Bible study
Do you believe your industry ‘bible’?
Most industries have a directory of suppliers and service providers.
Often, this large book is referred to as the ‘bible’ of its sector.
I’ve been in my industry bible for many years.
In that time, the listing has gleaned some website hits, few inquiries and no custom.
It’s true my entry is modest.
Almost ethereal.
Yet I’m questioning my belief in this bible.
Perhaps I need a sign.
Money Changer
If I believe a recent directory email, miracles are possible:
- $790* will earn me an enhanced listing (with ‘logo, high ranking and bolding’).
- For $1290, I may get noticed (with ‘a product show case that displays visual images!’).
- $2290 can secure a Top Rank (that ‘lets you essentially own a Category of your choice!’).
Can I afford these indulgences?
Will they find favour where it counts?
I’m hesitating, as I witness the rise of online search engines and the demise of printed tomes.
I’m afraid to cast my bread on such shifting waters.
Life Lesson
In a past life I observed ad agency staff averting their eyes from a host of industry directories.
When they sought talent, they didn’t thumb pages.
When they craved lighting, they didn’t look up.
Any whisper of paid labour crossed the land at speed, to be wrested by an existing vendor (or a colleague thereof).
Destiny
The prospect of dealing blind is daunting.
It makes sense for organisations to work with souls who’ve proven their worth.
Therefore, should I focus on my client flock and let them spread the word, rather than pay a professional prophet?
My parish is small, yet my sector abounds with providers.
Does an entry in your industry bible feed and clothe you?
If so, how can this be?
Enlighten us!
* Annual donation. Bereft of GST.
Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire
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I have joined directories religiously for the last eighteen months and I must concede some I just do not believe help my business exposure one bit.
Paper directories, in my humble philosophy, are almost entirely redundant except for catching those few annoying small dollar orders that are not my core business.
That is very interesting to hear, Brendan; thank you!
May I ask if you had a particular motivation to join (e.g. rapid growth, deep sector penetration, client diversity)? Or did you just see it as ‘the thing to do’?
Hi Paul,
To me it seems pretty simple.
Are your potential customers using this “bible” to look for your services?
If they are how many actually go from seeing the listing to the website with the intent on buying?
How many sales are generated from the listing?
Unless there is a yes and the results can be quantified it is a waste of money.
From what you have said it has not generated a return in the past so I think you have made the right choice.
You can still search out potential customers but the key is to be in the places, platforms etc when they are in a buying mood.
I was really hoping you’d weigh in, Susan, given your time on the ‘other’ side of the fence.
Your questions are excellent. I’m only in the bible because I was offered a free listing. I don’t think I’d pay a single dollar for it.
Now tell me, if you will: in your former life at a big firm, did you ever pull a bible from the shelf (other than Yellow Pages) to source a supplier?
In large firms never, but that was partly because whoever was buying had the relationships or you got to hear about different firms’ reputations and results achieved. It was as it is today based on relationships formed.
When I left a company I would usually bring the companies I had relationships with and introduce them to the new comapy where I could.
That was the advantage of being in global companies.
If you worked in smaller companies without experience then I guess people did use the directories as part of the search process.
Thanks a lot for that, Susan.
I wonder how these directories survive. Perhaps it’s from a few rich category killers at one end, plus many naive new business owners at the other.
I’m look forward to hearing what our other experts say.
Drip-Under-Pressure reporting fa duty Sah!
G’day Folks
Your posts have reached that fine artistic point where you could write about absolutely anything at all and I would enjoy reading it mate
Which is both great and scary…scary because it also reminds me of my favourite old definition for Diplomacy:
“The ability to tell someone to go to Hell and have them look forward to the trip”
But I’m not worried…really ;-P
On to the subject at hand. Yes I know that’s a bit scary too, but I’m fairly confident that I’ll manage my usual seemingly unrelated, yet inextricably interwoven Sutras of the blatantly obvious.
Aren’t these ‘Industry Directories’ usually produced by Industry Peak Bodies? And aren’t these Industry Peak Bodies more often than not cleverly disguised as ‘non-for-profit’, ‘non-unilateral’, ultra-mega-omni-partisan, non-denominational, a-political, impartial, ‘we’ve got our industry’s best interests at heart…oh yes! And the community’s of course…organisations?
Isn’t it part of their ‘Charters’ to, at great expense, at least appear to be being actually useful? And doesn’t that usually amount to yet another inevitable outcome of ‘Constant and Never-Ending Improvement’…which is ‘Constant and Never-Ending Waste’?
I reckon if we stacked all the ‘Directories’ (i.e. Industry, Community Orgs, Institutions and printed out a few Online ones), we’d be able to mitigate Global Warming by blocking out the Sun.
Since starting my little wood-fired pizza business last year, I reckon I’ve had more calls from Directory Listers, than from potential customers. So at least I knew someone was seeing my meager marketing efforts
Would I pay to list in one? No…not unless I knew that that particular Directory was well used and respected by customers of constituents of that Industry.
Would I list for free? Well, if they are doing their job, I should already be listed as part of the Industry…shouldn’t I?
I mean, is printed advertising copy their core business? Are they good at it? If they were, would we be having this conversation? And given that they are apparently crap at it, it makes me wonder if these guys have heard of such esoteric terms as ‘Market Research’?
I wonder why these organisations find it necessary to seek funding through selling advertising at all? Is it to supplement their already inadequate funding? Or is it because they waste their resources doing stuff they are crap at because they don’t know how to find out what they are good at and what they could do to value-add for their industry constituents and perhaps garner higher membership fees for genuinely useful services?
Anyway, clearly I have more questions than answers on this one mate…
Cheers
Stephen G
Merci, Stephen. That’s another fine mix you’ve got us in. You raise some red-hot issues that never crossed my brow. Now to summon some directory reps for comment!
I love your higher-than-the-sun image. Thanks very much for your song of praise. And for handing out the thinking caps.
You’re very welcome ol’ Bean
And I don’t for one moment swallow the possibility that anything doesn’t cross your brow of multi-dimensional scope and sensitivity.
I do however swallow ‘hook, line and sinker’ that you are an outstanding ‘edu-cator’ (i.e. from the Latin: ‘edu’+'catus’ meaning ‘to draw from within’
.
But that’s just me…and yes, I’m a completely biased fan
Cheers
Stephen G
That kind of bias just bowls me over.
I’ll never get jack of it.
Is there an APP for that?
Who is your target?
Is there an online edition available?
Is it useful for branding?
Friends of mine own a county directory. This will be the first year in 10 years they will not publish it.
Ironically I had a boater from the marina stop by my office inquiring about the location of a laundromat and someplace to buy a hose for their boat.
Of course I referred her to my friends/clients/advertisers because I “know therefore of their wares” and then I proudly recited from memory the phone number of the local hardware and lumber store. I pulled a spare copy of the directory from my shelf, thumbed through the directory to confirm my memory and then handed her the directory to take with her. It also contains a map of the county. Their plans include keeping their boat in our marina so I hope my friends have a few dollars passing into their cash drawers.
I filled her with visions of grocery stores and lumber yards who deliver goods to boats in the marina and her eyes lit up. She had a cell phone with her, but I don’t think she had an App for that.
If the listing is free, keep it, because you just never know when there isn’t an App nor a referring friend for your services.
Best,
Cheryl
By gum, Cheryl; you just keep on providing fabulous value! These glimpes into your life are golden. Thanks so much for gilding our space yet again.
LOL! You’re welcome! In addition to enjoying the myBRC blog for obvious quality reasons, it’s great to know it’s daytime where you are and it’s usually the middle of the night here. I head to your blog when I owe myself just one more delight of the day. Besides, you haven’t blocked my stuff yet
Cheryl
Block it?! I’d like to publish it!! Special price for you …
It’s yours for the asking.
SOLD! To the smart, generous lady in the hot pink top on Twitter!
Directories can work, but it isn’t a given.
You need to go to where your customers are. If they use directories, great! But how do you know? Do your research.
Then, you need to convince your potential clientele that you’re a good guy or gal. Now you’ve earned the right to ask for the business.
Then you need to track the performance of your efforts to decide if it is profitable. Test and measure etc.
You’re a dab hand at summarising wisdom, Stephen. Many thanks for your thoughts on this.
It’s only because I’m terribly busy, and can’t write a longer post, but still need to have my SBO ‘fix’.
Maybe it isn’t a bad thing though…
You do a VERY good short!