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PrintSome 18% of small-business owners surveyed in April said they are working a second job, according to the latest findings from the American Express Open Small Business Monitor. It’s an indicator that many business owners are experiencing challenges in an economic environment that they haven’t faced before. It also sheds a new light on the lead generation process. The media landscape has expanded with a proliferation of channels touting more eyeballs and deeper customer engagement. More eyeballs and deeper engagement are both great. But when sales are down and you are forced to stop drawing a salary in order to deal with reduced cash flow you’ve got to be asking yourself;
"Where are the local customers who are ready to buy right now?"
According to research from comScore, Knowledge Networks/SRI, and other leading consumer media usage organizations; technology has dramatically improved the ability for consumers to research and shop before purchasing, causing previously used benchmarks like circulation to become weak indicators of expected sales. So, without relying on circulation numbers to derive a semi-accurate measure of expected sales how does an advertiser know where to spend their advertising dollars in today’s mix of print and online local business directories?
The key is to understand how online vs. offline media behavior differs between shoppers and buyers. Though online and offline behavior are not mutually exclusive of each other, each follows a different progression through the four primary phases of the buying cycle according to research from comScore and TMP.
| Stage | Online | Offline |
| Need Definition | 42% | 16% |
| Research & Consideration | 23% | 23% |
| Intent / Shop | 17% | 21% |
| Local Business Selection | 19% | 41% |
So, how does this data translate for the advertiser? TMP expresses it as, “When it comes to researching and purchasing, offline search is used overwhelmingly when a business has already been identified and consumers are ready to purchase. Online search, on the other hand, is used earlier in the buying process.” That means when putting together your directory ad, know that most consumers already know what they are looking for. They’ve decided to buy; now it’s more about informing and educating them quickly and making it easy for them to contact and do business with you.
