Dude, Where’s My Yellow Pages….?

Current Yellow Pages logo.I’m 36, which means I grew up using the Yellow Pages until I was in my mid 20’s and everything went online.  To be honest, as a business owner I hated when the yellow pages salespeople calling incessantly to get my business, particularly as the submission deadlines approached.  I advertised quite unsuccessful and against my better judgment on a few editions.  Needless to say I was disappointed at the conversion results for my firm, but many of my clients swear by their ads.

This week I cam across the AT&T Yellow Pages iPhone App.  It’s a game changer.  Here’s why…

If you’re like me, you may think that the Yellow Pages book is archaic and seems to be a ginormous waste of paper.  Everyone gets a book or two delivered to their door whether or not they want it (circulating to everyone helps the companies support their so called “viewership” based ad rates) .  I don’t have data to support this, but I suspect the actual viewership of the phone book has diminished almost completely.  Almost everyone I know takes the freshly delivered phone book and either puts it in an obscure part of the home where it collects dust until next years’ edition, or they simply toss it right into the recycle bin.  Why keep delivering it, I ask?  Perhaps its for the boomer generation that still uses it the same was as they did in 1983.

But lets get on with it…

What’s really nice about the Yellow Pages is the categorization of product and service providers on a local level.  Whereas the search giants like Google, Yahoo and MSN have attempted to get local, the Yellow Pages does do a great job with it.  I haven’t used the online Yellow Pages that often, but in a pinch, it works pretty well.

I was speaking to a guy from AT&T the other day  and it got me wondering what they were up to in that arena.  I found the Yellow Pages iPhone app (published by Avantar, LLC) at that point and downloaded it.  WOW!  I have to tell you, its the best of what the yellow pages was (localization), with the benefits and functionality I’ve come to expect from web and mobile application.  This app is slick for finding restaurants, doctors, auto repair and using the location service, it automatically provides you the relevant results based on where you are at the moment.  If you’re traveling, this tool is fantastic.

Only one downside that I see is that I did a search locally and found that two restaurants that I know went under were still appearing in the results.  C’est la vie.  Nothing’s perfect I suppose.

photo credit: Unwanted delivery via photopin (license)

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