Ask Our Experts:
“What Should I Do About My Yellow Pages Ad? "
My YP ad seems ineffective and is very difficult to track in my area due to the over-abundance of “must have” phone books. Plus, 80% of my YP patients are price shoppers and insurance-driven – not the patients I want. What do you suggest? “ A.R., DDS
The short answer: In 2008 your marketing dollars would be better spent on a well-optimized and branded web site telling your prospective patients what is unique about your practice, rather than on a yellow pages (YP) ad.
Why? Internet studies tell us that 65% of all college-educated consumers use the Internet as a key source of health care information and 45% of all consumers use the Internet as a sources of health care information. In anywhere but rural markets the majority of new patients, 45 years and younger, are going to the Internet, not the YP, to find a DDS, general, cosmetic or orthodontic practice.
But let’s assume you want to continue with your YP ad: It’s good that you’re attempting to track your calls. It’s key to track every phone call at your front desk. All external marketing initiatives can do is make the phone ring for an appointment. But if the phone is ringing yet few callers are making appointments, as your question suggests, then the problem is with your staff at the front desk and how they are presenting the practice.
Remember, prospects responding to your external marketing (such as your YP ad) do not have a friend's recommendation or a referral from another professional, and they are not committed to coming to the practice. Your staff needs to understand that these prospective customers need to be treated differently from existing patients calling to make an appointment.
YP ads are fast becoming dinosaurs. Unless your office is in a rural market with low Internet penetration, focus your hard-earned marketing dollars on building a well-optimized website rather than on a YP ad.