I'll use Yelp/Apple Maps/Google for places to eat. That's about it. For everything else, I will drive around town and look for a van or a truck with a business/

I'll use Yelp/Apple Maps/Google for places to eat. That's about it. For everything else, I will drive around town and look for a van or a truck with a business/service that I need. Billboards. Even local newspapers. Word of mouth, too. The last A/C, plumbing, and appliance repair folks I've used have all been people who drove by or were recommended to me by a neighbor. They'll also be the people I end up recommending, too. This is part of the reason I like Nextdoor so much. Since these are people who (at least, ostensibly) are within my community, I know that they are at least somewhat honest in their recommendations. They have nothing to gain but also nothing to lose. But those companies that people do talk about are ones that give great service or are a pleasure to work with. Let's face it: we're seeing the pendulum swing back the other direction: it used to be nobody would find you unless you are online, but now it seems that physical advertising seems to be the litmus test of "are you real?"