August’s Question of the Month

Q: “Most young consumers (35 years of age and younger) rely on their cell phones to search for services rather than a paper phone book. How does a service provider reach this age group via their cell phones?

- Pat from Minneapolis, MN

A: If you have an ad in the Dex One Directory, you also have a complementary Business Profile on DexKnows.com®. Anything available on DexKnows.com can be found on your customers’ mobile devices through m.DexKnows.com. For those with Web-enabled phones, they can also find you through major search engines. So because you’re a Dex One customer, many of your younger consumers can already find you using their cell phones. But here’s a tip to keep in mind: The more complete your Business Profile is, the more likely you are to show up in searches on DexKnows.com and other major search engines.

Cell phones: Changing the way we search.

The omnipresent cell phone. You don’t have to be an expert to realize that cell phone usage is way up. And not just among Generation Y or Millennials (those currently in their 20s and early 30s). From Razers and iPhones to BlackBerries, a 2008 study by Azuki Systems confirmed that mobile phone usage across all demographics had increased. In fact, 54% of respondents indicated that their usage had increased by more than 25% over the last two years. But people aren’t using these phones for just talking and texting anymore. The same study also showed 52% regularly access the Web from their mobile phone. In addition, it reported that 23- to 34-year-olds were rapidly trading up to Web-enabled smart phones, like the iPhone, that can surf the Internet.

Top searches by mobile users. Recent studies show that mobile users tend to search some of the same popular headings that print and Internet Yellow Pages users do. Here are the top search terms for the Print Yellow Pages, the Internet from DexKnows.com, and the iPhone for DexKnows.com.

While restaurants remained at the top of all three mediums, the mobile searches on the iPhone resulted in some different businesses such as movie theaters, nightclubs and beauty salons that didn’t appear in the top categories for print or on the Internet.

Mobile Marketing. Mobile advertising revenue was expected to increase to $2.7 billion in 20082. In the U.S. alone, mobile marketing is projected to grow to $3.1 billion by 20133. But who is responding to this huge growth in mobile marketing? According to a 2008 Direct Marketing Association report, the most likely responders are males, teens and young adults. These responders also tend to have higher incomes and heavier usage of mobile phones and data features. But before you run off and create a mobile marketing campaign, the report also found that “10% or less of the respondents expressed any interest in receiving offers sent to their mobile phones or in viewing ads in videos downloaded to their mobile phones.” So it would seem that mobile users do not want to be bombarded by mobile advertising either. They want to find you on their own terms.

The ultimate in permission marketing. With the exception of perhaps the Super Bowl, no one turns on the TV to watch for the advertising. But consumers do search through the print directory, online or mobile phone versions of the Yellow Pages to do just that. Consumers choose to look at Yellow Pages’ advertising in all its forms because they are seeking information. That’s one of the big reasons the Yellow Pages is highly effective at reaching consumers today. And while there has been a slight drop in print users, print directories have remained an important information resource for the majority of Millennial4.

Print Yellow Pages are a top source. A 2008 study by Simmons reported that of the 18- to 24-year-olds who still use the print Yellow Pages, 29% use it more than the average Yellow Pages user. This is because they are entering the family and work cycle stages of life, which leads them to experience a large number of major life events. These life events includes things such as moving out, getting a job, getting engaged, getting married, having children, looking for day care, buying a house and many others. All of these life events drive major, unique shopping events, which is exactly when consumers turn to the Yellow Pages first, whether it’s by print, Internet or cell phone.

Mobile marketing 101. If you have decided that mobile marketing might benefit your business, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you should set well-defined goals (besides reach) that you want your mobile marketing efforts to accomplish. Whether it’s to further branding efforts, clicks or foot traffic, it’s hard to determine success without an objective. Next, you’ll need to choose a platform such as SMS, mobile app or mobile Website that meets those goals. Since smart phones represent only 11% of worldwide mobile users, SMS, or sending a text message on a cell phone, is considered the standard for most marketers4. But rapidly gaining ground is the world of mobile apps, thanks to options like the iPhone and BlackBerry. Another thing you’ll probably need to do is to streamline your thinking for this type of marketing. A common mistake is to think of mobile marketing as just your Website on a smaller screen. While smart phones are smart, they do not have the capacity and speed of a regular computer to efficiently bring up your whole Website. And above all, keep your messaging simple and try to integrate your mobile efforts with the rest of your marketing campaign.

1 2007 YPIMA.
2 Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Advertising Revenue to Surpass $2.7 Billion in 2008. Gartner Research, March 2008.
3 Who Uses the Yellow Pages and What Drives Their Usage? Yellow Pages Trends & Opportunities 2008 – Part 2. CRM and Associates, December 2008.
4 2009 BIA/Kelsey.

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