Defining the 'New' Yellow Pages Organization

Next Tuesday I will be leading a workshop at the Yellow Pages Association meeting in Las Vegas that I’ve ambitiously titled, “Built to Last: the New Yellow Pages Organization.” The idea is to develop some understanding of how industry organizations will need to adjust to new realities of the business, which will include a more diverse revenue mix, differing levels of profitability among a more complex product set, more challenging system requirements, new pricing and financial measurement models, more complex customer segmentation, and so on.

Here is the panel description as it appears on the agenda:

“The Yellow Pages revenue mix is moving from print to print + online + search + other, with pricing programs that are becoming more seasonal and variable and less fixed and annual. As these changes accelerate, publishers understand the need to re-engineer their organizations to fit a changing business model. This involves every aspect of the enterprise — from the sales channel to systems. Making these changes will require creative thinking and willingness to make tough decisions. We’ve assembled a panel of experts to assess what needs to be done and how it can get done.”

I’m fortunate to be joined by three industry thought leaders who will provide a reality check on the road map I will lay out in my presentation.

Bruce Akhurst, CEO, Sensis
Scott Pomeroy, President and CEO, Berry
Mat Stover, CEO, Local Matters

For those of you coming to Las Vegas, I look forward to seeing you there.

UPDATE: Due to the travel restrictions caused by the volcanic ash in Europe, the YPA has lost its London-based keynoter Ben Legg, COO of European Directories, who was to speak at 10:45 Monday morning. To fill that spot, “Built to Last: the New Yellow Pages Organization” is being moved from its original Tuesday morning time into the Monday keynote spot.