When was the Last Time You Received a Phone Book?

Comments
December 9th, 2008

I received a phone book today.  A big fat yellow phone book.  In fact, my whole complex received a phone book, we’re talking about thousands of people with thousands of notebook.  I did what everyone else did with their phone books and put it down the recycling bin.  Whe is the last time you used a phone book and why do phone books still exist?

What if instead of a phone book I was just given a little sheet of paper that said “If you are looking for anything, we are now online, here’s the link (if you would like a hardcopy phone book call this number….)”?  It is actually faster to go to google and type in “san francisco plumber” then it is to actually look up a san francisco plumber in the phone book (time yourself if you think I’m crazy).  This made me wonder how many more times I’m going to receive a phone book before someone figures out that it’s just not worth it anymore to deliver a phone book to my doorstep.

Print media and publications are in trouble, but at least we have no shortage of recycling material…

thanks for reading!

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TAGS: dont use phone books, online phone books, phone books are obsolete, receiving phone books, why do i get phone books
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 at 3:09 am and is filed under Rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • 2 months ago I got 3 delivered to my doorsetp. Just like you they didn't even make it into the house, they went into the recycling bin outside. I haven't used 411 directory services either since getting my G1, but that doesn't mean thousands of others have stopped.

    To me the real issue here is their method. With the combination of economic troubles and more people going online I think that companies like the YellowPages and other such printed directory services should be looking at their delivery methods better.

    YellowPages could save money on printing and delivery costs while increasing their geographic knowledge of actual “users” by creating a very simple opt out / in program. I could call and get my name / address removed from their delivery list and they would then know that I don’t use print directories and better serve the people buying advertising through them by saying “we’ve had a 35% opt out rate here, but a 22% opt in rate here”. Save some money and be more effective.
  • absolutely, im sure there are much more cost effective and efficient ways of spreading around a directory. i think we will see them fade away soon. phone books really are becoming a type of spam now, a sort of useful very large piece of spam :)

    thanks for the comment!
  • bud
    It isn't about YOUR needs. It is about distributing advertising. White Pages are just an extra.
  • In the smaller more rural community that I'm in, many of the businesses are not on line, so the book make at least a little sense. I use it to get the customer service number when my land line goes out, too! But we still only use it about every 2 months.
    The worst thing about phone book advertising is the ads are all pathetic. They violate every rule of direct response. But that's not news.
  • excellent, thanks for pointing that out. the ads are indeed pathetic as is the method that phone books are distributed.

    thanks for the comment!
  • Phone books are still exceedingly popular for reaching the older demographic.

    I'd advise you to check out http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_to... and see the vast number of 'have- nots' who don't use Google as there primary way to find businesses.

    Directories are still a very profitable and effective business. Much like any marketing strategy, you need to consider whether it targets your demographic. If you are marketing to 15-23 year olds, you are likely wasting your money.

    It is easy to think that the social media / internet storm we are in is more pervasive and ubiquitous than it is.

    Jordan Willms @ http://www.sumolabs.com
  • yep, excellent point, i use that tool frequently. it's easy to question or judge when you are "in the mix" so to speak and I am guilty of doing so. However i am sure they are not as prevalent as they once were. i think there should be alternative distribution methods, for example college campuses/etc can use a link with a url instead of a 500 page phone book.

    thanks for the comment!
  • I only use a phonebook to get coupons for restaurants I go to frequently. I do agree that it's smarter to go completely online. Ads are more trackable! It's a lot better than paying hundreds of thousands for an ad and not knowing your ROI.
  • Well for your information my phone book was recently thrown away by accident because it looked so old.Well phone books as I may say is for a different community of people that doesn't want change to their old ways...
  • ya phone books are still used by some, but they are distributed in a "spamlike" way.
  • I have three phone books sitting in a cabinet I rarely open. I received them over the past year after moving into my apartment.

    While YOU may not use phone books, they ARE used -- predominantly by people who are not web-savvy and very frequently by enterprises for tracking ads, for instance.
  • oh i'm sure people use them, but i wonder if it would be more effective to try something else :)
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