Special local.ch

Telephone books switch to the local.ch brand

Switzerland's leading directories are changing their look and will in future appear under the local.ch brand. Within the next few days the first volumes of the familiar telephone book from Swisscom Directories and the popular LTV Gelbe Seiten yellow telephone books will be appearing under a shared brand. local.ch is already well known as an internet search site and mobile phone application. Read the press release ...

Interview with Edi Bähler, CEO local.ch

1) local.ch is a partnership between PubliGroupe and Swisscom: can you tell us what makes this cooperation unique?

The partnership between LTV Gelbe Seiten AG and Swisscom Directories AG brings together two powerful companies with very well established and popular products. local.ch is becoming a synonym for directory services in Switzerland. 

 

2) The move from traditional products – telephone book, yellow pages – to an online product was never going to be simple: what are the dynamics of this market?

As technology develops, we're finding more and more new ways of facilitating the search for people, products and services. I can now use my mobile phone's GPS capability to take me straight to the restaurant I want. This was unimaginable 10 years ago. But as well as new media, the development of existing products is also fuelling the dynamism of this business. Telephone books are still very popular and still used heavily.

 

3) You serve 700,000 clients, including one-person operations, SMEs with 50-500 employees, and large international companies: what's the secret of success in this business?

Closeness to clients and personal service. All of our clients want the same thing: to be found. And that's what we help them with. To do this effectively, we need to know them personally.

 

4) local.ch is now the leading marketer of local searches. What will the future bring? How long will printed telephone books survive?

They'll survive as long as there are people who use them. Printed telephone books have been around for more than 130 years. They've changed over time, and recently we have seen the emergence of electronic versions of the classic printed publication. The printed book will continue to evolve, but I believe that it will survive. When radio emerged in the last century, people said it would be the death of newspapers. And then television was supposed to kill off the radio. Neither of these things actually happened. Nowadays, newspapers, radio and television are all used in parallel. We're seeing the same thing with directories. You might search online in the office, but then use your mobile phone to do the same thing when travelling. And then if you're at home and your PC isn't on, you'll gladly have a quick look in the book.

 

5) What's your personal vision for the local search market (mobile phone, iPad etc.)?

People used to just look for a telephone number or address, but as time goes on they are wanting more and more information about a particular provider: what exactly does it do, what brands does it have, what kind of quality does it promise, what do other customers say about it? Users want a rounded picture of the provider and what it has to offer.

As well as these targeted searches, we also want to give users more motivation to discover new things and be inspired. Maybe try a Lebanese restaurant for a change!

 

6) But won't people just use Google to do all their searching in future?

If I want to know how many operas Verdi wrote, then Google is definitely the right place to go. But if I need to find a key-cutter or the nearest Chinese restaurant, local.ch will continue to be the best choice.

 

7) What are the most common local searches, and what do you use local.ch for personally?

The top searches in 2010 were for restaurants/cafés, doctors, garages, bars, pizzas, hotels, hairdressers and taxis. That covers me too: my most frequent search is for a taxi.

 

 

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More about:

local.ch
Thurgauerstrasse 40
P-O- Box 536
CH-8052 Zürich  
 
Tel.: +41 44 309 10 40

info(at)local.ch

www.local.ch