Yellowpages.ca issued a press release this morning announcing a sweet update to their iPhone application:
New Version of YellowPages.ca™ Mobile Search Application for the iPhone™ puts Video in the Palm of your Hands (links and pictures below).
Yellow Pages Group (YPG)(TSX:YLO.UN) launches a new version of its popular YellowPages.caTM local search application for the Apple iPhone. The latest version features advertiser video content and continues to put the power of Yellowpages.ca in the hands of on-the-go users.
As a local advertiser with Yellow Pages (Canada) you can now include videos. I think that’s great for local merchants and advertisers! But this update is even more important to me as a consumer since now I can get a better taste and feel for what the merchant is like and what they are offering before I set foot (or call them). Why is this important to me as a consumer? When so many of the products or services I need are available from so many different vendors what typically converts me into a return/repeat customer at your shop is not what is on the shelf (since everyone else has the same thing) but it is the experience around what is on your shelf. You got it – it is you and your sales staff. You better believe that if you have a video I will be looking at it if I am looking for what you are selling.
Perhaps I am a simple shopper (simple minded some would argue) but the purchasing decision for me is (and has to be) surrounded by the right experience. Let me give you an example. I have been using the same cleaners now for almost 20 years. I tried to leave them several times (yes I did cheat on them) but I always ended up returning to them for one reason – because I like them! I know their names (Jeff and Lucy) and although they might be a little more expensive than the place 2 minutes away from my house, they are friendly, they do a great job, they are environmentally conscious and they know me and call me by name. Whenever I visit Jeff and Lucy it is always the right experience and that is why I drive 20 minutes out of my way to my old neighborhood.
In a big city I still look for the personal touch. And I think the video on the YellowPages.ca iPhone application will help me pre-qualify some of my vendors.
Here are some screen shots of the application. I will play with it a little so you can feel free to ask me questions later this week.
More from the Press Release…
“Canadians are adopting the iPhone and other smartphones rapidly. Our YellowPages.caTM App brings video in local business search for iPhone users across the country,” explains Stephane Marceau, Chief Marketing Officer, Yellow Pages Group.
The YellowPages.caTM App includes the following features:
- Full access to merchant content, including video and photo montages
- Business, Person and Reverse phone number look-up
- Save to your favourites (My Favs) and/or address book
- Share listing results with others via email/sms
- Local proximity-based search using GPS & Maps
- Direct connect to Voice Search (no charge usage)
“Our YellowPages.caTM App remains in the top-200 free downloaded apps since launching at the iTunes App Store,” added Marceau. “It leverages the power of our national database and the location-based/GPS functionality of today’s smartphones to provide local, relevant results to consumers. We have seen significant growth in the number of YellowPages.ca mobile page views and we believe the enhancements made to the App will continue to help us connect advertisers with their potential buyers.”
In the press release they also mention that they have created an international version of the application in order to make it available to business travellers and visitors to Canada, notably for visitors to the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010.
The application can be downloaded directly to your iPhone from the App Store or by simply entering http://installyp.ca/iPhone from your iPhone.
The Press Release is here. Greg Sterling posted this morning here and for a related topic and a cool real-time implementation of local search go to Calgary.com (source).
Small Disclaimer: I know the folks who developed the application for YellowPages.ca very well and I know some of the folks from the Yellow Pages Group (YPG) as well. Please keep in mind of this as you reread this post. In fact if you are interested in an excellent mobile application developer please contact me and I can hook you up.
Similar Posts:
- Made in Quebec Mobile Applications
- Mobile Strategy for Small Business: It’s About Local Convenience
- BlackBerry Surpasses iPhone in First Quarter 09
- Access SAP CRM from your BlackBerry
- App Store Market Data (from AppsFire)
- Just For Fun: Google Goggles
- Mobile Applications and Loyalty
- Is the iPhone Suddenly Incompatible With Exchange?
- Collection of tiny mobile apps for your iPhone (or my Personalized Enterprise Gateway)
- Just For Fun: Microsoft Makes Fun of App Store
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Fully agree that watching videos from your mobile phone can really drive home a decision to visit or call a local merchant. For full disclose, I am the Director of Business Development for YPG Canada. I like your post, take an existing story and add your personal touch.
{ 1 trackback }