I was speaking to an old friend not too long ago who works for an online local business directory and asked him why the yellow pages are still printed and he said it because small businesses are still buying ads. Usage has all but dried up according to the recent 15miles Fourth Annual comScore Local Search Usage Study. This ongoing study tracks many usage measurements but the most important to the tow industry is the fact that fully 70% of households solely use the internet for local business searches. And, interestingly enough, 45% say they do not have a specific company in mind when the start the search. Talk about an opportunity to build your business!
There were may more statistics to come out of the survey that talked about the increase in mobile web access (searching for companies on your smartphone) which really plays an important role when someone is broken down on the side of the road. Where the once would call home and have someone look up the local tow company now they just search their location and tow and call the first company to come up. Or, they call 411 and the operator performs the same search. Either way, its important for tow companies to have a meaningful presence online.
One final interesting tidbit was that 81% believe it's important for local businesses to respond to questions and complaints on social sites. So they are saying if you get a poor review on a site they want to hear your side of the story too. So don't shy away from responding to comments but maybe you should wait until after lunch when the shop is calm and all is well.
