What Not to Expect from your Advertising

What Not to Expect from your Advertising

by | Aug 5, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

There are a lot of misconceptions about advertising that I find myself addressing repeatedly especially with new business people who ae taking their first steps into an advertising investment.

Last month I read a column in Radio Ink by Pat Bryson that I’m going to use today because her examples are spot on and very much in line with what I’ve been preaching.

First off, let’s define Advertising.  Advertising is paid messaging that usually includes a call-to- action, and or branding message.  I can simplify that further and tell you that advertising is a paid invitation from a business to a potential customer.

That’s it.

When you send out invitations, you are attempting to communicate a message to potential customers.

What happens next is entirely in your hands.   Here’s the words of wisdom from Pat:

What factors determine if a warm body makes a purchase? Several important factors must work together to complete the sale and turn that prospect into a customer that returns again and again:

  • Personnel that are well-trained and friendly
  • Value: price related to perceived benefit
  • Parking that is convenient and accessible
  • Seasonality
  • How does the store look?
  • Are the floor displays attractive? How are goods packaged?
  • Are the restrooms clean? (a surprisingly big factor especially for restaurants)
  • Where is the store located? Easy to get to?
  • What are consumers wanting to buy?
  • Competition: today both bricks and mortar and virtual
  • Is the store known for good service after the sale? How’s their reputation?
  • Advertising (finally!)

All of these factors must work together to produce a sale. Unfortunately, many times we get potential customers in and the client doesn’t sell them.

This is true no matter what form of advertising you buy.  There is only so much that that ads can do and the rest is up to you as a business owner.  Now I know that most advertising sales people don’t take the time to work with you to help you understand the consumer journey that help you improve it so your ads are more effective.  Wait, let me rephrase that.  It’s not making your ads more effective that I’m talking about, but the buying process that follows once the ads do their job.

Again, what’s the job of advertising?  It’s not to sell your stuff.  It’s to invite people to you so you and your team can help them buy your stuff.

Advertising is a simple paid invite.

If you want help with any or all of this, let’s talk.

A Few Personal Thoughts for August 2025

A Few Personal Thoughts for August 2025

by | Aug 1, 2024 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo

It’s the first day of August 2024 as I write these words of an extra article on this website that is a personal reflection, marking a moment in time as we enter the final 5 months of the year.  Usually, most of my articles are related to Media, Marketing and Personal Insights.  This one is just the last without any Media and Marketing stuff, sort of like what I used to do before I launched this website in 2011 and these writings were being published on my ScLoHo Really? blog.  Also there is no podcast episode for this article.

Most days I don’t wake up to an alarm clock, unless I really have to be up earlier than normal.  I wake up naturally between 5 and 7am at the latest.  Today, I was out the door at 7am with a goal of enjoying the morning time before work and taking in some of the Sights Of The City.

The reason I capitalized Sights Of The City is that is the title of a series of Facebook posts I’ve been sharing deliberately since last summer.  These posts feature a picture I’ve snapped with my phone and often there is no explanation just a pic.  Some people comment and some try and guess where the picture was taken if it’s an unfamiliar shot.  The City happens to be where I’ve lived for the last 26 year, Fort Wayne Indiana.

Usually when I leave my home I swing by the nearest Taco Bell where I get a breakfast burrito for a buck fifty and a large Diet Dew, but they changed their hours from opening at 6:30 to 8am so that means I have some extra time beforehand.  Today I visited a few spots in town to take some more pictures and soak up the sunshine, plus get a little walking exercise along with the numerous others doing their early morning jogs and dog walks.

Before I was doing the Sights Of The City, I had another routine of grabbing my Taco Bell breakfast and heading to a park with water and posting those photos each day.  That was particularly helpful for my mental health during 2020.

As you recall, starting in March 2020, Indiana was shut down as a preventative measure to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.  Like many of you, I was now working from home so to get out in the morning before jumping into my workday, was a great way to start my weekdays.

I’ve also noticed over the years that I enjoy spending a little bit of time around water.  I don’t need or want to live on a lake or river, but the opportunity to make a stop in my day to sit for a bit by a body of water is refreshing to me.

2020 was also a transition year for me.  Our company had some management changes that included my boss and friend Ben, to be promoted from General Sales Manager of WOWO radio, to VP/General Manager of Federated Media Fort Wayne. With Ben’s promotion, he needed to replace himself as General Sales Manager and in mid-February 2020, I took over as the GSM for WOWO.  Now instead of being one of 5 members of the WOWO advertising sales team, I was the leader, manager and coach of my former teammates which requires a very different skill set and revision of the application of my talents.  Fortunately, our company has an ongoing training and support system for this, but due to the pandemic restrictions, even that was upended as we adjusted to a video/virtual world instead of in-person meetings.

I served as General Sales Manager for close to 4 years including adding 3 more stations on an interim basis for the final year.  Me and my team were responsible for around 70% of the revenue for our Fort Wayne operations.  Deciding who was going to be on my sales team was one of the most important duties.  With WOWO, after a few months, I decided to let one of our underperforming sales persons go.  He was in his 4th year but performing as a Sophomore, not a Senior to put it in academic terms.  I was willing to help him get on track but he decided to refuse my help.

That was H.  During my management years, I also added and subtracted M.; W.; B.; G.; T; R.; T.; M, H.  That’s 10 people.  Two were hired by someone else and started the same week I took over in management.  Two of them quit on their own.  Two of them I hired for the radio station the Bear last summer (and one of those is still there).  Another in that list actually quit after I left management.

Despite helping two of my WOWO Sales Team reach new heights, we were starting to miss team budgets because of not having enough of the right players on our team.  When I moved to management, my role selling diminished.  The year before I moved to management, I won our company award for Account Executive of the Year and then spent the next couple of years transitioning nearly all of my accounts to others so I could focus on helping my team, not competing with my team.

In 4th quarter 2023 I stepped back from management and back to active sales on the WOWO Advertising Sales team.  We hired back a long time former Federated Media sales manager who initially took over the stations I was Interim General Sales Manager of, and then he also took over GSM duties for WOWO too.

A couple of big benefits for me is I’m not responsible for anyone other than myself again.  Instead of looking at spreadsheets and coaching our sales team, I get to spend my time working for my clients on my schedule.  Previously I had at least 9 weekly internal meetings, some weeks that ballooned up to 12.  For someone that is used to setting my own schedule in the office, that’s a lot of office time.

I used to brag to friends that there are only two hours a week that I needed to be at the office, and now that I’m back in active sales, that’s mostly true again.  Which leaves me with time to visit the various Sights Of The City, or a park with water, or take time off when needed.

Most weeks I am done by 3pm Friday because that’s the deadline for getting ads scheduled for the following Monday.  I’m usually putting in around 50 hours a week starting Sunday afternoons and some late evenings but most weekends start Friday around 4 and include all of Saturday as non-work time.

My wife and I have taken two long weekend vacations this year and I’ve got another trip planned for the end of this month to spend time with family because despite the fact I enjoy my work, it’s family I value above that, and while we can do video and voice, nothing beats a few hours in-person.

Speaking of family, both my wife and I have had daughters move out of state this year.  All of our 5 kids are from our first marriages, I had three, she had two and there are at least 11 grandkids ranging in age from preschool to in the Navy.  As an only child, I find it amazing that we have all this family!

I know that there is a whole lot of political news and international conflicts and all kinds of other things that take up space in all of our lives right now, but keeping ourselves centered is key to daily life.

Everyone of you and us have something going on in our lives “below the surface” that isn’t public.  For that reason alone, give others a little slack and grace. And give yourself some grace too.

The 64 year old ScLoHo has a lot more insight and perspective than I did when I was 32. There are a lot less big, life changing moments that we go thru than we think as we are going thru them.   There are a lot of little, life changing moments, and you and I get to have a lot more say in how our lives play out than we probably realize.  Spend your time on this planet wisely and that includes living a balanced life.   I get to serve as a volunteer again with some non-profits like I did before I was in management, perhaps that’s something you could do to?  The most recent was being a tech volunteer at our church running camera and powerpoints during some of the services this summer.  Other ways I serve are to use my professional experience in media and marketing and apply it to some non-profits that need my expertise.  The last couple of years I’ve resumed being a special guest speaker at area colleges and universities.

You have talents and abilities that you can give away too.

Even if you don’t sign up for anything, there are people around you that could use a friend, or at least a friendly ear. Not always to be their problem solver, but just to listen as they verbalize what’s going on and as they talk, they actually figure out their own solutions.  Can you do that?

Planning In Advance

Planning In Advance

by | Jul 29, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Most of us plan in advance.

Not everything, but even the least organized and most impulsive have a tiny bit of planning that they do.  Could be as simple as having clean clothes, or paying a bill.  Or it’s a routine that you follow that could count as planning.

I’ve got a friend who is bringing back a restaurant that he used to own and operate a couple decades ago and he’s created plans for just about everything needed to open his doors this year including how to invite potential customers to his new place in a new location.

I also have some clients that plan their marketing budgets on an annual basis and won’t deviate from those spending levels until the next year.  Interestingly, a couple of my clients that are like that also want me to continue to present them new opportunities as the year progresses.  I know that if I present an opportunity that hits one of their hot buttons, they’ll consider pulling the trigger on additional spending.

We’re around 100 days away from the next national election and our media company is getting ready to launch a non-partisan informational website to provide visitors details about voting including candidate information, and voter registration info too.  I have room for 4 businesses to receive a bunch of brand awareness exposure on this website, thru radio ads, email blasts and social media posts for the 3 months leading up to election day.  Cost is minimal.  The way this years presidential race has gone is downright crazy with unpredictable happenings including a terrible debate performance and attempted assassination.

I’m doing my duty to offer sponsorship to businesses that want to be on the website and some businesses are saying thanks but we’re locked in to our spending levels for the remainder of the year.  Others have asked to have some time to think about it.  The reality is we’ll find 4 businesses that go above and beyond what they were planning and add this sponsorship to their marketing and branding.  I don’t know who will say yes, so I’m offering it to anyone I know.

Something else happened this month regarding advertising planning.  I have a client that uses an ad agency and every couple of years I’d sit down with the agency 6 months before the current agreement expired and work out details for the next agreement.  Well, the client switched ad agencies this year and the timeline for planning next years agreement has moved from a 6 month process to a 2 or 3 month process.

Besides all of this advertising and marketing stuff I do, there are 3 or 4 non-profits that I’m involved with that uses timetables and planning to make sure things are accomplished on time for the best results.  I also finalized my third personal trip planning for out of town travel that required some research and lastly my wife and I have stepped up some financial planning with a professional in a way that we hadn’t done previously.

Can we agree that planning in advance is a good thing?

Besides having clean clothes and paying our bills on time, the value of a plan with many of our life choices, be it personal or business can be considered priceless. Part of our planning should include an “Extra” line item.

For personal planning, the experts recommend we have a stash of cash that can be tapped into for unexpected stuff.  It could be to replace a vehicle that suddenly becomes inoperable, or for good stuff like a chance to take some time off to visit out of town family which is something I’ve been doing this year.

On the business side, those extra funds can be used to take advantage of items that would be good for your business but weren’t even on your radar months ago when you formulated your annual budget.

The key to all of this actually goes into deciding what is important and then creating a plan that includes flexibility as opportunities come up.

Do you have a plan or do you wing it?  Let me know and if you want help with developing a plan for your business, I have resources for helping you create a marketing strategy and connections with other professionals that can provide you with guidance and expertise in the other important areas of business too.

 

 

Are You Too Close?

Are You Too Close?

by | Jul 22, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Last weeks Sound ADvice newsletter was too good to only share via email:

You’ve heard the old expression about being too close to the forest to see the trees? As a business owner, it’s easy to fall into this trap. You have a lot going on and a lot of different things to think about, every day!

Some spend so much time focusing on mending their weaknesses that they neglect to promote and capitalize on their strengths. Still, others are so caught up with their strengths that they neglect the weaknesses that are driving customers to their competitors.

And still, others lack the objectivity to candidly assess their strengths and weaknesses. Regular objective self-analysis is crucial to the success of your business. Learning to be your own devil’s advocate can help you uncover many things that can help improve your business in many areas.

In our top seven Devil’s Advocate Questions for self-analysis, question number three asks, “Why should someone drive past your competitors to do business with you?”… “No, really, Why?…..and prove it!”

If your answer is something like, “We provide better service”, “We have friendlier people”, or “We have been in business for 57 years” quit tickling yourself to hear yourself laugh. When you try to promote “better service”, “nice people”, “years of service” or any other “generic cliché”, the skeptical consumer believes you are simply trying to take the focus off your higher prices. It’s either that or your ads become so bland that no one pays attention to the message.

For the most part, better service, nicer people, or years of experience are marketing strategies that are only effective once your customers experience them. Unless you have a way to substantiate those claims, promoting them simply sounds like another hollow advertising claim.

If you need a little nudge to help you become your own devil’s advocate and become more objective in your strategic thinking, click here to see the Devil’s Advocate Questions and discover how they may apply to your business.

You too can get this type of Sound ADvice emailed to you nearly every week, it’s free when you email me, Scott@WOWO.com

And helping you and your business create a solid marketing campaign complete with ads that aren’t filled with cliché’s is what I can help you with if you’re in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area, reach out to me, Scott@WOWO.com

6 Keys To Successful Advertising

6 Keys To Successful Advertising

by | Jul 15, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

6 Keys to Successful Advertising:

Most businesses don’t really understand how advertising works. Even the ones that are advertising successfully are not understanding the why behind their advertising success and so they just happen to be doing enough of the right things to counter the wrong things that they shouldn’t be doing.

First off, we have to understand the purpose of advertising and that’s summed up easily:

Advertising is paid invitations to invite people to spend money with your business.

Some business people say that Word of Mouth is their best form of advertising, which is sort of correct except you don’t pay for that.  Word of Mouth is the organic messaging that happens when your business has a good reputation and one person tells another about your business.

The problem with Word Of Mouth is that it is slow and most businesses can’t survive let alone grow if they only rely on this organic word of mouth messaging to bring in enough customers to sustain a  business.

That’s where paid advertising plays a part in amplifying your messaging of inviting people to become your customers.

In todays terminology it’s the difference between a regular social media post and a boosted social media post.

One more important bit of information to share before I dive into the 6 Keys of Successful Advertising is Expectations.

If you expect that when someone sees or hears your ad, that alone will make them buy your stuff at that moment, your expectations are wrong.  Only a very few companies are successful with what is know as direct response advertising

The True Direct Response Advertising I’m referring to is usually set up as a profit sharing arrangement between the business and advertising medium.  Instead of paying for the ad, the business and the advertising medium agree that a set dollar amount or set percentage of sales attributed to a specific ad is what the advertising medium receives.

I’ve worked with one company where we get 50% of the sales as our advertising fee instead of a set price per commercial.  This is a national company that I work with and they already have a brand name recognition so the people who respond to the ads we air for them are in the final stages of the consumer journey to buy this product and if they use the special promo code exclusive to us, we get credit for the sale and are paid accordingly.

99% of advertising works to create Brand Awareness.  Even though the ads mention prices and sales and stuff that are trying to get us to buy now, all they are really doing is reminding us as consumers of their brand.

Why do I say this?

Because advertising is only one side of the equation.

It’s the invitation to you and me to spend money.

You and I have to have a reason in our lives to spend the money and it has very little to do with the specific ads we see and hear.

If I just stuffed myself with a delicious meal and I see an ad for another one of my favorite foods, but I’m not only not hungry but I’m stuffed, there is no way I’m going to make myself sick by eating more no matter how much I normally would enjoy that other food.

Same goes with nearly anything we do. 

We are not going to respond unless we have a need or desire.

However, the more we are exposed to something, our brains retain that information and it builds up to create a brand preference.  Then, sometime in the future if we need or want something that we’ve already been exposed to because of advertising, we will often have one or two places that come to mind to spend our money with.  That’s Top Of Mind Awareness and when organic Word Of Mouth referrals for your business come about, it’s because your business is Top Of Mind.

Now with all of this as a foundation, here are the 6 Keys to Successful Advertising:

  1. Define your customer. Not everyone is going to be your customer. What are the characteristics of the people you want as customers and that you can successfully serve with your business.
  2. Define your brand. Too many businesses are not unique in the way they present themselves.  Family owned with 56 years of combined experience is pretty generic and doesn’t really mean that much.  I have a client that has been using the branding statement, On Time, Done Right, Or It’s Free for years and while they are a family owned multi-generational company with years of experience, it’s their branding statement that defines them.
  3. Invite your desired customers to get to know your brand over and over again, consistently over time. Pick an advertising medium that allows you to make that connection and be patient.  Know the buying cycle of your business.  We eat every day.  We may buy a roof once or twice in our lives.  Make sure your invitation to me is there so when I’m ready to start the buying process, you will stay Top Of Mind with Me.
  4. Your Message has to be focused on your Customer, not just you. It’s the What’s In It For Me as a consumer principle.
  5. Plan for a long-term investment in your advertising. If you expect instant results, you’re being foolish, or just fooling yourself.  When I was 42 years old, I had central air installed in a house I just bought and the two companies I called are ones that I remembered from 25 years ago.  I never was in need of an HVAC company but when a triggering moment came in my life, I got quotes from the two companies that were Top Of Mind from my youth.  One of those companies got nearly $20,000 of my money.
  6. Remember it is impossible to be 100% accurate when you attempt to track your advertising investments. Even if you ask me as a new customer why I am spending money with your company, I won’t remember all of the ads I’ve seen or heard.  And Google is not the right answer, that’s just how I found you online to get your number.

And here’s a bonus key to success…

Most any form of advertising can help if you do it right and have realistic expectations.  However, the ad is only the invite.  It’s up to you and your business to close the sale, not the ad.