In the world of interactive marketing, everything changes. With so much information to divulge, it’s important to stay on top of what really matters to consumers.

In October 2008, TMP Directional Marketing (TMPDM), a local search marketing agency, announced the findings of its second annual Local Search Usage Study. The study, conducted by comScore, confirms shoppers still use a variety of online and offline directional media resources to find local business information.

Some of the information proved to be reminiscent of the 2007 results, but there were also notable changes.

Consumers are using mobile Web more.
The biggest shift the study identified is the changing role of mobile search. What used to be a time-consuming hassle has now been revolutionized by the introduction of cell phones that are enabled with Wi-Fi. Standard cell phone users are hesitant to use mobile search on their phones, whereas those using PDAs with a data connection (55 percent) or cell phones with Wi-Fi (61 percent) are much more likely to use mobile search.

User reviews are gaining popularity.
Not only are consumers finding these reviews more important, but they’re also using them across more online sources. The study found that 56 percent of consumers think that user reviews are important, compared with 52 percent in 2007. This trend is expected to continue as more directional media resources incorporate review features.

Consumers use search engines most when looking for local business information.
According to the 2008 results, 31 percent of consumers use search engines as their primary resource for local business information. Although this percentage hasn’t changed much from 2007 (30 percent), the key takeaway is that search engines are now the most used stand-alone source for local business information. Combined with Internet Yellow Pages and local search sites (such as Google Maps or Yahoo Local), online now accounts for 61 percent of all primary sources of local business information.

Shoppers continue to use print Yellow Pages as a primary or secondary source.
Despite the transition to online and mobile search, the print Yellow Pages continues to be an important offline resource. In fact, while online mediums took the lead as the primary source for local business information in 2008, 30 percent of consumers mention using the print Yellow Pages as their primary local search source. Also, 36 percent of primary search engine users referred to the print Yellow Pages as their second-most referenced source. For primary Internet Yellow Pages users, that percentage is even higher; 38 percent of the respondents said they referred to the print Yellow Pages as their second-most referenced source.

There’s no denying that we’re seeing more consumers using search engines, Internet Yellow Pages, and mobile phones. However, it’s also important to remember that traditional offline media are still a valuable resource for consumers and, as a result, should remain a key component of the marketing mix for businesses as well.

Monica Ho is vice president of marketing at TMP Directional Marketing (www.tmpdm.com), the largest local search marketing agency, offering online, offline and mobile advertising solutions to top national brands. Combining its years of success in Yellow Pages advertising with online search expertise gained as a former unit of Monster.com, TMPDM serves hundreds of clients, including nearly 100 Fortune 500 companies. Privately held by the Audax Group, TMPDM is headquartered in New York with 600 employees and 15 offices in the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.tmpdm.com.