You versus Them

You versus Them

by | Mar 5, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Today I am going to share with you a piece of the Consumer Journey that every single consumer encounters before they spend money.

They have to decide if they are going to be your customer, or someone else’s customer. From your side of the sales counter, it’s a You versus Them battle.

But the Them is not the customer. Them is your competition.

Business author Mark Faust wrote a pretty effective piece that includes 4 questions that you need to ask before you spend a dime on advertising. It’s called Sizing up the competition. 

  The best lens through which to see your competitors is that of your customers. Regularly asking customers who and what the alternatives to your solutions are may increase selling effectiveness.

The following questions will help you establish positioning points for a product or service:

— What do you offer the customer that no one else offers? (Points of competitive uniqueness.) Unique advantages of a product or service are rare.

— What do you offer that is demonstratively better than the competition? (Points of competitive advantage.) Advantages are most powerful when you have proof of your advantage’s reality and value.

— Where are you equal with your competitors? (Points of equality.) Calling out an equality may help neutralize a competitor who touts it as an advantage.

— What are your weaknesses that may hinder your offering to the customer? (Points of competitive weakness.) This weakness can be repositioned as a chosen weakness that highlights the competitive advantage of your offering. A higher price may mean better quality and service.

Most business owners I talk to about advertising don’t know enough about the other choices that consumers have or they simply are not tuned into the consumer journey that potential customers take when deciding if they spend money with You versus Them, your competition.

As a result we see and hear ads that really don’t resonate and differentiate.

The typical advertisement ignores those 4 questions and that is both dangerous and a waste. Fortunately for you, this is one of my strengths; To create an advertising campaign that answers those questions so the people who hear your ads learn why you and not them are the ones to spend their money with.

Does this sound like something important to you? Contact me and we’ll see how I can help you.

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Radio Advertising is Still A Great Deal in 2019

Radio Advertising is Still A Great Deal in 2019

by | Feb 5, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

At the end of last year, I saw a few reports on the state of media and marketing for 2019 and want to share some insight from others again.  Because, I can tell you plenty about the success of WOWO advertisers, but how about what others are using radio and other media to bring in business?

People are spending more time with media than ever before, says MarketingCharts’ newly-released 5th annual “US Media Audience Demographics” report, a data-driven resource that can aid marketers in their strategic decision-making. The study sizes up the media landscape, then delves into the age, income, and racial/ethnic composition of several media types across 3 sections: traditional; digital; and social media.

Starting with Traditional Media:

  1. The broadcast TV audience is slowly graying, but it’s the cable TV audience that may be getting there more quickly, says the report.

  2. Terrestrial radio stands apart from other traditional media in its appeal to middle-aged adults and to those in the mid-to-high income range.

  3. For the first time, fewer than half of US adults read a print newspaper on a weekly basis.

Regarding Digital Media which I take includes internet based media including video and websites:

  1. Almost half of online TV program viewers are ages 18-34.

  2. Although digital media types tend to attract younger audiences, people ages 55-64 are actually above the online average in visits to magazine and newspaper websites.

Social Media gets it’s own category in this report with these observations:

  1. Snapchat may be thought of primarily as a youth-oriented platform, but its appeal with higher-income adults is also notable.

  2. Closely following Snapchat in a tilt towards youth, is Instagram.

While this kind of data is interesting and for folks like me who work in and study these medias, I urge you to not try and figure out how to apply this on your own to your business.

Another study I was reading regarding TV viewing from Nielsen, the television ratings and research company.  They listed the top network TV shows and one of my favorites, NCIS was in the top 10, # 4 actually last year with over 16 million viewers.  But of those 16 million, nearly 7 million are not watching it when it airs on Tuesdays on CBS.  They are time shifting, watching on demand.  This means that if you were to advertise on your local broadcast station, over 40% of the regular NCIS fans are not going to see your ad on Tuesday night.

These are just consumer behaviors, not marketing effectiveness which isn’t the same thing.  I am here to help, just ask.

And have you signed up for a new newsletter that I am offering,  called Sound ADvice?  Once a week, it will arrive in your email and be filled with  30 seconds of marketing Sound ADvice on how to make this year your best yet.

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What’s Old Is New Again: Radio Listening

What’s Old Is New Again: Radio Listening

by | Jan 15, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Over the recent Christmas and New Year’s holiday break, I was catching up on unread emails from 2018 and found this gem pertaining to trends for 2019 and beyond that says that radio listenership will be going up in the years ahead.

Deloitte Global predicts that, unlike some other forms of traditional media, radio will continue to perform relatively well with younger demographics. In the United States, for example, we expect that more than 90 percent of 18–34-year-olds will listen to radio at least weekly in 2019, and they will listen to radio for an average of more than 80 minutes a day. In contrast, TV viewing among 18–34-year-olds in the United States is falling at three times the rate of radio listening. At current rates of decline, in fact, American 18–34-year-olds will likely spend more time listening to radio than watching traditional TV by 2025!

The study also tackles another misconception about when and where people listen to the radio:

One widespread belief about radio is both truth and myth at the same time. It is widely assumed that the most common venue where North Americans dial in is in their cars. This is true: Around 90 percent of radio listeners in the United States and Canada, across all age groups, do listen while in the car. But the flip side of that belief—that North Americans listen to radio only in their cars—needs some mythbusting. While not as prevalent, people in North America definitely are listening to radio in places other than cars.

As I have noticed over the years with my access to insider radio rating data, here in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the majority of radio listening occurs anytime during the day.  Ad agencies seem to put an undue emphasis on what they call drive times, the morning and afternoon hours that people are commuting back and forth to work.

But the data I have that goes back year after year after year shows that the entire day from 5am to 6pm weekdays, my station, News/Talk 1190 WOWO has consistent levels of listeners all day long.

If you as a local business owner want to be smarter than the advertising agency media buyers, I can help you place your ads in the daytime time slots that they overlook.  And I have the numbers and data to prove it.

Most important for business owners, is not just the levels of listenership that WOWO has, but the effectiveness of an advertising campaign and that almighty Return On Investment.  WOWO itself is over 90 years old and some of our advertisers have been inviting WOWO listeners to become their customers for decades because it works.   Want to know more?  Let’s talk.

 

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Sound ADvice on Radio Advertising Success

Sound ADvice on Radio Advertising Success

by | Jan 7, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

To kick off the brand new year, I am going to share with you stories of success that business owners from around the country shared last year.  These are their stories of how they grew their profits using radio advertising to invite customers to their retail stores.

These stories can be applied to your business this year and if you want my help, we can tell your success story in about a dozen months too. These are radio advertising success stories that I found on a website for jewelry stores and the words are those of the owners.

Let’s start with London Smith.  He’s one of the owners of a couple of stores in Oklahoma.  Here’s what he says about advertising on the radio:

 Radio is alive and well. About 20 to 25 percent of our advertising budget is dedicated to radio. We have our commercials on a variety of stations – 10 total. All the formats are covered, from pop-hits and classic rock to sports and talk. I’m 26 and I listen to the radio.

Jeffery Hess, owns stores in Florida and here’s his advice:

I’m a student of advertising and spend about $1 million on advertising each year. I strongly believe that radio is a very viable medium. Simply invest in airtime with the most dominant radio station in town and it will be very effective. And, be sure to hire the radio station’s strongest on-air personality to do your commercials.

Tammy is the V-P of Sales at Peter & Company Jewelers in Ohio.  She says:

About 13 percent of our total advertising budget is dedicated to radio. If you’re going to do radio, you have to do it all the time. Own it. Use it frequently. Use the same station(s). And, saturate your market with your message. If you don’t, radio won’t work for you. For 15 years, we’ve advertised with a local station. It’s mainly talk radio with some sports coverage mixed in. People come in mentioning the station’s call letters. We feel it has been a good return-on-investment. Plus, the station has some very good voice talents to draw on. It costs a little more money, but it’s worth it. It’s been very good for us.

Tammy’s experience is similar to what WOWO radio advertisers experience when we have Pat Miller or Kayla Blakeslee do live endorsement ads.  We have several advertising partners who use personality endorsement ads on WOWO year after year after year.

I’ve got one more to share with you from Connie who runs a jewelry store in Texas.  Here is what she said when asked about advertising on the radio:

Radio certainly works for us. About six to seven years ago, we were invested in advertising on cable television. With people using DVR technology, they’d fast-forward through all of the commercials. Radio was our first choice when leaving cable. With radio, you have to really get your message out there a lot in terms of frequency and be consistent with your radio message. For us, seeing that we’re a suburb of Houston, we want a wide listening audience to know that we do custom work and sell quality diamonds. This helps us reach a broad age demographic of 30 to 60 with middle to upper middle class incomes. Radio makes up 30 percent of our advertising budget. With radio, you need to find out what message works and the demographic you want to reach.

Those are the words of Connie, Jeffery, London and Tammy.  I figured you’d want to hear from your peers in the business world about the power of radio advertising when it’s done properly. Pretty sound ADvice.

And now I want to also invite you to check out a new newsletter that I am offering starting this year. 

It’s also called Sound ADvice.  Once a week, it will arrive in your email and be filled with Sound ADvice on how to make this year your best yet. The link is right below.

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Marketing Ideas for Restaurants

Marketing Ideas for Restaurants

by | Dec 30, 2018 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

After the big holiday push from November through Christmas time, most restaurants experience a slow down in January, unless you prepare ahead of time.  Restaurant News has a great article listing some of the special days and events that you can plan a promotion around if you act quick:

For restaurant owners and operators, there’s no better way to start off the New Year than with a tasty selection of restaurant marketing ideas.

January is Hot Tea Month, Oatmeal Month and National Blood Donor Month.

January also kicks off with National Buffet Day and Buffet Week.

Special food days for menu marketing include days celebrating Apricots, Beans, Bittersweet Chocolate, Blonde Brownies, Blueberry Pancakes, Buttercrunch, Cheese, Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Covered Cherries, Corn Chips, Creampuffs, Croissants, English Toffee, Hot and Spicy Foods, Marzipan, Milk, Pastrami, Peach Melba, Peanut Brittle, Peanut Butter, Pie, Popcorn, Rhubarb, Shortbread, Spaghetti, Strawberry Ice Cream, Tempura and Whip Cream.

 

For beverage marketing, warm your guests up with something special on Hot Buttered Rum Day, Hot Toddy Day, Irish Coffee Day and Bloody Mary Day.

Follow this link to see a full calendar to inspire you and if you need help deciding exactly how to implement and market any of these special days, contact me.

 

The TOMA Tale

The TOMA Tale

by | Nov 28, 2018 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Years ago, I worked for a group of radio stations that hired Wayne Ens to do research on TOMA in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

TOMA is an acronym for Top Of Mind Awareness and if your business doesn’t have it with your potential customers, you are living with an unfair advantage compared to your business competitors who are working hard to create TOMA.

I subscribe to the ENS Media email and saw this excellent reminder of why this is important.

The Story of Bob’s Tire Store
TOMA/Branding is still King!
Let’s pretend that you walked out to your vehicle this morning and noticed you had a flat tire!  *$#*@!#&!! … And, it’s not just flat, it’s ruined!
If you’re like most people, your next step would be to go to the internet and search one of two things; 1) Tire stores in (your city) or 2) a specific name of a tire store you are familiar with, like Bob’s Tire Store.
Our ENS Media TOMA surveys, conducted in over 260 markets, continue to prove a couple things;
  1. Approximately 64-75% of people will click on a business they are FAMILIAR WITH before clicking on a business at the top of the page they are NOT FAMILIAR WITH (only 3%).
  2. Approximately 72% of people are very likely to use those businesses which come to mind first.
Internet marketing guru Seth Godin says, “It’s better to be sought than found”.  In other words, if you’re Bob, you’re hoping that people search specifically for “Bob’s Tire Store”, but, if they search “tire stores in (your city)”, your hope is that people know you and have an emotional connection with you so you have a greater chance of getting their business.  If not, the business is up for grabs.  Kind of sounds like the old Yellow Pages, or as we refer to it, the “Directory of Ineffective Advertisers”.
The need to have a strong brand name, or TOMA, isn’t going away. In fact, as the internet, smart speakers, voice-activated searches and purchases become more popular, the need to have TOMA will become even more important.  “Alexa, connect me with a tire store”, or “Alexa, call Bob’s Tire Store”.

As you plan for 2019, I can help you create this Top Of Mind Awareness for you and your business and discuss further why this is imperative to your lasting success.

If you are a media sales professional looking for an excellent coaching and training service, visit https://www.ensmediausa.com/