A service company that wants to stay in front of its customers and prospects probably should devote a sizable portion of its marketing budget to a Yellow Page advertisement. Though Yellow Page ads are expensive, many companies consider them to be the backbone of their marketing plans. For many companies, however, Yellow Page ads produce a variety of questions. Let's take a look at these questions and the answers to each one.

Should our company advertise in the Yellow Pages? The Yellow Pages are a directive form of advertising. When customers are ready to buy, they open the Yellow Pages book. But a Yellow Pages ad does not increase awareness of your business like more proactive forms of marketing such as radio, newspaper and direct mail. Yellow Pages are inflexible. Your ad is in one place all year long and you have no opportunity to change it, unlike nearly all other kinds of marketing.

How big is big enough? The larger the ad and the closer-to-the-front placement in a category, the more calls you'll get. That being said, I do not recommend spending the majority of your ad budget on one Yellow Pages ad just to have the biggest ad in one of the top three spots in a category. I always recommend that Yellow Pages advertising be only a part of an integrated marketing plan that includes other forms of marketing.

If your budget does not allow for a large ad, you'll need to make up for it with excellent copy, artwork and graphics to make the ad stand out. Ad size is very important, but a well-designed ad can make up for size.

The answer, then, is, the ad size should be determined by what percentage of your budget you devote to the Yellow Pages.

What should the ad say? Because your ad will not be changed all year, you have to be sure of your message long before publication. Your ad should explain why buyers should purchase your services instead of your competition's.

The most important feature of your ad is the headline! Your Yellow Pages reps will urge you to put the name of your company as the headline, but this tells the reader nothing except your name. Determine your number-one benefit and write that benefit into a BIG headline.

After the headline, the bullet points about your service or products are the most important. Use no more than seven bullets to describe various aspects of your service. Remember to think like your customers to determine what's most important to them.

What graphics should be used? Advertisers report that photographs attract more readers, are more trusted, are more believable and are better remembered than other illustrations. A Gallup survey found that people most want to see photos of other people. The top four preferences were photos of children, groups of adults, sport scenes, and animals.

Keep photos and illustrations simple and be sure that the reader can easily associate the headline and the photo. The photo should illustrate the positive results buyers will receive from your product or service.

What information must be included? Use this checklist to be sure you've included all the pertinent information that will make it easy for a reader to reach you:

• Company name
• Phone number with area code
• Address (if required in your area)
• Web site address
• Professional affiliations
• Credit cards accepted
• Free services (inspections, consultations, etc.)
• Hours

When you view the proof of your ad, use the squint test. Narrow your eyes, look at the ad and see what pops out. Make sure this is what you want the reader to see first.

If you want to evaluate your ad using a series of criteria, visit www.compelcom.com/Downloads/Evaluation_Ad.pdf. Or if you'd like your ad evaluated by a marketing expert, fax it to 636/394-6979.

June Van Klaveren, owner of Compelling Communications in St. Louis, MO, helps her clients attract and keep customers. To reach her, visit www.compelcom.com or call 800/779-0067.

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© 2007 Penton Media, Inc.