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Internet Yellow Pages Advertiser Focus Group Highlights
Conducted August, 2006 by DJE AssociatesAdvertisers get it! The focus group participants quickly realized that the AgendiZe Click-to-Save & Share tools would significantly increase the effectiveness of their Internet Yellow Pages advertising, both because it would help users retain information about their businesses beyond the user session, but also from the implied endorsement they would receive as consumers share the advertising with each other. The focus group took place in Washington, D.C. and comprised nine small businesses in service-related categories that currently advertise on internet directories. Those businesses include a restaurant, beauty salon, dentist, accountant, chiropractor, tree service, plumber, and two physician’s offices. The bulk of the session was conducted after participants watched a fifteen minute demonstration of the AgendiZe Click-to-Save & Share tool set as deployed on BermudaYP.com. The presenter answered a few questions during the demonstration, then departed the room and did not interact with the participants again. The participants generally understood how the AgendiZe Click-to-Save & Share tools worked and immediately and enthusiastically embraced the time-shifting and social networking potential of the toolset: "So many different ways of reaching your potential customers, and the fact that once they click they're going to have a record somewhere, on their desktop, on their phonebook - that record’s going to be there - and easy to get back to, and if they don't like that record, they can change it to another record as well as networking it..." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users "The word of mouth just spreading that way, making it [the ad] semi-permanent instead of temporary..." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users "And, it also adds credibility, because when people are looking just on a website, or just at advertising, their guard is up, but if a family member sends it, that's something you don't have to worry about." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users "Because you have other people talking for you, potentially to many more people....and that person [can] take it on and send it on to someone else." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users "Julia said word of mouth, after you look at that and you send it to the first person, the next generation is all word of mouth. They're not going to the original source, they're getting it from you or whoever you send it to....Word of mouth is worth bucks." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users "...[Click to Save & Share is attractive] because of the word of mouth. That is so important to me....free advertising, it is so easy to share. That feature is just awesome." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users Participants were asked to discuss the relative importance to their buying decision of a publisher offering Click-to-Save & Share versus a publisher providing maps, driving directions, ratings & reviews, and click-to-call. Click-to-Save & Share and click-to-call were clearly the most favored, followed by maps and driving directions. When asked how they would describe the AgendiZe Click-to-Save & Share toolset to a colleague, the focus group members focused on the competitive advantage they believe an advertiser would gain: "I'd tell them that you're one step ahead of everybody else and you are making it easier for a consumer and the easier you make it for the consumer, the less space they have to go from you to them." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users "It's exciting!" [Neighbor responding] "Oh, yes!" Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users Later in the session, participants discussed the impact the AgendiZe toolset would have on their buying decision and how they would choose between competing Internet Yellow Pages publishers. These advertisers voiced very strong preferences for publishers offering the Click-to-Save & Share functionality. In fact, the group seemed to think it was self-evident that publishers should deploy the tools and thought publishers that lagged would see their business suffer: [Moderator: So, there is almost complete agreement that this would represent a distinct advantage in that sense to the publisher vs. another without it] "Hand-crank windows or power windows". [Followed by laughter and agreement from the rest of the group.] Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users [Moderator: Would this service cause you to choose one directory over another?] "I think so...it's kind of a slam dunk - you want to take on what's easier for everybody to use......I think if one person [publisher] does it, then the rest are going to have to, because no one will use the directories that don't do it because this one is so much easier." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users [Moderator: Would publishers have to follow if one deployed AgendiZe?] "Definitely. Everybody else would lose out. They'd have to. I'm not that internet savvy but I can see it. You know. Just make it easy." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users In closing, the members of the group were asked to summarize their impression of the AgendiZe toolset: "I think...it'll go like wild fire. Everyone is going to turn on to that." Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users "So when is it available?" Video: Internet Explorer Users, or Firefox or Mac Users |
    
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