by Scott Howard | Nov 17, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
I was recently asked to share an infograph with you which prompted what I am writing today, Is Bigger Also Better? I’m going to limit my thoughts on the subject to the business world and some personal insights too.
First the infograph:
Anything surprise you?
There were a couple of items that I had forgotten about some of the U.S. based companies and as Americans, we are mostly ignorant about the companies that are headquartered in other parts of the world. Rarely have I worked for a company that was as large as any of those mentioned, but I have friends who do.
The bigger a company is, the more they have to lose if they are not diversified. Google did some restructuring and created their own parent company, Alphabet, which is listed above. Most of those on the list are very diversified which has helped them weather the economic ups and downs for not just dozens of years, but well over 100 years.
I don’t work with companies of that magnitude in the day to day work that I do as a marketing coach, consultant and advertising sales person in Fort Wayne Indiana with WOWO radio and Federated Media. Usually when I work with companies that are publicly traded, I work with a subset or division of the parent company which is fine.
Did you notice the revenue numbers listed above were all Billions? Change that to Millions for the level of companies I work with. (There are a couple of exceptions, this year and next year I am working with a company that has annual revenues of over $13,000,000,000.00, but on a local level which is just a small piece of that 13 billion dollar pie.)
It is not uncommon for a company in Fort Wayne that I work with to have over a million dollars in annual revenue. Most consumers in Fort Wayne are probably not aware of the cash flow that is going on in our city.
These local companies with annual sales in the millions are all over the place. I had neighbors in the pizza business, friends I go to church with in the sign business and home repair industries and there are tons of B 2 B businesses that are never given a second thought because they are not retailers.
All of these businesses need guidance and help with their marketing and I enjoy sitting down and asking the right questions to help them form a strategic marketing plan. Sometimes they become my advertising partners and sometimes we just become friends.
A few years ago American Express launched #SmallBusinessSaturday and it continues again this year. Many local retailers will be participating on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. It’s sandwiched in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
I suspect I am like most of you in my shopping habits. I buy local when possible and also buy from the big boys.
Amazon Wish Lists help me buy for my out of town family. Were you aware that Amazon also supports local non-profits with their Amazon Smile program? I am on the board of directors for Homebound Meals, Inc. of Fort Wayne Indiana and recently made the switch so my Amazon purchases benefit locally. Kroger also has a rewards program that you can sign up for that gives money to the charity of your choice.
But back to the title of this article.
Is Bigger Also Better?
No, but the opposite isn’t true either.
I urge you as a business person to seek out advice on how to be the best you can be no matter your size. An often overlooked piece of your success is how you invite people to spend money with you, that’s part of your marketing and I can help.
I also urge you as a consumer to support your neighbors and their businesses when possible in a variety of ways as I just mentioned.
by Scott Howard | Nov 15, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
The Long Haul.
The Purpose of Your Strategic Marketing is Always, Always, Always to be Known, Liked and Trusted Before You are Needed. I just stole that, well borrowed it from Tim Miles because he is so on target with that statement that I want you to hear it from me too.
Before I share my side of this, here’s how I discovered that bit of wisdom. Years ago, I found Tim and his company as one of Roy Williams Wizard of Ads Partners and was impressed with what he and his staff share regarding marketing and life. I get his free weekly email and have his Good Company book. Here’s a link to get it all too and the email that contained the Tim quote. (Go to the top of that page and follow the directions.)
So why is it important to be Known, Liked, and Trusted Before You Are Needed?
As human beings, we are creatures of habit. We develop preferences for things we like and those things are what we tend to do as long as we are able to.
Take breakfast for example.
I am a breakfast eater. My body requires that I eat something within about an hour of getting up in the morning. By the way, I use the word requires, in reference to myself. I know lots of folks who say they can’t eat breakfast. But play along with me and we’ll skip the pros and cons of what meals to eat or skip.
Between 350 and 360 days each year, I wake up in my own bed and follow a routine that involves eating something and drinking something for breakfast. I either have something at home or pick something up on my way to my first meeting. 50 times each year, I have a weekly meeting that includes a breakfast buffet.
But those other 300 days, I limit my selection to what I am familiar with.
I know how to prepare, find or buy breakfast. I don’t have to Google it or watch a YouTube video on how to eat in the morning. I don’t have to ask my Facebook friends or well, you see where I am going, right?
Regarding breakfast, I have a Top Of Mind Awareness of not just what’s available, but what I, Scott Howard, know, like and trust to fuel my morning.
You do too. It’s the way we as humans are wired.
But what about something we don’t do everyday? How do we learn about those things?
I recall the first time I had sushi. I was adventurous and my wife and I just ordered something. It wasn’t a good experience. A couple years later, my daughter Rachael offered to take me out and teach me how to enjoy sushi.
Because I know, like and trust my daughter Rachael, I took her up on her offer and because she knows, and likes me, she introduced me to sushi style food that she trusted I would like.
It worked. I now know what kinds of sushi I like and I’ve even had it for breakfast once.
How does this apply to your business marketing and advertising?
There are times when everyone of us will need to spend money on something that we have not spent money on before. It could be a furnace repair, maybe buying your first house. Tires or car repair. The first time we spend money on anything new, we are looking for a business or product that we can trust. We want to like the people we are dealing with and if we have some knowledge of them, they are more likely to be on the short list of who we consider to spend our money with.
As I tell my advertising partners, unless you sell Christmas trees and nothing else, you better be building Top Of Mind Awareness every month, year round. There is always someone who wants what you have to sell if you invite them to spend money with you when they are ready to buy.
Most of the advertising partners I work with are not retailers. That’s by choice and design. I get to choose who I work with. And I get to choose who I don’t want to work with. I want to work with business people who understand what I just said and want to learn how to create long term success. That’s why I write, blog, podcast and work for the long term too.
I don’t care if you eat sushi or breakfast, but I do care that you want to do what’s right for your customers. Do you have what it takes to be one of my long term advertising partners with WOWO Radio or any of the additional online marketing options I have? Reach out to me and let’s find out.
by Scott Howard | Nov 7, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Women and WOWO radio, a topic that I’ve talked about for nearly 15 years. Today, I have some insight that business owners, especially retailers need to know.
When I started in the radio advertising business in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2003, I worked for a competing company, not WOWO radio. I spent over 9 years trying to convince people not to advertise with WOWO.
It was this radio station for old white guys was my usual argument, and you want to reach people who have money to spend, right?
A few years ago, I wised up. In November 2013, I started the process to join WOWO and it has been fantastic for multiple reasons but the one I’m going to focus on right now is about the audience of WOWO.
Is it really a bunch of old white guys that listen to WOWO?
Well, yes and no. There are a significant number of men age 50+ who listen and they are important people to reach with your advertising messages. However, the number of women who actively listen is impressive too.
The Women of WOWO are likely to be Baby Boomer age and I’ve got a couple of reasons why that is important that I read in an article from Mediapost. This article emphasizes why you should invite Baby Boomer Women during the holiday season, but it’s appropriate year round. 
Here’s a couple of quotes from the story:
Today, every fifth adult in the United States is a female over 50. They are the healthiest, wealthiest and most active generation of women in history who control half of the country’s discretionary income and 75% of the country’s wealth.
Okay, think about that for a second. 75% of the country’s wealth is in the hands of 20% of the adults in this country. And these are not the grandmas of the past, these women are the healthiest, wealthiest and most active generation of women in history who control half of the country’s discretionary income. 
Wow, that sounds like the perfect group of consumers to aim my advertising and marketing to, right? Problem is most retailers are not inviting these Boomer women to spend money with them.
Instead, they spend less than 10% of their holiday marketing budgets targeting Boomers.
Retailers should devote somewhere between 50 and 75% of their marketing budgets to reach Baby Boomers!
One reason marketers and retailers ignore Boomer women is the belief that they’re not tech savvy enough to keep up with the changing retail environment. With so many businesses moving to online models, the focus is on younger audiences, particularly millennials. But Boomers are much more tech savvy than given credit for, actually spending more online than millennials. Many may prefer the experience of shopping in a store, but they’re perfectly comfy with e-commerce.
The Mediapost article gives some impressive numbers regarding the online habits of Baby Boomer Women. One that really caught my eye was the number who use their smartphone daily for shopping. 
Let’s address another ageism myth and that is that by a certain age, we become blindly brand-loyal. Not true. If you take them for granted and don’t continue to invite them to be your customer, they are ripe for the picking.
Being ignored for years has resulted in many Boomer women abandoning brands to which they’ve been loyal for decades. And now those brands are in the position of having to figure out how to win these consumers back. An excellent first step for brands and retailers wanting to reclaim their loyalty is to take the time to understand what drives Boomers to make a purchase. What are their needs, and the emotional triggers that prompt a purchase? Believe it or not, their needs are similar to those of other generations. They want convenience, an emotional connection to the brand, and to hear a great story that resonates with their lives. And a loyalty program that offers real benefits and lets them know you appreciate their business.
There’s more you need to know:
Sure, Baby Boomers are tech-savvy and often purchase online, but many still prioritize good old-fashioned service above all else. Marketers and retailers can provide that service by sending follow-up emails that provide the opportunity for Boomers to give feedback and make their voices heard. They need to set aside their preconceptions and stop looking at Boomer women through dated stereotypes. Most importantly, they need to recognize that these women are not one homogenous group. All Boomer women are not grandmas or caregivers. Engage them, and let them know you want to build an ongoing relationship with them. 
In today’s world, our economy is heavily influenced by Boomer women. Marketers need to recognize that these consumers are not stuck in the “good old days” and that they don’t prioritize buying the brands with which they grew up. Take the time to build a relationship with these consumers. Make it clear that they’re important to you, and they’ll reward you.
And now let me circle back to the Women of WOWO radio. I took a look at the latest radio rating information I have access to and asked how many women in the Fort Wayne area that are Baby Boomers listen to WOWO and all the other radio station in the survey.
27 radio stations were in the list. I bet you didn’t realize there are that many radio stations in the Fort Wayne area, and actually there are more than that, but the others didn’t have enough Baby Boomer listeners to qualify to be on the list.
WOWO radio is at the top, with over 30,000 Baby Boomer Women listening every week. Number two on the list only has around 20,000. Everyone of those other radio stations have just a fraction of what WOWO has. I can share this list with you privately if you want to see it. 
So to wrap this up, Baby Boomer Women control 75% of the wealth in the United States, even though they only make up 20% of the population. Locally the very best way for retailers to invite them to spend their money with you is with WOWO radio.
I can help you with that. Just ask.
(By the way, the women’s pictures in this article are from my Facebook friends, some of whom I’ve know since we went to high school together 40 years ago, all are Baby Boomers, and one is my bride.)
by Scott Howard | Oct 31, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, ScLoHo's Media, ScLoHo's Web World, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo
As many of you prepare your business for 2018 and are wondering about Social Media marketing, here’s some numbers that were shared by Mediapost. Remember that these are just numbers and you really should talk to a professional about what this means for your individual situation. If you are in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area, reach out to me.
Social Media Strategy Opportunities by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research
A potpourri of popular social media platforms, and how brands and retailers can implement strategies, better reach, and engage with different audiences.
Facebook
- 2 Billion monthly users
- 75% of users spend 20 minutes on the site every day
- 500 million people watch facebook videos every day
- FacebookLive popularity has risen 330% since launch
- Users watch FacebookLive videos 3X longer than non-live videos
- Strategy: Drive awareness and engagement with videos and live streams
Twitter
- 328 Million active monthly users
- Daily active users have increased 14% each year
- The average user follows 5 businesses
- 80% of users have mentioned a brand in a Tweet
- Companies active on Twitter see a 19% increase in customer satisfaction
- Strategy: Prioritize customer service and engagement
Instagram
- 800 Million monthly users
- Monthly users grew 24% in 2017
- Half of users use Instagram Daily Posts tagged with a location have 79% higher engagement
- Strategy: Post highly visual, geo-targeted content to boost engagement
Pinterest
- 200 Million monthly users
- 50 million more users that October 2016
- 67% of users visit Pinterest on mobile while shopping in-store
- 1/3 of users choose Pinterest over Google search
- Strategy: Link Pinterest to your website to increase traffic and sales
Snapchat
- 375 Million active monthly users
- Growth slowed 82% after instagram stories launched
- 3 Billion snaps are created each day
- 63% use Snapchat as their primary medium for messaging friends
- Users younger that 25 visit more than 20X a day for at least 30 minutes
- Strategy: Leverage geo-filters to create interactive content
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/309125/social-media-strategy-opportunities.html
That’s the latest number’s from the Mediapost article. But what does any of this mean to you the local business person? It’s nearly useless data for deciding how to reach people and invite them to become your customer.
However here are a couple of considerations…
Facebook has officially moved to a pay model. In other words, it is nearly impossible for a company to get exposure for anything considered advertising or marketing unless you pay. I saw this first hand in 2013 when I worked full time in social media and it continues today.
Instagram is owned by Facebook and many including myself crosspost between the two.
Twitter is still better to use by the customer service department than the marketing department of a business and Snapchat, well it’s demographics are below the ages of people I target for most of my advertising, so I personally don’t care. I even deleted my own Snapchat account this year.
Social Media is still the bright shiny object that marketing people are trying to figure out and tons of businesses are dumping their advertising budgets to online stuff like the platforms mentioned here. However you and I as consumers are not fond of the ads that interrupt our newsfeed when we just want to see what’s going on with friends and family.
This is why we use social media.
One platform mentioned in that Social Media Report is different and if you are in retail, you should give it consideration.
Which one?
Pinterest. It is an online wishlist and shopping list for the heavy users. It takes time and knowledge to build Pinterest Boards that pay off financially as I immersed myself in it a few years ago and saw the largest measurable Return On Investment that was trackable for my social media activity.
Let me leave you with this. Advertising and marketing is best done by those who are professionals and that also includes social media platforms. Don’t be swept away by big numbers like I shared at the beginning of this article and think that you can have instant success. The folks behind the scenes at these social media companies are constantly tweaking and changing the rules of the game and what worked last year may not work next year so you need to be sure the person handling your social media is staying on top of the changes every week.
by Scott Howard | Oct 24, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
For most people who see, hear, or read your advertising, The Answer is No.
And that is okay.
Today we are going to talk about realistic expectations when it comes to advertising and marketing. Some of the people who sell advertising are not going to like what I am about to share, but that is okay too.
By the way, this article was inspired by a conversation I had with my friend Dennis last week and also by an article by Seth Godin, where he talks about why negative reviews are sometimes okay.
Often advertising sales people will tell you about how many people will see or hear your advertisement, which may have an element of truth to it, but you need to understand what that number represents and what it really means in relationship to your business.
First some numbers:
Those people in the outdoor advertising business that sell billboard signs that you see along the side of the road usually use the estimated traffic count of how many vehicles drive by that section of road per day. They then do some math and multiply that number of vehicles by 1.5 passengers and tell you that your ad will be seen by all these thousands of people.
Television stations, radio stations, they both get ratings numbers from an outside company that estimates how many listeners or viewers a station has. Again, there are hundreds, even thousands of people that are watching or listening, right?
Some media and advertising companies use a different kind of method, like the phone book companies would say that they reach the entire population of your city. These days we know from our own behavior, that the percentage of people who take that phone book and immediately toss it in the trash grows every year.
Digital advertising has some track-ability to it but it’s a flawed system too.
But I’m not here to discourage you from advertising, so I better return to the topic, the headline of this piece which is The Answer is No.
What in the world am I talking about?
I’ll tell you.
For the majority of the people that your advertising message is exposed to, the answer right then and there is no. They are not going to buy your stuff at that moment. Just because I see or hear an advertisement or marketing message for you and your company, I am not going to immediately react and spend money with you right then and there.
And that’s okay.
Your business is not capable of handling all the potential customers that your advertising reaches at the moment your advertising message is seen or heard.
Can your restaurant handle 30,000 customers at lunch today?
Can your auto repair shop take care of 100 new customers tomorrow?
If everyone that sees or hears your advertising this week wanted to become your customer would that be a blessing or a nightmare?
Fortunately only a fraction of the people will become your customer at any given time.
Each have their own reason too.
I went thru this exercise with my friend Dennis who owns a service business. Dennis has a goal of how many customers he wants to add to his business this year and he’s a little short. And he also has a couple of slow months coming up where his main goal is to stay in business. He’s pretty smart about it and knows the up and down months so he plans for them. That’s part of his success.
I presented him with an idea using my radio station, WOWO radio in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that can help him fill up the rest of his year and also transform those slow months into busier months. I wrote three words on a paper and asked him where he was right now with my idea.
Those words were:
Yes
Maybe
No
Yes meant we would take the next step to implement my idea.
Maybe meant there were still questions and things to consider.
No meant no way.
Then I added a few letters to the word no on the paper and changed the No to
Not Yet
That’s where Dennis really is right now.
There are a couple of items that need to be taken care of first, like adding to his team and training his new employees. Then we will look at the timing and see if my idea can be implemented.
Consumers go through this all the time.
Just because someone who sees or hears your ad doesn’t say Yes right now, you might think they are saying No.
Some of them are really saying Maybe or Not Yet.
And that’s okay.
The reason you need to advertise long term or more than once is to continue to reach those who are saying Maybe, and Not Yet, because they will often say Yes one day.
Want help with your marketing plans and advertising? Let’s connect.
by Scott Howard | Sep 19, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, ScLoHo's Media, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
A new survey of nearly 5,000 Americans sheds some light on where we get our news.
Comparing 2017 to 2016, we see some slippage and some increases.
Not surprising to me is that the increases are related to our pocket computers, those devices you and I call our smartphones.
News Websites or Apps grew 8% in the past year and is now tied with Local TV which lost the most ground (7%)
Social Media grew slightly too by 3%.
I was happy to see that local radio news is still strong in the survey, as I work for WOWO radio, our local news talk radio station. There was another talk station in town but they switched format this month to rock music. And we have our local NPR affiliate that provides news and talk too, but has a fraction of the listenership that WOWO has.
(WOWO’s website also gets the most visits of all our Federated Media stations, company wide, so we are on top of that trend too.)
Also on the survey, was cable TV news like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News; national TV news like ABC, CBS and NBC; and print newspapers, but all showed year to year declines.
None of this is surprising to me. What does surprise me is the local businesses that continue to use some of these media for advertising. But I’ll talk about that some other day. I’ve written a couple stories recently about local news changes in the Fort Wayne area and also about the status of radio listenership locally. You can click on those links if you missed them.
Which reminds me, the phone book arrived this week. My wife took care of it before I got home. I found it in the recycling bin waiting to be hauled away on trash day.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
TuneIn
Deezer
CastBox