors, accountants, skip companies, insurance companies, that pay mega bucks for a full page display ad, I'd say it works for them, but please take my advice and think long and hard before commiting to a big spend with them because if you make the wrong decision, it could put you under or be a huge contributory factor in that respect, it did a few years ago in my case...

My advise to you is be extremely extremely careful with your marketing budget.

is_that_so

I used the Golden Pages for a year. I got enough business to pay for the ad itself but very little more. I still get the odd call as people tend to have older versions. It is very much dependent on your line of business but as commented it is very expensive for what you get and there are better ways to do things.

Darragh29

eddie73 wrote: »

Hi, am enquiring about advertising with goldenpages both online and print. I would like to hear other peoples experiences with the company and volume of calls per month before I subscribe and pay for the facility. Are they useful? I took an add out last year with the Independent directory and got 5 calls to date, which was very poor indeed.

Sorry for rambling on Ed!

What I would do if I was you is print out 50 sheets of A4 paper and do a very simple questionaire like this, using 50 people like friends, family and co-workers:

"Hello potential customer, I'm now operating in your locality offering a Dog Grooming, Walking & Boarding Service (just for example). I can collect your dog from your house and care for him while you are away and I can also groom him so he is in top shape when I bring him back to you...

If you needed to avail of the services that I provide, would you find me or another service provider by:

[ ] Searching the internet, Google, Yahoo?

[ ] Finding a leaflet/flyer that I recently put in your door?

[ ] Asking a friend to recomend someone?

[ ] Use the Golden Pages or a similar directory?

[ ] Listening to an ad on the radio?

If you carry out this straw poll on 50 people, you'd want to be seeing upwards of half those people using the Golden Pages as their first option. If you aren't getting there or there abouts, forget it is my advice.

blue4ever

Darragh29 wrote: »

Hi OP,

I'd strongly advise you to read this thead, I put a few comments in here about some bad business experiences I had and one was my dealings with the Golden Pages, it'll make sense if you read the whole thread...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055380853

My advice to you is to not go with Golden Pages. You'll have a very well presented and amicable sales person calling out to you with a very strong sales message but it is a HUGE outlay for a small business and your returns are unlikely to be anywhere near what they will lead you to expect.

What market are you operating in??? One lesson I learnt in the past from dealing with them is that they had sold me advertising that was actually useless because the service I was offering was based enormously on word of mouth recommendations. Basically for what I was offering, nobody was ever going to pick up the Golden Pages looking for it, they were going to ask their friend or a relative or a co-worker or someone like that.

Then when I brought this up with them, they suggested that I throw more money at the problem by buying online advertising from them!

For solicitors, accountants, skip companies, insurance companies, that pay mega bucks for a full page display ad, I'd say it works for them, but please take my advice and think long and hard before commiting to a big spend with them because if you make the wrong decision, it could put you under or be a huge contributory factor in that respect, it did a few years ago in my case...

My advise to you is be extremely extremely careful with your marketing budget.

Forgive me Darragh29 – but it sounds like you were oversold – and you signed the paper work.

If you know you market – stick to your guns and don’t be enticed to go into other categories.

Directory advertising (regardless of the book) can work for some people, is necessary for others and is wasteful for some more.

Start small and promote your web site where you have plenty of room to say what you want.

Darragh29

blue4ever wrote: »

Forgive me Darragh29 – but it sounds like you were oversold – and you signed the paper work.

If you know you market – stick to your guns and don’t be enticed to go into other categories.

Directory advertising (regardless of the book) can work for some people, is necessary for others and is wasteful for some more.

Start small and promote your web site where you have plenty of room to say what you want.

I put my hands up, I let someone buy and sell me. Not only did I sign the paperwork, I signed the cheque for 12K! The thing is, most of the information you will get from people selling print advertising, is not in the paperwork. 90% of the message they will give you will be non-binding verbal information. They will tell you how successful you will be, how you will clean up with your new ad, how you will be this that and the other, how your competitors are "upping their spend", such is the success they have enjoyed.

Then you sign the paperwork and the cheque, but if what they told you verbally doesn't materialise, and in my case it didn't, you are out of a lot of money and you've learnt one of those extremely expensive lessons that you hear people telling you about!

Darragh29

I'm not saying their advertising doesn't work but they are known for having an uncanny ability to agressively upsell their services to people who really will not benefit from an ad in their publication. Some people new in business would not see this sales juggernaut coming at them, I know I didn't anyway and I paid a high price... These are things you just learn along the way, there is no big crime in making these mistakes, just once you learn the lesson and move on...

eddie73

Many thanks for all your replies and they were helpful!!

I was quoted an add online and in the book for 1250 for the year. I feel that it is too much, and am looking for more business than to just break even. This is the pitch I was getting yesterday, senceless unless you are going to at least quadruple your money over the year.

Yes it does make sence to adveritse using as webpage. Im in the music business and am quite busy. I advertised last year in the independent directory and found the response to be utterly useless.

Darragh29

eddie73 wrote: »

Many thanks for all your replies and they were helpful!!

I was quoted an add online and in the book for 1250 for the year. I feel that it is too much, and am looking for more business than to just break even. This is the pitch I was getting yesterday, senceless unless you are going to at least quadruple your money over the year.

Yes it does make sence to adveritse using as webpage. Im in the music business and am quite busy. I advertised last year in the independent directory and found the response to be utterly useless.

Well I imagine the music business (if you have a band or are a performer), is word of mouth and largely based on recommedation. I doubt the Golden Pages would bring you much business at all and you alreaady have the proof of the pudding from your experience with The Indpendent Directory. The trouble with these type of salespeople is that you have to be extremely assertive with them, they generally will not stop annoying you until they get their sale, it's a very high pressure sales environment...

eddie73

I did feel sorry for him, his supervisor was there too and I got the impression that the job is tough and probably poorly paid. But they wouldnt quote me over the phone so I HAD to meet them face to face.

Thanks again for all your replies. Cant beat stories of real experience to get a fuller profile before spending big money.

blue4ever

eddie73 wrote: »

I did feel sorry for him, his supervisor was there too and I got the impression that the job is tough and probably poorly paid. But they wouldnt quote me over the phone so I HAD to meet them face to face.

Thanks again for all your replies. Cant beat stories of real experience to get a fuller profile before spending big money.

The job is well paid - very well on target
Super there as a bit pf added pressure - you were on your own (i assume!)
NO quotes over the phone - ever. The majority of people are so adverse to confrontation – but the same doesn’t apply to a voice on the phone

You can cancel your ad – at this point – seriously.
Tell them your budget and to spend it or leave it
Get a web site
Place a small ad – esp in the music biz
Place a video online on your web site

blue4ever

Darragh29 wrote: »

I put my hands up, I let someone buy and sell me. Not only did I sign the paperwork, I signed the cheque for 12K! The thing is, most of the information you will get from people selling print advertising, is not in the paperwork. 90% of the message they will give you will be non-binding verbal information. They will tell you how successful you will be, how you will clean up with your new ad, how you will be this that and the other, how your competitors are "upping their spend", such is the success they have enjoyed.

Then you sign the paperwork and the cheque, but if what they told you verbally doesn't materialise, and in my case it didn't, you are out of a lot of money and you've learnt one of those extremely expensive lessons that you hear people telling you about!

OHHHH - sorry, 12k - that hurts. I wish i had been around - could have given a few pointers.

Darragh29

blue4ever wrote: »

OHHHH - sorry, 12k - that hurts. I wish i had been around - could have given a few pointers.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I wasn't too cut up about it, nobody died!

kmart6

If your in the Golden Pages as a business your just going to get countless calls from twats in call centres!

Darragh29

kmart6 wrote: »

If your in the Golden Pages as a business your just going to get countless calls from twats in call centres!

Christ I forgot to say that. The phone will ring and you'll be expecting a sale and there will be some twit at the end of the phone trying to sell you something, usually more useless advertising!

This is very annoying and also costs you money if you have a Lo-call or Freefone number... I had completely forgotten about this aspect to it... For every sale call you will get, you'll get about 4-5 of these calls...

zAbbo

Marketing is never black and white, there's no this will or won't work, as each scenario is usually different.

I've advertised on the back page of the Golden Pages, and for the outlay (which was substancial) - it was worth it, thousands of calls for my employer, and countless new business, even years after the ad was placed.

OP, you probably need to add a little more information on your service and market, in order to understand what you're doing and more importantly - what your competitors are doing.

Sonnenblumen

Think about it, the data in GP is 12 months old by the time the new edition arrives on the doorstep. So who would use an old book to find a supplier /service provider in an emergency?

Clearing a blocked drain perhaps but for something more substantive, savvy people are on the web and use it extensively.

The GP is over rated, over priced and overpopulated with cowboys.

Take the basic listing which is free, and iutilise your marketing budget to work more effectively elsewhere.