If the majority of your calls – or at least the majority of your best customers - are a specific gender, then yes, you should craft your Yellow Page ad with an eye toward gender preference. Here’s why:

A prospect simply cannot look at a few pages worth of Yellow Page ads and tell, objectively, which company is the best choice. There simply is not enough information, not enough ways to verify claims, and not enough time. So instead, prospects are drawn to the ad (and company) that they “feel” the best about. And that’s who’ll they’ll call. Period.

The more any particular prospect senses that an ad is “speaking” to them, the more likely they are to “feel” the best about that ad/company. Making your Yellow Page ad speak to your ideal customer means credibly addressing their felt emotional needs. And gender plays an important role in:

1. Shaping felt needs, and
2. Determining what information will be judged as the most “credible” and persuasive.

Now, the incredulous among you may be asking, are there objectively verifiable differences in the things that the different genders find persuasive and emotionally compelling in an ad? And the answer is, yes, statistically speaking, those differences do exist. For instance, women are more likely to be concerned about:

• Not making the “wrong” decision
• The time cost of doing business – will this be easy/convenient or difficult.
• How their decision will affect the people closest to them.
• The trust, integrity, and honesty of the business. No one wants to be “taken,” but women are more likely to realize that this is better accomplished by doing business with honest people than by “hard nosed” negotiation. There is a reason 63% of Saturn buyers are women.
• Whether other customers say good things about you, and who those customers are. Think testimonials, referrals, and endorsements.

Addressing these things in your Yellow Page ad will dramatically increase your emotional appeal to women. Now this isn’t to say that men would not find these things important, but the majority of men would be less likely to be emotionally persuaded on these factors alone. Finding this information in an ad is less likely to make a man “feel the best” about a company.

So what persuades men? A majority of men think hierarchally. This means:

• They generally want to ensure that they are working with “real professionals” or getting “the best” stuff or “professional grade” items.
• Formal signs of competency, proficiency, or status. Think professional credentials, certificates, awards, association memberships, etc.
• Size of the business (employees, equipment, selection, etc.)
• Men are generally more concerned with getting the best deal or at least a good deal. This is not the same as not wanting to make a wrong choice, it means men are more quickly persuaded by “beating the market” or getting a better deal than the other guy.

And again, this does not mean that women will not find these things important, but that they are less likely to be emotionally persuaded by them.

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting you write to stereotypes; I am suggesting that you see your customer as real as possible – gender and all. If your customers skew toward one gender or another, then in my 30+ years of experience, designing your Yellow Pages ad with an eye towards the felt emotional needs of that gender produces better results.

In fact, if your target market is gender-neutral, zeroing in on one gender could give you an opportunity to dominate the heading. Also, if you're planning one full-page ad consider running 2 half-page ads, one for each class of reader. This could be a smart strategy if the pricing's right AND doing so will not position your Yellow Page ad too far back into the heading. How far is too far? Generally speaking, appearing in the first th

Factor 1 Inductive Proximity Sensors
Standard inductive proximity sensors have already for several decades been used to detect metal, be it in a plant or on a machine. They are far from perfect, since the sensing distance varies with the kind of metal that needs to be detected.The standard inductive proximity switches are designed for wear-free and non-contact detection of metal objects. Basically the sensing distance is related to the size, diameter and length of the sensor. When sensing different metals, ferrous and non-ferrous, the sensing distance changes. With non-ferrous metals, it is being reduced. Which causes an adjustment of the
an ad is “speaking” to them, the more likely they are to “feel” the best about that ad/company. Making your Yellow Page ad speak to your ideal customer means credibly addressing their felt emotional needs. And gender plays an important role in:
1. Shaping felt needs, and
2. Determining what information will be judged as the most “credible” and persuasive.

Now, the incredulous among you may be asking, are there objectively verifiable differences in the things that the different genders find persuasive and emotionally compelling in an ad? And the answer is, yes, statistically speaking, those differences do exist. For instance, women are more likely to be concerned about:

• Not making the “wrong” decision
• The time cost of doing business – will this be easy/convenient or difficult.
• How their decision will affect the people closest to them.
• The trust, integrity, and honesty of the business. No one wants to be “taken,” but women are more likely to realize that this is better accomplished by doing business with honest people than by “hard nosed” negotiation. There is a reason 63% of Saturn buyers are women.
• Whether other customers say good things about you, and who those customers are. Think testimonials, referrals, and endorsements.

Addressing these things in your Yellow Page ad will dramatically increase your emotional appeal to women. Now this isn’t to say that men would not find these things important, but the majority of men would be less likely to be emotionally persuaded on these factors alone. Finding this information in an ad is less likely to make a man “feel the best” about a company.

So what persuades men? A majority of men think hierarchally. This means:

• They generally want to ensure that they are working with “real professionals” or getting “the best” stuff or “professional grade” items.
• Formal signs of competency, proficiency, or status. Think professional credentials, certificates, awards, association memberships, etc.
• Size of the business (employees, equipment, selection, etc.)
• Men are generally more concerned with getting the best deal or at least a good deal. This is not the same as not wanting to make a wrong choice, it means men are more quickly persuaded by “beating the market” or getting a better deal than the other guy.

And again, this does not mean that women will not find these things important, but that they are less likely to be emotionally persuaded by them.

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting you write to stereotypes; I am suggesting that you see your customer as real as possible – gender and all. If your customers skew toward one gender or another, then in my 30+ years of experience, designing your Yellow Pages ad with an eye towards the felt emotional needs of that gender produces better results.

In fact, if your target market is gender-neutral, zeroing in on one gender could give you an opportunity to dominate the heading. Also, if you're planning one full-page ad consider running 2 half-page ads, one for each class of reader. This could be a smart strategy if the pricing's right AND doing so will not position your Yellow Page ad too far back into the heading. How far is too far? Generally speaking, appearing in the first t

The Cost of Doing Business
The cost of doing business continuously increases as gasoline prices soar. Many service companies (e.g. plumbing, air conditioning and chimney contractors) have realized this as gasoline expenses have reached the ceiling. In an effort to offset this cost many companies are cutting budgets in other key areas like marketing and advertising. Many companies are realizing as they cut budgets for advertising they are seeing a decrease in profits which requires further budget cuts. This can have a snowball effect; however, there are adjustments that can be made to relieve the strain on the gasoline budget.One
icult.
• How their decision will affect the people closest to them.
• The trust, integrity, and honesty of the business. No one wants to be “taken,” but women are more likely to realize that this is better accomplished by doing business with honest people than by “hard nosed” negotiation. There is a reason 63% of Saturn buyers are women.
• Whether other customers say good things about you, and who those customers are. Think testimonials, referrals, and endorsements.

Addressing these things in your Yellow Page ad will dramatically increase your emotional appeal to women. Now this isn’t to say that men would not find these things important, but the majority of men would be less likely to be emotionally persuaded on these factors alone. Finding this information in an ad is less likely to make a man “feel the best” about a company.

So what persuades men? A majority of men think hierarchally. This means:

• They generally want to ensure that they are working with “real professionals” or getting “the best” stuff or “professional grade” items.
• Formal signs of competency, proficiency, or status. Think professional credentials, certificates, awards, association memberships, etc.
• Size of the business (employees, equipment, selection, etc.)
• Men are generally more concerned with getting the best deal or at least a good deal. This is not the same as not wanting to make a wrong choice, it means men are more quickly persuaded by “beating the market” or getting a better deal than the other guy.

And again, this does not mean that women will not find these things important, but that they are less likely to be emotionally persuaded by them.

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting you write to stereotypes; I am suggesting that you see your customer as real as possible – gender and all. If your customers skew toward one gender or another, then in my 30+ years of experience, designing your Yellow Pages ad with an eye towards the felt emotional needs of that gender produces better results.

In fact, if your target market is gender-neutral, zeroing in on one gender could give you an opportunity to dominate the heading. Also, if you're planning one full-page ad consider running 2 half-page ads, one for each class of reader. This could be a smart strategy if the pricing's right AND doing so will not position your Yellow Page ad too far back into the heading. How far is too far? Generally speaking, appearing in the first t

How To Buy Payroll Services For Small Businesses
Small businesses that do not want to deal with or do not have the resources to deal with payroll management and administration, seek professional payroll service providers. They are cost effective, more experienced, reliable, well trained and takes care of mundane chore such as paying employees, and filing taxes etc., saving valuable time that can be devoted to building and running the business successfully.It is a time consuming as well as exhaustive task to manage the payroll requirements of a business. Trained personnel are needed to be up to date, maintain employee work schedules, their leave calcu
n “feel the best” about a company.

So what persuades men? A majority of men think hierarchally. This means:

• They generally want to ensure that they are working with “real professionals” or getting “the best” stuff or “professional grade” items.
• Formal signs of competency, proficiency, or status. Think professional credentials, certificates, awards, association memberships, etc.
• Size of the business (employees, equipment, selection, etc.)
• Men are generally more concerned with getting the best deal or at least a good deal. This is not the same as not wanting to make a wrong choice, it means men are more quickly persuaded by “beating the market” or getting a better deal than the other guy.

And again, this does not mean that women will not find these things important, but that they are less likely to be emotionally persuaded by them.

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting you write to stereotypes; I am suggesting that you see your customer as real as possible – gender and all. If your customers skew toward one gender or another, then in my 30+ years of experience, designing your Yellow Pages ad with an eye towards the felt emotional needs of that gender produces better results.

In fact, if your target market is gender-neutral, zeroing in on one gender could give you an opportunity to dominate the heading. Also, if you're planning one full-page ad consider running 2 half-page ads, one for each class of reader. This could be a smart strategy if the pricing's right AND doing so will not position your Yellow Page ad too far back into the heading. How far is too far? Generally speaking, appearing in the first t

The Underestimated Office Photocopier
Many businesses in the UK do not have the right level and standard of office equipment. This problem often becomes more obvious when a company suddenly grows or reduces in size, perhaps through a merger with another company or through cut backs and redundancies.Apart from the actual computers and desks, a busy office often suffers when the wrong type of photocopier has been installed. Many companies rely heavily on this often overlooked piece of office equipment, but when it breaks down, as they often do, its importance becomes apparent. Below is a simple guide to getting the right photocopier for your
ess likely to be emotionally persuaded by them.

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting you write to stereotypes; I am suggesting that you see your customer as real as possible – gender and all. If your customers skew toward one gender or another, then in my 30+ years of experience, designing your Yellow Pages ad with an eye towards the felt emotional needs of that gender produces better results.

In fact, if your target market is gender-neutral, zeroing in on one gender could give you an opportunity to dominate the heading. Also, if you're planning one full-page ad consider running 2 half-page ads, one for each class of reader. This could be a smart strategy if the pricing's right AND doing so will not position your Yellow Page ad too far back into the heading. How far is too far? Generally speaking, appearing in the first third of the heading is considered good positioning, as long as your ad is properly developed.

Targeting your most important prospects will help differentiate your business from all the rest, will help you to write more compelling ad copy that speaks honestly to the felt needs and desires of your target audience. All of these things will help you reap astonishingly better returns from your next Yellow Pages advertising investment and any one of them might be improved by looking at gender preferences for your business. If you'd like to learn more, call me at 800-726-7006 and I'll be happy to fill you in.