August 2, 2010
Family Business Survives and Thrives Through Tough Economic Times Thanks to New Strategy and Advertising in Verizon Super Yellow Pages
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Like many parents in Providence, Wendy and Troy Hewes wanted to create something that could be passed down to their children. They just never imagined that “something” would be the fledgling family-run wood flooring business which started in 1967. In September 2004, Wendy saw an opportunity and took over Ace Wood Flooring much to the disapproval and skeptical feelings of the immediate family. How would Wendy make a go of it? With her husband in the field, Wendy oversaw day-to-day operations of Ace Wood Flooring and acted on the opportunity she saw.
Today Ace Wood Flooring installs and refinishes more than 500 wood floors annually. The opportunity Wendy recognized was simple enough. Establish that a friendly, knowledgeable person – not a recording or a corporate office where someone would take your number and have someone get back to you – will answer the phone, ready to help.
Four words – We answer the phone – in the Verizon® Super Yellow Pages ad has helped the Hewes’ secure the future for their children. “Once I joined the business, I included my cell phone number in the Verizon Super Yellow Pages with those four words, we answer the phone,” Wendy recalls. “People would tell me, ‘you are the first person to answer the phone.’ Let me tell you something, today 95 percent of my advertising is in the Verizon Super Yellow Pages and new customers are still calling my cell and telling me the same thing they did in 2004. As far as I’m concerned, print Yellow Pages is still the best way to advertise.”
In 2007 when the recession hit hard, Wendy saw small businesses and some companies pulling back on their advertising. Not Ace. Wendy expanded its advertising throughout Rhode Island. Ace continued growing. “During the recession I would hear businesses say, ‘I can’t afford advertising,’” Wendy said. “In a recession, you can’t afford not to advertise. These are the same companies that think print is dead. It’s not; I’m just kicking your butt.”
SuperMedia’s SuperGuarantee Provides Winning Hand In 2009, SuperMedia (NASDAQ:SPMD) – the advertising agency for local small- to medium- sized businesses across the United States and publisher of the Verizon Super Yellow Pages – introduced a consumer service satisfaction guarantee – the SuperGuarantee® program. Wendy was, at best, skeptical. “I didn’t think it was going to help, but it was free so there was no risk for me,” Wendy said. “Suffice to say, I was wrong. The SuperGuarantee from SuperMedia is providing another boost in sales for me.” Ace Wood Flooring is not alone.
Businesses throughout Providence are reaping the rewards from SuperMedia’s SuperGuarantee. The 2010 Verizon Super Yellow Pages features the SuperGuarantee program and a new, easy-to-read font size. While other Yellow Pages haven’t changed their product in decades, SuperMedia has evolved and offers consumers the confidence they need in choosing a service provider. “Now that I’ve seen the proof at how well the Verizon Super Yellow Pages works with its SuperGuarantee, I’m looking forward to the fact that people can see the book better,” Wendy said. “Their promise to me is that they succeed when I succeed. And they mean that. I’m in business in large part today because of SuperMedia.”
SuperMedia has set Ace Wood Flooring up with advertising in the Verizon Super Yellow Pages, a SuperpagesDirect® mail campaign and online advertising with Superpages.com® – advertising all backed by the SuperGuarantee. When a consumer sees a business with the SuperGuarantee, they’ll get the job done right – or SuperMedia will step in and make it right.
If a consumer is not satisfied with the service provided by a participating SuperGuarantee business like Hughes’ advertised in the Verizon Super Yellow Pages, Superpages.com, or SuperpagesDirect® direct mail products, SuperMedia will work to resolve any issues or, if unable to resolve the issue, will reimburse the consumer up to $500 of the cost of labor for the service. 1 Four simple words, a dedication to superior customer service and a partnership with a super advertising agency enabled this Providence company to floor the competition and come up aces.
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Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that include the words “believe,” “will,” “would,” “propose,” “anticipate,” “foresee,” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties see SuperMedia’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which you may view at www.sec.gov, and in particular, SuperMedia LLC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009 and SuperMedia LLC’s subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
About SuperMedia LLC
SuperMedia LLC (“SuperMedia”) (NASDAQ:SPMD) is the advertising agency for local small- to medium-sized businesses across the United States. SuperMedia specializes in results. Clickhere results. Ring-the-phone results. Knock-on-the-door results.
SuperMedia’s advertising products and services include: the award-winning SuperGuarantee® program, the SuperTradeExchange® program, the now easy-to-read Verizon® SuperYellowPages, FairPoint® SuperYellowPages and Frontier® SuperYellowPages, Superpages.com®, EveryCarListed.com®, Switchboard.comSM, LocalSearch.comSM, Superpages MobileSM and SuperpagesDirect® direct mail products. For more information, visit www.supermedia.com.
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Media Relations Contacts:
Andrew Shane
(972) 453-6473
[email protected]
1) Restrictions apply. For full details, see the Terms and Conditions for the SuperGuarantee program at
www.superguarantee.com.
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