How Craigslist Beats the Yellow Pages for Home Improvements

Is Craigslist replacing the Yellow Pages? Here is a real-life example of how I used the web to shop for a local service traditionally shopped via Yellow Pages ads.

I recently had to make a not-so-difficult decision: install a bathroom fan in my home or start taking colder showers. Faced with only one viable option, I researched fans online then stopped by a Home Depot to get a feel for what sone is, and how whether I could tell the difference between a cheap fan and more expensive low-sone fans. After about one minute of in-store research pressing the various fan's buttons, it because clear that spending more for less sones was money well spent.

Now having a good idea what I wanted, I price-shopped my fan of choice online, and found it on Ebay for 30% less including shipping than Home Depot. I ended up going back to Home Depot to pick up the ventilation kit so I wouldn't turn my attic into a tropical rain forest. Clearly, I was not in a rush.

Time to Find Someone to Install the Fan

Rather than pick up a yellow pages, flip around to find the appropriate category within the book, filter my options based on the alphabet (is AA-Handyman better than AAA1-Handyman?), or how large their ad is (does a quarter page ad handyman do a better job than a half page ad one?), then start calling and calling, waiting on hold, and describing my situation over and over again, I clicked to minneapolis.Craigslist.com.

I posted a free ad on Craigslist under the skill'd trade category outlining what I need help with. Within an hour, I had three responses, and a fourth the following day. I only had to describe my needs once, spent no time on hold, didn't waste time finding my way around the Yellow Pages categories, and had four guys interested in quoting the job.

Craigslist Puts Consumers in Control

Giving consumers the ability to request RFP's (request for proposals) with a few clicks is changing the way business is done. In fact, it's already being done this way to a degree in real estate and lending where consumers can be matched up with agents and lenders after filling out a profile form. However, Craigslist takes this one step further for consumers by putting them directly in touch with vendors with no paid intermediary.

What Should Vendors Do?

If I was in the home services business, I'd subscribe to the RSS feeds of Craigslist categories that matched my skills today. Find information on how to do this here, here, and here. By efficiently monitoring Craigslist listings and responding quickly to new posts you'll close more business.

Catering is an interesting option. I'm curious about that too. Looking at the Events category, it doesn't look like it would be hard to find just about any type of service you could need for an event, including weddings.

Good point about small towns. I guess this is a glimpse into the future for them.

Yes, for some instances Craig's List is a good resource. But, you can not say it beats the Yellow Pages totally for Home Improvements. Say for example, one night I discovered a leak in my roof during the spring time when the weather was nothing but rain. I don't think I am going to take the time to post something on the net and wait for a response. I am going to go to the Yellow Pages and look for a contractor and call him. There are multiple other categories when Yellow Pages rule, espeically in emergency situations. Also, think about the demographics for Yellow Pages vs. Craig's List for certain categoreies as Home Improvements. Older aged demo's need/contract out home improvements and they typically do not use the web.

I'm glad you found Craigslist to be helpfull but there are many areas of concern you should be passing along to these service industry folks and the users as well.

First - the majority of people who use a service like Craigs list are looking for the lowest bids - they're heavy price shoppers. Many of my YP contractor clients do not want these types of customers- they undervalue their service and cut their profits.

Second - As the customer looking for a contractor you have no control over who's giving you the bid. You don't get to make an informed decision based on their qualifications, backgrounds, experience, etc... You just get 'responses' from whichever contractor needs the work the most. I saw an episode of "Flip this House" where the homeowner used a similar service to find a roofer. The 2 guys that came out were utter and complete hacks. As they were being fired from the job one of them actually said "You get what you pay for".

Thridly - The time it takes to actually call (speak to) a few contractors and line up times for estimates is not much more than the process you describe for posting a bid. It may take me 15 minutes on the phone - it took you a day to wait for responses just to set something up for an estimate.

Anyways, I'm a huge fan of technology and the web. I just hate to see someone poo-pooing a proven marketing tool like the Yellow Pages just because you found a site that you like.

Travis, good points. The last time I had a relative emergency at my home, I didn't use Craigslist. I used Google because it's the fastest research tool in my home. For others, the yellow pages may make more sense. Especially if they'd have to wait for their dial-up modem to connect.

It's probably premature for home services businesses to drop their yellow pages advertising. Especially if they're interested in advertising to the demographic you described who continues to turn to the YP first.

However, having worked with some home services companies in the past on web marketing initiatives, I think businesses who ignore the web are missing a big opportunity. Very few home services businesses have a professional web presence, and even less market their web sites effectively, so for those who do the cost per leads are incredibly low.

#1 - As a consumer, I'm trying to shop by price. Is it possible to undervalue a service? Isn't the value of the service what the two parties agree upon? Given a choice of sending a bulk print mailing to a set of addresses, or responding to an RFP from someone actively searching for your services for free, how could someone resist the opportunity to bid?

#2 - Who I receive bids from and who I choose to do jobs are two entirely different issues. Does the Yellow Pages screen advertisers to make sure they're not hacks?

#3 - I didn't sit and my computer clicking the refresh button for a day after posting my wanted ad, so I don't think that's a fair comparison.

I'm not suggesting that the Yellow Pages are worthless. They're just not a useful tool for me (and I imagine other) relatively young techie types. They clearly must work for many businesses in order to draw the revenues they do.

As a consumer, I'm looking for an information advantage. With car shopping, I can learn a LOT before stepping on a lot. With retail, I can find products, read reviews and make informed purchases without ever talking to a salesperson. But with home services, I have to call around to negotiate work with people who hold all the cards?

What service does the Yellow Pages provide to help me make an informed decision beyond ad size?

Using the internet as an informational tool is fantastic - I agree. I too use it to find everything about a product before I buy or shop.

My point with the service contractors is that the Yellow Pages gives me information. What information you ask (other than ad size)? Well, I'm looking at a plumber's ad right now. Just from this ad I know his full line of services offered, years of experience, credit cards accepted, discounts offered, coupons, he charges by the job not by the hour, same day service, and I see a picture of his clean cut crew in front of their late model fleet of vans. If I like what I see I call him and I don't have to take them time to ask all these things. These things give me a sense of comfort that I am dealing with a professional - it's all about image. This tells me alot about who I am potentially letting do work on my $500,000 investment of a home.

Granted alot of poorly designed Yellow Page ads tell you nothing. That's the fault of the sales rep, not the medium.

I don't mean to insult your Craig's list usage - I'm sure it is a great tool. Being in the business you are in I would imagine that internet based commerce is your cup of tea on most levels. The majority of people, however, still know and trust their antiquated phone books.

Buckminster, I think we agree on the quality of work, but just see advantages in two different strategies for soliciting proposals. In the end, there's no reason why we couldn't end up working with the same contractor.

What's to stop me from including requirements in my Craigslist RFP for minimum experience, credit card acceptance, etc.?

Clearly, a strong brand brings advantages, including comfort for prospective customers investing in their homes. A smart contractor using Craigslist as a free source of leads would quickly respond to wanted posts with a link to their professionally designed web site for branding purposes. Who do you think would win the bid? A relative hack, or a well established business with a strong brand and fair bid?

Yes, antiquated phone books haven't run their course yet. And there are no absolutes in advertising.

Comments

1. Posted by: Silver on April 20, 2006 4:06 PM:

But, why wouldn't you just use the online yellow pages?

Craigslist is great for posting personal messages, real estate listings and classified types of ads, but I typically want to research different providers of services before I choose one.

I suspect you'd have problems with finding other providers for different types of industries like Catering.

Craigslist isn't used as much for other small towns and regions -- contractors in those areas haven't even heard of Craigslist.

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