Yellow Pages Scam Makes Business Owners See Red
CAROL ELLIOTT
06/02/2002 - South Bend Tribune - (Copyright 2002) I received a letter/check addressed to my company which is one of the slickest scams I have ever seen. This approach to selling advertising is despicable at best and shows the perpetrators are aware of how most small businesses operate. Please note that the endorsement of the enclosed check also grants permission for these scoundrels to automatically access the account where the check is deposited! Fortunately, within our company, I personally open all mail and we do not deposit any checks until the corresponding amount is credited. I was able to catch this unethical solicitation before we were duped. How many other businesses were scammed can only be imagined.
D.M., South Bend

Just after we received your letter, DM, Sprint Publishing & Advertising Inc. faxed us a warning about a similar scam. Although they both concern businesses, we decided to pass the word along.

What DM received was a check made out to his company for $3.50 in a solicitation to advertise in a yellow page directory called Yellow-Page.Net. It looks legitimate: There's even the famous "walking fingers" logo on it. But the walking fingers and the term yellow pages are not registered trademarks. Anyone can use them.

With this scam, it's your bank account the scammers are fingering. The very fine print on the back of the check says that by depositing the check, the company agrees to pay $17.95 per month to advertise. It also, as DM said, gives Yellow-Page.Net permission to either cram the charge on the company phone bill, or access the company bank account. Now we know what Jesse James is doing these days.

The "slickness" of the scam that DM mentioned is that businesses sometimes deposit checks received without looking them over first. In this case, there's a big "gotcha" attached to depositing the check. The business has just unsuspectingly thrown open its bank account.
Sprint Publishing & Advertising Inc., publisher of the Sprint Yellow Pages, sent out a warning of similar yellow pages scams. In some cases, companies receive fraudulent bills for directories that are never even published. Sprint recommends that businesses contact the local chapter of the Better Business Bureau or visit one of the following Web sites:

• Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association
• US Postal Service
• Better Business Bureau

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Getting the Most Out of Yellow Page Ads
Many businesses make critical mistakes that equate to thousands of dollars in lost business opportunities. Below are several tips from the article "How to Beat the Brains Out of Your Competition," by Mitchell Sim. The article's suggestions are based on ad test results showing what works in the yellow pages and how to get the best return-on-investment from your advertising. If you're curious about tested ad results in your industry, contact Saxton-Ferris' research department contact Saxton-Ferris's Research Department.

• Use attention-getting headlines, not logos, agency names or boring slogans! People make decisions based on emotions. Appeal to their emotions first. They are asking, "What's in it for me?" Answer the question for them. For recognition or branding, put your logo at one of the bottom corners.
• Use benefit-laden bullet points. Again, answer the question, "What's in it for me?" Direct marketing folks call it WIIFM for short. Remember: You've only got a couple of seconds to do that, so make your points easy to read.
• Use what marketers call "preemptive advertising." Don't take for granted what may be important to your prospects.
• Be graphically interesting, but not graphically driven. The proper, and only, role of graphics is to support copy (and let copy do its job without interference).
  
• Use a FREE offer. Try an offer with a coupon border.
  
• Use credit card logos if you accept them.
  
• Don't build your ad around your logo. Build your ad around benefits to the Prospect.
  
• Don't scrimp on size! If you're not going to do it right (as big as you can afford), don't do it at all! Size matters. That is proven with numerous independent tests. Everything else being equal, cost per lead diminishes as size increases, but think about this: if you were losing money before, or you don't know what your return was because you weren't measuring, the Yellow Pages are an expensive place to test as you're committed for a full year.
  
• Choose size over color. Don't be deceived with misleading statistics on color. Spend the money you would use on color and increase your ad size. If you must use color, use green. Green represents money, savings, comfort, etc. In almost all cases you will get more bang for your buck by, taking size over color.
  
• Target your audience. Who are your prospects - small businesses, older consumers, families? Too many ads try to jam in a message for everyone even though only a small segment of the market finds them in the Yellow Pages. Too many ads lose calls because they don't have any focus. The ad doesn't reach out and shout to the prospect that I care about YOU. Call out to your ideal prospect in your headline or pre-head.
• Oversize your phone number. Try to get a vanity number: 1-800-insure-u, 1-800-protect. 1-800-savelots.
  
• Use testimonials from your best customers. Our friends say it best: don't use wishy-washy testimonials. Use bold ones.
  
• Offer a bold and ethical guarantee.
  
• Use meaningful specifics, not vague generalities. As an example, "We can SAVE you up to 37% on your health insurance!"

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Check out the New Saxton-Ferris Website
The Saxton-Ferris Website has a new look and lots more useful information. You'll find information on our variety of services, client testimonials, and Internet Advertising.
Visit: www.saxton-ferris.com

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White Page Listing Frustrations

Ever have white page listing misprints, or find that your business isn't listed correctly on directory information (411)? You may have even contacted the phone company to get this information updated, and still find it to be incorrect. Establishing your listing accurately with your telephone service provider affects not only your white page listing in your local telephone book, but also how consumers will find you through directory assistance (411) and how your free listing will appear in the yellow pages.

Many company's today use a telephone provider that is not the publisher of your local telephone book, who we refer to as a CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers). Unfortunately, using a provider that does not publish your telephone directory means there is no guarantee that your business listing will appear accurately in the white pages or directory assistance. Although we are usually able to override, and therefore correct, listings in the yellow pages, current industry regulations prevent us from guaranteeing the accuracy of any listing of a CLEC customer.

Industry officials are currently examining ways to correct this issue. In the meantime, there are a few options that should help phone service providers and directory publishers get the most up to date information:

• Use your local telephone directory publisher as your telephone service provider. When you set up your listing with them, ensure your business address and phone are established accurately from the start. Though this may cost a bit more for your phone service in some areas, it may be worthwhile to ensure no business is lost because a customer couldn't find your number.
• Call your current telephone service provider and tell them you need to update your listing in the phone book. If you're a client of Saxton-Ferris, you can contact your account manager to prepare a white page listing form for you to send to your telephone company. This will ensure the phone company receives all the information they need.
• Plan ahead. It's a good idea to update your listing as soon as you know there's an error because the process of changing a listing can take a while to get from your telephone company to the directory publisher.

If you are a current client and have questions about white page listings, please contact your account manager, otherwise, you may contact our business development department.

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Superpages Opportunities

Saxton-Ferris is constantly monitoring the performance of Internet Yellow Page Sites (IYPs). Online Yellow Pages work much like the printed Yellow Pages: you search by category or business name within a city or state. There are several IYPs nationwide, many provided by the print directory publisher in your area.

For nationwide advertisers, and Verizon users, a clear leader emerged: Verizon's Superpages.com. This April alone, there were 55 million searches for businesses on Superpages.

Over the past year, Superpages offered a great deal to state or nationwide advertisers who purchase two of their most effective ads: They receive matching print yellow page dollars. This means, if you spend $5000 on one of these two ads, you'll receive $5000 in free print advertising in Verizon directories (new or upgraded).

However, this September, Verizon is discontinuing this incentive. Whether you've thought about advertising on IYPs before, or haven't considered it before, now's a great time to take advantage of this discontinuing program. Plus, you'll receive one free month when you purchase one of these ads for a year. Please contact our Internet Advertising Department for more details.

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