In May 2007, Bill Gates predicted that the death of the Yellow Pages would occur over the next five years for the under-50 crowd. But based on statistics from independent third-party studies conducted by respected research companies CRM Associates and Knowledge Networks/SRI, I’d say Gates’ report is greatly exaggerated.

Case in point: In 2006, the Yellow Pages “Storage” heading listed 26 million references nationally. Studies of the top 300 Yellow Pages headings are conducted by third-party research firms every year, and “Storage” continues to remain in that list; in 2006, it was No. 107. In fact, the use of this heading in print Yellow Pages shows a 7 percent annual growth. What’s more, the majority of Yellow Pages users for the “Storage” heading are between the ages of 25 and 49.

This is not to say the Internet is not effective in drawing new customers. Statistics show that 6 percent of new storage customers are lured through local Web searches; but 72 percent still come from print Yellow Pages. Yes, the Internet search numbers are growing, but print is still the first and foremost way to attract prospects.
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