opinions please (not selling pixels!)

[confused]

Hi all,

Just working on my yellow pages ad, and any comments on my design would be appreciated.

http://www.calvsplace.co.uk/datacomuk/yelladS.jpg

Thanks

CALV

[Coding Monkey]

Might just be me, but I wouldn't stick your mobile number in there. Sure, I want a personal service, but I want to know there's a large company behind it, regardless. My first impression would to want success, and that means you have several people working for you. Now, once I've spoke to you for 5 minutes, and know you, I couldn't care less.

[creacom]

I agree with Tom on that. I would take the mobile number out and then just ask BT to forward your calls to your mobile when you are not in the office.

Jacqui :D

[confused]

ok I'll do that, any other comments? does it look ok otherwise?

Thanks

CALV

[creacom]

Why is it "24 hour emergency call out available" ? I would put something like :

Lines open 24/7

See what I mean ?

Jacqui

[confused]

yes, there is an answer machine on the phone, cant redirect tho for reasons I'd rather not broadcast lol (nothing dodgy!)

CALV

[Mortime Business Software]

I have to disagree with Tom and Jacqui on this.

To me, a mobile number would indicate that I'm definitely going to get a human being on the line, and that it is likely that my enquiry will be dealt with immediately.

I would simply add something like "Contact Calvin on Mobile: 1234567".

I say this because I made the same mistake with my yellow pages advertisment in Sydney for my signs biz. One year I omitted my mobile number and the enquiries dropped noticeably. The personal touch is very important.

This "personal touch" is why I will sign up with matrixx for web space if he offers a direct telephone line. If he doesn't, then I'll shop around for someone who does.

And anyway, I doubt very much that in the worst case, people will not contact you because your mobile is there!

Dave

[confused]

Very good point, I have some time yet before it needs submitting, I'll eagerly await other peoples opinions.
Any comments on the design itself?

Thanks

CALV

[Top Hat]

I have to disagree with Tom and Jacqui on this.

To me, a mobile number would indicate that I'm definitely going to get a human being on the line, and that it is likely that my enquiry will be dealt with immediately.

I would simply add something like "Contact Calvin on Mobile: 1234567".

I say this because I made the same mistake with my yellow pages advertisment in Sydney for my signs biz. One year I omitted my mobile number and the enquiries dropped noticeably. The personal touch is very important.

This "personal touch" is why I will sign up with matrixx for web space if he offers a direct telephone line. If he doesn't, then I'll shop around for someone who does.

And anyway, I doubt very much that in the worst case, people will not contact you because your mobile is there!

Dave

I agree, go with the mobile, small biz personal touch, Also leave it as emergencies, otherwise you will get non emergency calls in the middle of the night.

[Mortime Business Software]

And as for the answering machine, I threw mine in the bin and replaced it with a redirection to my mobile! It worked a treat. I had customers who paid me more than my competitors supplying the same product because they knew that whichever number they rang, they would end up with lil'ol'me on the end of the line!

Dave

[Coding Monkey]

This "personal touch" is why I will sign up with matrixx for web space if he offers a direct telephone line. If he doesn't, then I'll shop around for someone who does.

And anyway, I doubt very much that in the worst case, people will not contact you because your mobile is there!


I do find that surprising, as I would look for assurance, establishment and reputation. A mobile number instantly makes me think small fish. Now, a small fish does not make them worse, yet my initial thought would be a preference to have them backed up with this reputation and sense of power and wealth.

It will depend on your market. Many people see our website and consider us to be a larger company, which is why I've a local rate number instead of the 0845 and mobile number that clients have. As we deal with small businesses, giving the impression of being too large would cost money, but being the impression of a freelance designer, doesn't fit in with our audience.

As for the design, I think it's a bit too plain, and therefore not sure if it would stand out, but I'm more used to dealing with website designs than offline material.

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

Looking at the ad, do you have the space that is currently yellow or is that a border you can not use? If you can use the space then do so. As Joe Polish says "paper is expensive, ink is cheap".

I just want to throw a few ideas your way that I have picked up from other industries that I think could really help you and your business get a great reputation.

On the advert you should have a free advice line for people to call if their computer has crashed and it is an emergency. Tell them ways to get the computer back on and how to recover any data if it is simple to do so. Advise them that at certain points if something does or does not happen then they will need to “press 9” to get hold of you.

Also have a phone number for networking advice and what benefits it can bring to a business or home. The more you can educate your customers in the benefits on your product or service then the easier it is to sell.

Also I have seen advices lines for “7 tips you should ask a computer engineer” these can be such like “what qualifications do you have”, “how long will it take to set up”, “will your computers be able to handle the network” and things like that.

By having advice lines people will come to you for help and when they need the service actually doing you are the one they will come too. Also by having automated systems you can weed out bad customers and just those who want to buy will actually get through to you.

These systems can save a lot of time and money if applied correctly and it will boost your reputation.

This is a very American concept but it works! In America I would say customer service is taken more seriously than in the UK, there is a lot we can learn from them.

Matt

[creospace]

But it does say unit 3 which to me instantly means they are not a home set up etc. landline and mobile it's all there.

[confused]

Thanks for that, I should have mentioned, the ad I have payed for is 1 colour on white (black is free so I have black and blue on white), and of course yellow pages isnt super high quality print.
I see what you mean regarding giving the impression of the scale of your company, I also dont want to appear too large for the same reasons, likewise I am aiming more towards small businesses etc rather than home users so dont want to give the impression of being too small - as you said previously, once they know you, they dont care as long as you give A1 service - which I always do.

CALV

[Coding Monkey]

No probs, Calv. I hope this thread doesn't turn into the importance of phone numbers, so I'll start on subject. I recall reading this article a while back, and hopefully it helps. I know it comes across as one of those awful scam websites, but it makes sense.

http://www.powermarketingstrategy.com/directory/

[confused]

ok more posts arrives whilst I was typing the above!

With regard to Matt's reply,
The yellow indicates the yellow of the yellow pages, the reason the entier page isnt yellow is because thats a screenshot that I pronted out - no point wasting a full sheets worth of toner - I just wanted to see it against yellow as it would appear in the phonebook.
Setting up automated answering services and such is not an option at the moment, I see your idea, but that said, I personally HATE those things, on the phone listening to advice that I may have already tried when all I want to do is speak to someone (in england lol).
I would also not offer tech support over the phone (unless it was literally a 30 second call) - if I was gining free phone advice then surely I would be losing money becase rather than go and fix it, and therefore get paid, I'd fixed it for free. That said, the few "larger" clients I have, I will try and sort them out on the phone or by remote access if its only a small job - to keep them happy with my quality of service. With regards to sales rather than support, even the smallest of projects would require me to at least sit down and have a chat about it.

Thanks again for all the comments all, keep em coming :)


CALV

[Pebble Communications]

I think the emergency mobile is ok, it wouldn't put me off at all. If it were ONLY a mobile number I wouldn't call but this is clearly out of hours cover and seems perfectly legit to me.

The design is quite plain but to the point and gives people the info they need. Fancy graphics and things will just take up space and risk cluttering things up. I think the large headline and phone number are initially quite eye-catching and then you go on to read the detail if you want, but you should also catch the quick scanners too.

[Real World Hypnotherapy]

Want to know a great trick for yellow page ads, especially ones that people need in an emergency?

Put a dashed line around the advert and a picture of scissors to indicate it should be cut out. Also say on it, please cut this out and stick it on or near your computer. When something bad happens your advert is there staring them in the face.

This works a treat. I have advised many plumbers to do this, they get people to put the ad on people’s boilers, and when there is a problem they are the first to be called.

I would actually advise putting in two adverts, one for the networking and one for the emergence call out.

Matt

[confused]

good idea about the dotted line, I'll print one out later and have a look.
I considered putting more than one ad in, but I havnt been up and running long and dont have a large enough budget.

Thanks

CALV

[Mortime Business Software]

I do find that surprising, as I would look for assurance, establishment and reputation. A mobile number instantly makes me think small fish. Now, a small fish does not make them worse, yet my initial thought would be a preference to have them backed up with this reputation and sense of power and wealth.

Generally speaking, I don't really care for people who are "small fish" (as you put it) who try to look high and mighty. I want to deal with human beings who are friendly, competent, can book me in immediately, and just get the bloody job done.

This is how reputations are built and maintained. I don't care whether they live in a rubbish skip as long as they can sort me out.

And believe it or not, most of the humans who work in high and mighty companies agree with me. ;)

Including your mobile phone number on all your printed material will increase enquiries overall.

I even promised to answer the phone 24/7, but I can't ever remember getting a phone call for signs in the middle of the night!

Dave

[Hayles]

Hi

I like the ad as it is. Very clear and precise. However, if there was another advert similar to yours but mentioned the words 'friendly or free advice' somewhere on their ad, I'd call them first...

I'd suggest you add a couple of words to make it a little more personal or friendly?

But then what do I know?! :roll:

[Coding Monkey]

But, Dave, almost all of what you said above comes after you contact them and make those judgements, with your original judgements of the company based on that initial viewing. If you saw an advert of someone's HQ being a bin, would you honestly call them? Yet once you knew how they worked, you might.

[Mortime Business Software]

But, Dave, almost all of what you said above comes after you contact them and make those judgements, with your original judgements of the company based on that initial viewing. If you saw an advert of someone's HQ being a bin, would you honestly call them? Yet once you knew how they worked, you might.

I'm just that type of bloke.

I swear, get pissed, pick my nose and sometimes laugh like a lunatic out of control, and lots of other animalistic stuff. But at the same time I know where to draw the line and behave appropriately.

In Sydney I started off working out of a fibro house and tin workshop in the back garden (built it meself).

I had suits from Kawasaki, Rentokil, TD Waterhouse, and other big names come round to my gaff to drink beer with me, and indulge in unspeakable debauchary until the early hours whilst convincing them I would take care of all their outdoor advertising needs.

What I'm trying to get across is that "they liked and trusted me". I'm honest and down-to-earth. They could see I had the passion, equipment, labour and know-how to provide what they needed at a price they could boast about to their superiors.

I am certainly not the richest man in the world, but I believe that it is mainly because of my attitude that I have accumulated enough wealth to retire in a fraction of the time it would have taken me to do in a job.

Dave

[bwglaw]

When a customer needs a computer fixed they are usually in a panic state and would feel assured to speak to an engineer. Giving the impression that you are large, established etc very much depends on the business you are in.

From what Calv has told me, that he does mostly home PC repairs then you will find his customers will hate the automated systems and will use the mobile.

I have called out an Engineer through DELL under our maintenance contract and there has been several mix ups because I am talking to the monkey, not the organ grinder! The monkey was based in India by the way and the Organ Grinder was in Berkshire!

Start small...improvise later based on customer experience. Start big now and you lose customers from day one.

[confused]

A lot of mixed feelings here! I have considered quite a few of the different opinions mentioned, what I'd like to do, whilest not giving the impression of a large corporation, give the impression that I am able to handle reasonable sized contracts (as in a learning centre, primary school not as in a college or large company although I am quite capable of doing a job on that scale - have done before as that used to be my job). If need be I can get very short term funding if say I got a contract for 40 pc's 3 printers and a server but not 4000 pc's and several servers. I would under no circumstances agree to a job that I couldnt handle or would struggle with. Although I am a sole trader, I have "extra hands" on the short term if need be.
At the moment my workload is probably about 70%/30%, home users being the 70%, ideally this needs turning around the opposite way at the very least, however there are more home users and I cant turn anything down at this stage.
I know what you mean about mixups with support issues, it shouldnt happen but for reasons you have already mentioned, it does, and it happens a lot, which is a good reason to go for a smaller local company in many cases. This is my favorite cartoon sketch, I've posted it a few times here but I love it and is basically tech support at its worst - a joke but very much true to life. Calvs favorite (http://www.scarysquirrel.org/special/movies/foamy/tech2.html) Contains bad language

Please keep the opinions coming, I know it is drifting off the original topic but it is all really helpful to me.

CALV