Traditionally, a large (and very expensive!) Yellow Pages listing—often in several directories—was the cornerstone of every restaurant’s marketing program. A huge portion of your marketing budget had to be spent there to maintain your visibility and compete in your community.
NOT ANYMORE! Many of your current customers and prospects have never even opened a “Yellow Book” and most never will again. It has been predicted that yellow book usage in those under 50 will drop to zero within the next 5 years…yes, ZERO! Does that sound like a good place to spend your marketing dollars? I don’t think so!
Your marketing dollars can be much more effectively used on new technologies and online opportunities. Having a good listing with Google Local, Yelp, Yahoo! and others will ensure that you are found by diners looking for your specialty in your area. And do you know how much it costs to be included in these directories?—NOTHING! It’s absolutely free to be listed and to add or change your information at any time.
Unless you are able to put some serious time and effort into creating these listings however, you’d be well-advised to have a professional get you started. Online web professionals (often called SEO consultants for Search Engine Optimization) can make sure that your information is “optimized” to be found by the right users.
Online directories and search engines have another benefit over traditional marketing methods like Yellow Pages and that is their availability at all hours of the day from any location. So someone planning to visit your area—or just driving through—can find you easily, know your speciality, read reviews from your loyal customers, and see your menu instantly. Does the yellow book offer that?