More and more small business owners I talk to today are saying their Yellow Page adverts just aren’t drawing in the customers like it used to.

If this is your predicament as well and you’re wondering why…it’s because your potential customers have switched to other resources!

Researchers at the Kelsey Group have found that as younger generations begin making larger purchases, they will move away from traditional search methods like phone books and “use online resources at the expense of traditional media.” The Kelsey Group adds that businesses will have to adapt to these new online methods as the phone book becomes obsolete.

According to the Kelsey Group’s recent report, “2008 will be a pivotal year for the global Yellow Pages industry.”

The report highlights how small businesses will handle advertising during the economic downturn. “In the past, small- and medium-sized businesses have protected their print Yellow Pages investment at the expense of other media (such as the Internet). Given the structural changes in the local ad market, we believe the next downturn will favor media choices that are more flexible and provide a lower cost per lead than print directories, which would signal a profound shift.”

This means small-business and medium-sized businesses are predicted to begin examining alternative methods of getting the word out about their businesses, and your prospects had better keep up! It also confirms that an online presence is a less expensive and more effective method of promotion. All over the world, consumers are turning to mobile and online resources to learn more about businesses while phone directories are discarded!

If you’re still using the phone book for advertising and haven’t set up a web site to attract customers, be found online, sell products, stay in touch with your customer base and more – then you’re missing a huge opportunity for just a small investment of time and money.

A recent report by Nielsen (Center for Media Research), states that forty-nine percent (49%) of consumers in the United States are reducing their overall household and recreational spending to compensate for the rising cost of gas. Similar studies are surfacing for Canadian households and spending as well.

People may be reworking their budgets and habits, but ecommerce spending continues to rise 20% annually. These two facts may explain why your retail store is seeing a decrease in walk-in traffic while making a strong case for offering your own products or services for sale online and becoming a successful e-tailer.

The article further reports that 70% of consumers are combining shopping trips and errands, 41% are eating out less, and 39% are spending more time at home.

“Our research shows a jump in consumers shopping on the Internet as a way to deal with high gas prices…a wake-up call for manufacturers and retailers alike to step up their ‘direct-to-consumer’ efforts to utilize the Internet to communicate directly with consumers in 2008…”

Now more than ever consumers are looking to the Internet as a convenient, economical alternative to using fuel. Shouldn’t they be finding your business when they’re looking for products to buy online from the comfort of their home?

According to a recent research study by The Nielsen Company, more than 85% of the world’s online population has used the Internet to make a purchase. That’s a 40% increase over the past two years. (This falls directly in line with other research companys’ findings – 20% increase annually.) Continue reading