For healthcare marketers, having a Yellow Pages presence is an advertising must - but measuring its effectiveness is still an ROI challenge for some. Determining the value of Yellow Pages campaigns is directly related to your organization's targeting specifications and knowing how to frame realistic marketing expectations, says Larry Small, VP of marketing services at the Yellow Pages Publishers Association (YPPA) in Troy, Mich.
| Factors | Key Costs/Numbers |
| 1. Ad Unit: | $8,000 |
| 2. Total calls received: | 1,091 |
| 3. Cost per call (item #1/item #2): | $7.33 |
| 4. % of calls that result in sales: | 33% |
| 5. Number of customers by phone(item #4 x item #2/100): | 360 |
| 6. % of sales from yellow pages generated from phone calls: | 90% |
| 7. Total customers - phone and walk-in (100 x item #5/item #6): | 400 |
| 8. Annual value of customer: | $300 |
| 9. Total sales (item #7 x item #8): | $120,000 |
| 10. Advertiser's operating profit: | 20% |
| 11. Adjusted profit : | $16,000 |
| ROI (item #12/item#1): | 2 |
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Source: Association of Directory Marketers http://www.admworks.org |
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As far as justifying a Yellow Pages presence, the "physicians/surgeons" and "hospitals" headings are among the top 15 most referenced categories, ranking 2 and 11, respectively, out of 2,000 headings in the average directory, according to the latest YPPA research (see sidebar, pg. 6). It is estimated that the "hospitals" heading commands 256 million references, with 51 percent of users indicating that they look at hospital advertising at least once (The average user looks at a hospital ad 3.4 times.). And the average reference leads to actionable results:
- 21 percent had a decision to make at the time of the reference.
- 90 percent make a contact after the average reference for hospitals, either by phone, in person or by mail.
- 20 percent make a hospital services purchase after the average reference.
Yellow Pages ROI Calculator
There's no magic formula to measuringYellow Pages effectiveness but the Association of Directory Marketers has taken a stab at it with its "Yellow Pages ROI Calculator" measuring tool (which can be found at http://www.admworks.org). According to Nancy Augustine, ADM's marketing manager, the calculator works well for healthcare marketers - especially in specialty areas like mental health and substance abuse -because it shows that "just a few customers can pay for an ad."
Asking the Right Questions
The ROI calculator can be a great tool if phone calls are coming into a centralized phone system, which is often the case for physician referral lines and specialized centers like women's health clinics and home healthcare agencies, according to Michael Cody an account executive with Yellow Page Consultants, a third-partyYellow Pages marketing firm in Glastonbury, Conn. But figuring out Yellow Pages-ROI for large hospital systems that are advertising under numerous headings with multiple goals (promoting the health system, several hospitals and individual physicians) is a confusing, often elusive challenge that frustrates marketers.
| Top 15 Yellow Page Headings | |
| 1 | Restaurants |
| 2 | Physicians & Surgeons |
| 3 | Automobile Parts |
| 4 | Automobile Repairing & Service |
| 5 | Pizza |
| 6 | Automobile Dealers |
| 7 | Attorneys/Lawyers |
| 8 | Beauty Salons |
| 9 | Insurance |
| 10 | Department Stores |
| 11 | Hospitals |
| 12 | Plumbing Contractors |
| 13 | Dentists |
| 14 | Airline Companies |
| 15 | Hardware - Retail |
| Source: Yellow Pages Publishers Association | |
Although some tracking problems can be resolved by using a remote call forwarding phone number that is only found in yourYellow Pages ad, this option doesn't address hospital product lines or using various headings ("physicians," "hospitals," "home health clinics," etc.) For these gray ROI areas, Cody suggests making these key campaign determinations:
- What is your potential market?
- How do consumers use the Yellow Pages in your market?
- What are your Yellow Pages marketing objectives: new customer-focused, convenience, referral-based, etc.?
In addition, Small of YPPA advises asking these pivotal questions of your marketing programs:
- What is your competitive ranking in the region and how does that compare to your presence in the Yellow Pages?
- What Yellow Pages directories have been most effective?
- Does your ad take advantage of typical Yellow Pages consumer usage (emergency, nursery and primary care are highly referenced headings in the Yellow Pages)?
Following the Money Trail
Figuring out Yellow Pages ROI is also a difficult exercise from a healthcare marketer's pricing standpoint. "Many hospitals don't know how much they're spending on Yellow Pages advertising," says Cody. Since phone companies directly bill clients, this kind of advertising is usually paid for through a telecommunications budget not a marketing budget. In addition, sales agents - who are employed by the phone companies and charged with explaining difficult ad rates - are incentivised to grow the business, not save clients money, according to Cody.
Conversely, YPC is hired on a contingency basis and boasts being able to save its clients 15 to 40 percent on their existing Yellow Pages advertising programs.
Using tools like the ROI Calculator (when applicable) as well as regional consumer usage, YPC develops customized advertising programs that often save its healthcare clients tens of thousands of dollars. And YPC gets a commission off of what they save clients as opposed to increasing sales volume.
Most Yellow Pages sales agents typically make 20 percent commission on existing sales volume and 23 to 25 percent on sales volume that increases; whereas YPC gets a 50 percent commission off of what they are able to save clients over a three-year period. (YPPA, 303/333-9772; ADM,412/269-0663 oremail: [email protected];YPC, Michael Cody, 860/633-0122)
Here's a hypothetical example of how the ROI Calculator can work for Memorial Hospital of Anytown, U.S.A., based on these assumptions:
- the yellow pages ad costs $8,000;
- total calls received over a year is 1,091; and
- the average amount a customer spends is $300.