I have fond memories of lying on the kitchen floor with the Yellow Pages, calling every pet store listed. Depending on my favorite animal that week, inquiries ranged from “Do you have turtles?” to “What do ferrets eat?” The process made sense at the time: open up the massive book and just start from the beginning.

Fast forward 15 years and I can’t remember the last time I opened a phone book. The most interaction I’ve had with one in the past decade is picking it up to recycle it. In 2007, Chris Silver Smith, director of optimization strategy for KeyRelevance, wrote an article titled “Google Trends: Yellow Pages Will Be Toast in Four Years.” Three years later, the statistics are still convincing – the Yellow Pages took note.

In the past year, the Yellow Pages has updated its logo, developed a smartphone application and started pushing its new website address, YP.com. Its motto (“Click less. Live more.”) sums up its search mentality. And, I must admit, the iPhone application is beautifully designed with quick-click options for “eat,” “play” and “live.” (Sounds oddly similar to Eat, Pray, Love …)

The changes make sense. But, according to Nielson, more than 85 percent of Internet searches take place through Google, Yahoo and Bing. That doesn’t leave much room for the revamped YP. Statistics like these are hard to ignore, which must be why the YP homepage is a “mixed breed:” Google Places, Mapquest, Yelp! and Weather.com – it even supports Facebook integration. In theory, it’s the perfect homepage.

But, old habits die hard. While many may recognize – and appreciate – the update to the Yellow Pages brand, it might not serve as a replacement for more popular services.

Is YP.com your go-to source for local listings?

This past weekend, I went to Charleston, SC for a mini-getaway. (Side note: What a beautiful city. If you haven’t had a chance to visit, I highly recommend it!!)

Since this was my first visit to Charleston, I wasn’t sure where to eat or what tourist attractions to visit. I could have asked the hotel concierge or checked out the visitors’ guide. Neither of those won out. Instead, one “old school” tactic and one “new school” tactic helped me experience the best of this impressive place.

First, we needed to eat. We searched the Yelp iPhone app, which produced a list of suggested restaurants – some with excellent reviews and some with warnings to stay away. Blossom came very highly recommended on Yelp. And, once again, Yelpers came through. The meal was a-maz-ing.

Then, we went old school. We wanted to take one of those horse-drawn historical tours of Charleston. On one street corner, we found a vendor handing out flyers to passersby. Well, the guy seemed nice and the flyer made them sound like the best option in town … so, that’s how we chose this vendor over the others. Pretty, simple right?

Here’s the point: It doesn’t matter how you reach your potential customers … as long as you reach them. Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, flyers, direct mail – those are all just tools that make it easier for customers to find you. As marketers, we need to make sure we’re incorporating the right tools so people can easily find our companies. (Hint: A static, corporate web site is not enough.)

How about your company? Hard to find or easily accessible? What are some innovative ways companies are using tools – old or new – to be more “findable?”

Photo Credit: Bill Ward