Consumer Guide from Slovenska knjiga (CG) has been placed on the Slovenian market for eighth time in a row. It is a typical type of directories which are known to the European market as B2C (»business to consumer«). Such directories, mostly intended for searching the most favourable suppliers of products and services in local areas, are an important addition to business directories, used for inter-company marketing (B2B, business to business), which comprise also the most well-known business directory in Slovenia (and the winner of three European awards) – the Business Directory of Pirs, as an older brother of CG.
The motto “See and be seen”, the general trademark of the directories of Slovenska knjiga, is presented in CG in two clearly divided parts. The consumers can “see”, while the suppliers of products and services try to be seen as much as possible with suitably designed publications or messages sent to potential buyers. As obvious so far, CG satisfies the buyers’ and advertisers’ need for:
- a modern customer-oriented directory of the European quality,
- that could, with proper regional organizational structure offer an average, customer-friendly way between the “all-Slovenian” universal directories and excessive fragmentation of numerous local (mostly municipal) editions
- that would be available to any Slovenian family interested in using it.
CG was created by the Pirs team on the basis of long-lasting experience with advertising messages and following the Pirs standards. This means that we prefer data quality to data quantity: the Guide contains the data on 7.747 selected active business subjects (engaged in activities important to the final user) which were either directly verified by the representatives who paid visits (majority) or the data were collected by cross-checking from the existing Pirs database and the official Slovenian business data collections.
Due to a large number of data and better adaptation to the principle “think globally, act locally” we divided the publications into four books. It is evident from the front page which region of Slovenia is covered in a particular book. Ljubljana, as a mutual target of all Slovenian customers from all three directions (the Primorska and Notranjska region, the Dolenjska and Posavje region and the Gorenjska region) plays a special role, so the data on business subjects from the Ljubljana region can be found in all three books.
The most important advantages of CG, partly inherited from Pirs, are the updated
- code list of activities (altogether 63 activities with informal local Slovenian names, which provide a simple insight in the desired area) and
- code list of products, where we can choose among more than 12.860 products and services.
The search for products and services in this edition is facilitated with an additional handy browser with key words, which leads the user to the place in the book, where the publications from particular activities begin and where a particular product or service might appear. Such a method enables easier data access, especially when we don’t know in which activity a particular product or service should be searched.
In addition to some auxiliary tables, presentation of individual business subjects and presentation of municipalities or administrative units, every book contains also special coupons for discounts upon purchase, which are classified by administrative units and activities. All coupons are collected also in a special booklet, which will be issued in 15 000 copies. All the companies presenting the coupons, display these coupons in their companies’ Identity Card on www.pirs.si. The user can print several copies of the coupon and is granted discount upon purchase.
The directories have been published in 40 000 copies. They are offered free of charge - more info 080 11 92 (recipient pays postage).
We will be glad to receive your praises and comments, and constructive critical observations are also most welcome, as they can teach us how to improve our work.
Jože Andrej Čibej, MSc
Editor in chief |
