Canpages Isn't Dead Yet

David Jordan

| May 6, 2009

Image by: Clinton Hussey

An uproar in the popular press and blogosphere earlier this year pointed to the seemingly obvious: phone books are dead men walking.

But even in the Age of Google, it would appear, there’s still a market for the proverbial doorstop. Two independent U.S. studies confirm that approximately 70 per cent of the population uses print directories regularly to find local businesses.

“The Internet is not the be all and end all of local searches,” proclaims Olivier Vincent, president and CEO of Burnaby-based Canpages Inc., the only Canadian publisher to offer serious competition to Montreal-based industry giant Yellow Pages Group Co. When the basement is full of water, he points out, you’re not going to boot up the computer; you probably won’t even find Joe the plumber online.

The directory division of Yellow Pages Income Fund (which also publishes Trader classifieds) grossed $1.4 billion in 2008, so obviously somebody thinks print directories are a good idea. But while there’s still a business case for directory publishing – for now, at least – the question remains: what about the 30 per cent of us who transfer unwanted directories directly from doorstep to recycling bin?

“We hate waste just like everybody else,” Vincent declares. He points out that directory publishing supports the forest industry, which he says is the sole source of tree planting in B.C. He also notes an audit by Tree Canada that certified Canpages as carbon neutral by virtue of the thousands of trees it plants every year.

Vincent included a survey with this year’s distribution giving recipients the choice of opting out in future. As for the alternative – opting in – Vincent is dismissive. “It’s a bad, bad option,” he says. He believes the majority of users have better things to think about than whether it’s time to ask for this year’s edition. “Why punish them?” Vincent asks. “We have a minority punishing a majority. A lot of people who need and want the book won’t get it.”

Tags

The Internet is a research

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2009-05-28 15:27.

The Internet is a research tool. Whilst it can provide a directory listing, it's hardly convenient to have to go toa computer and using the screen on a cellphone to get the information is a nightmare especially for those of us older than 18. The Yellow Pages is convenient, usually laid out well with informative additions such as menus and maps. Most are larger than a laptop screen and are most definitely LOCAL. Companies such as Ver-a-fast make millions of calls to see what Yellow Pages books are being used and they still tell the story that print books are alive and kicking. Sure, some people will use the Internet - but most use the Yellow Pages.

Wow eliminate a directory

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2009-05-28 09:06.

Wow eliminate a directory that is used by the population with the most disposable income seems to be a dicey proposition for businesses. I use the internet all the time for research, but when looking for a particular service I find the web elitist. I do not want to be handed the names of the three businesses willing to pay the most money to have their names at the top of the page. When I am looking for services I want the names of all the possibilities in my area. The yellow pages provides me with that information. I know the yellow pages will provide large and colourful print ads to their patrons for their advertising dollar, I'd like to advise the Yellow Pages and their patrons that I don't look at them. I look at the small print lists for numbers and that is how I make contact. If anyone out there knows of an online directory that provides this information I'd sure like to know about it.

yellow pages in print is

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2009-05-27 16:05.

yellow pages in print is obsolete. In my apartment building, none of the books were taken by tenants and sat in the lobby for 1 month only to be placed in the recycling bin, a total of 24 books!! What a waste. We no longer need the yellow pages in print. Most people have internet in their phone or pda device and can easily look up what they need.

One of the problems with the

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2009-05-20 12:34.

One of the problems with the last statement is that it is very hard to decide whether the people who use a Yellow Pages can be reached by other means - those people are probably not accessible by online advertising and they make up a substantial part of your community. Given that most businesses get most of their business from their Local community, ignoring the percentage of the population that use a Yellow Pages could be detrimental to your business. Online advertising is great for mail order or niche products that can be easily shipped. Your local plumber, dentist or tire depot is better served by local advertising in a local Yellow Pages. At College they teach you about the "Marketing and Advertising MIX' - it's not rocket science - just a case of not all of your eggs in one basket. Determine an advertising strategy using all available media and test and evaluate. Most Yellow Page companies will offer you lead monitoring tools for a few bucks a month - a unique telephone number that only appears in the YellowPages so all calls to it must have come from there. You can even listen to the calls to determine how much business you generated. Likewise with online advertising, you should be able to monitor clicks and determine $ sales from those clicks. Strategize, Implement, Monitor and Review in a constant feedback loop.

Anonymous, the 70% figure

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2009-05-19 10:59.

Anonymous, the 70% figure sure is an interesting one. What businesses should really be asking is what percentage of their prospective customers are still potentially using phone books to search for their types of business. And, among those, is the cost of advertising is the yellow pages justified vs other ways to reach the same audience.

I'm sure the surveys would

Submitted by doncampbell (not verified) on Mon, 2009-05-18 17:27.

I'm sure the surveys would vary by region. And I think what has people talking is not the current percentage rate of who uses the print Yellow Pages, but the trend as more and more people use the Internet to find local businesses. Still, I'm sure the print Yellow Pages will be with us for a long time. Most of the time new ways don't eliminate the old ones, but provide additional ways to communicate. (e.g. TV didn't get rid of radio!) I like the opt-out idea; I wish my Yellow Pages provider was carbon neutral and allowed me to opt-out of receiving the printed books. Don Campbell Expand2Web http://www.expand2web.com

kids don't have any $

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2009-05-15 02:46.

kids don't have any $

So if your business targets

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2009-05-13 12:42.

So if your business targets people under the age of 20 then focus your spend on the Internet. Only problem is that they make up a small percentage of the population, have little disposable income, usually have lots of debt and are poor payers. Our experiences to date - and we run many web sites and directories, is that people still use the printed books to find local businesses, typically where they are spending less than $500. The Internet IS used for research or to find products more cheaply where time is not of the essence (typically > $500) but if you want a plumber, car repair or a boat rental then they head for the Yellow Pages. We conducted tests between a yellow pages, an iPhone and a PC - the Yellow Pages was as fast as the iPhone to get the details however the users preferred getting the information contained in the YP ad. The PC took longer to get the information (that also assumed that it was powered up - if they had to start Windows first then it was a complete disaster) and the users were often confused by the information delivered by the web sites that they discovered. By the fact that you posted on an Internet web site means that you are in the top 30% of the population that can use the Internet well, and in the top 10% of that number that can post. The other 97% of the population is way, waaay behind you and most do not have the incentive to even try and catch you up. Business owners will ignore the Yellow Pages at their peril.

I own a business that

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 2009-05-11 14:54.

I own a business that started in Vancouver in 1957, but today is across Canada. Over ten years ago I cancelled all my yellow pages advertisements. Sorry, but I just do not buy the conclusion that 70% of the population uses printed directories. Ask 100 people under the age of 20 and I think you will that 100% of them have never touched a directory except while laughing (after being told what it is) & dropping them in the recyling bin. Kids will look at you with big eyes and ask if you are serious. The paper directory is deader than a Dodo for any serious business.