Is Yellow Pages’ whole market in decline?
Two interesting articles this week about Yellow Pages (Telegraph and Independent) caught my eye (see links below).
Is the precipitous decline of Yell’s share price endemic, I wonder, of the whole printed business directory space? Faced with stiff competition from online directories, combined with an economic slowdown in which businesses reconsider where they are spending their marketing bucks, could it be curtains for the old guard?
Where an older generation would always reach for the big yellow book, today’s consumers increasingly (and some would say in majority) reach for the Internet. Its not just the delivery mechanism that’s changing, it’s the whole business model.
Take a look at Brownbook.net (www.brownbook.net), I’m the product strategist for that company, and there’s a good reason why I joined them. It’s a totally devastating business model when compared with the traditional directory publishers.
Here are some of the differences:
- instant updates at any time, versus yearly updates
- cheaper AND more flexible advertising, versus high fees and inflexible options
- no sales force to fund, versus expensive on the road teams
- peer-produced, versus costly call centre and data entry agents
- increases SEO of companies websites, versus doesn’t really make any difference
There’s a lot more to it than that, but just how long can an old industry stick its head in the ground. It reminds me of The Post Office 15 years ago when they missed the opportunity to be THE email provider and ISP for just about EVERY UK household… No, they said, our business is safe, and now they’re seriously challenged and stand NO CHANCE of competing in the electronic mail market.
See also:
The Independent - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sharewatch/market-report-yell-feels-the-pain-as-broker-slashes-target-price-857752.html
The Telegraph - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/money/2008/07/02/cxquest102.xml
Tags: brownbook, brownbook.net, business directory, local directory, yellow pages
July 2nd, 2008 at 5:23 pm
It’s as well it can be updated when you make the most basic of spelling mistakes.
If today’s modern world wants to spend their lives online rather than being able to conduct a verbal conversation then it’s a sad sign of things to come for the next generation who will communicate (poorly) through technology.
I’m 35 and would use the book all the time, especially as so many good companies have no website of any note and who admirably want to spend their time dealing with their customers and not just dealing with technical issues, many of which the net creates.
There is a myth that everyone use the Internet - they quite clearly don’t and don’t be surprised if they don’t all come across to your blinkered way of thinking. It frustrates me enormously when I continually read this self-fulfilled hype from those working for media companies who fail to see the ‘whole’ market and get caught up in their own little ‘bubble’.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Hi, and thanks for the comment, but you’ve provided the perfect illustration of the problem: I’m accused of blinkered thinking, yet you’re pointing out typos! Sorry to say, but while you’re correcting my spelling you’re missing the bigger picture. D.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:40 am
honestly, where do you guys get this stuff.