It's a long tradition I know but is there really any need for printed directories? I mean as soon as they are printed they're out of date plus they cost an absolute fortune to print and distribute.
The main culprits, at least in the UK, are phone directories Yellow Pages and Thomson. Every year they print one for each house in the UK about an inch thick and rammed with as many number and ads as can be printed on the toilet roll paper they use.
And what happens to them? They go on a shelf and stay there for a whole year until the new edition arrives.
The main purpose of these directories is to give you access to numbers and services you need, mainly its Pizza/Curry/Chinese take-away restaurants, when you're drunk.
But stop just there, don't you like me get at least 4 menus shoved through your door each day. And not only do these have the contact numbers on they also have the whole menu. So no need to call up and guess what they can cook for you.
I'm sure there are advertisers who will say that directories work for them, they must they continue to use them. But for the vast majority of business they are next to useless.
In a time of recession being front of face and shouting that you're the best fit for a customer, and then delivering are vital. Do you think this can really be achieved from a page of loo role left on a shelf?
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
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I think they've still got a use in the UK because there are a certain number of older people who would still look up stuff on them.
ReplyDeleteFor younger people, might be an idea to create a new, more relevant, better-looking, lite version of the old.
Printed directories are dying like newspapers but the big directory printers keep brining out fake studies to prove otherwise. The reality is that online local directories like click2connect.com are the future.
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