Random Birthday Week Thoughts

Random Birthday Week Thoughts

by | Dec 8, 2024 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo, Uncategorized

Time to share a few personal thoughts and reflections.

(When I started writing online, it was a blog called ScLoHo’s Really? . It was a personal blog that a few years later combined with a business oriented blog and created this website.)

It’s Sunday morning December 8th, 2024 and on the 11th I turn 65 years old.

Most days I don’t feel like I’m that old, but I’m not sure what I expected to feel like at this age.

Health wise, I’m doing fine.  Nothing seriously wrong that I’m aware of that has crept up on me as I age.

A few years ago, a friend of mine, Larry Merino, who served as one of the pastors at our church gave me some advice about getting older.

Larry is 6 years older than me.

I was leading an outreach group of volunteers from our church to participate in the Great American Clean-up in the Frances Slocum Neighborhood in Ft. Wayne.  I’d been participating in this event for a few years and this particular year I was suffering from allergies.  We had around 30+ volunteers this day and we gathered at Klug Park.  I grew up across the street from Klug Park and now Larry lived across the street from the same park.

After giving everyone instructions including addresses that could use our help, Larry prayed for the volunteers and then called me to join him on his porch while the rest went to work.  Larry told me to look and see all the younger people who were there and they could do the physical labor.  As we get older, our roles in life change to that of mentoring, teaching and leading.  I mostly took his advice that day, and enjoyed his fellowship, friendship and the couple cups of coffee.  I also did stay involved as I drove around to the various addresses to make sure everyone had what they needed and assisted in that manner.

That was over ten years ago, I was just 54 at the time, but there have been a couple of times that I’ve realized my age compared to others.

Back in 2001, I was working as a thermoformer operator for a local plastics company and started noticing that the new people they were hiring were closer to my kids age than my age.  The job was fast-paced and demanding and each day I had a crew of 2 to 6 material handlers that were responsible for correctly inspecting and packing what we produced.  When it was break time, we didn’t shut the production line down, I simply would take over, usually doing the work of two or three for 20 minutes.  I used my ability to to the work of two or three as a reason for not slowing the line down when they complained it was too fast.  If I can keep up, you can too were the words they heard from me often.

Later in life, as I reflected on some of the differences between myself and others, I noticed a certain drive and ambition that others pointed out was part of my make-up.  Others have it too, but there are plenty of people who don’t.

Another time I noticed my age was one of the first times I was invited to speak to a university class and I realized that the examples I was using in my presentation were people that the college students never heard of because they were 25 years younger than me.  Oops.  I’ve learned that lesson.  I still speak to college and university classes about once or twice a year, but refrain from being the really old guy!

What are some things I would tell my younger self if I could go back in time?

Some of the same things I tell people now.

Encourage people.

Appreciate people.

Tell them that you notice their effort.

You don’t have it have life figured out yet.  Some of the best people on this planet are the ones that continue to be curious and explore.

Don’t waste your time, but also slow down and enjoy life and the things and people around you.

Instead of living in fear, chart your course and be willing to take some calculated chances.

Listen more, talk less.

Not everything will last, Some only last for a season and that’s okay.

Seek advice from both the old and the young.

You can start over.

Here’s how I know this.

At age 22 I met a woman that was just 21 and in less than 6 months we were married.  That marriage produced 3 great kids.  While that marriage ended after 13 years, we decided to keep the friendship going as both of us remarried and our family circle grew.  Admittedly, being friends at first wasn’t easy, but for the love of our kids, we learned.

At age 42, I married again and we’ve grown from being parents and step-parents to having grandkids too in the mix.

I’ve changed jobs and careers a few times.  Currently I just completed my 11th year at Federated Media doing what I started doing in 2013 as an advertising sales and marketing consultant.  However I also spent nearly 4 years in management overseeing the sales team at WOWO and a couple of our other radio stations.  Last year I returned to doing the sales instead of managing the sales team again and it’s good to be back in this role.

It’s fun to see how my kids and step-kids lives have evolved too.  The youngest is married and Mom to four boys, the oldest lives near us and his two sons are exemplary. Those are my step-kids and they are both married to exceptional people.

In-between are my three kids who are also driven but balanced. Work, Family, Personal, it all comes together if you allow it.  Actually you have to do more than allow it, you have to seek it and pursue it.

I’m extremely proud of Tiffany, Josh and Rachael.  Two of three have reached 40 and I’m blessed to have good and growing relationships with them, their partners and kids.

My wife and I have been together for nearly 25 years now and have created a life that is supportive and in-sync despite having some very different interests, we also have a lot in common. BTW, it helps to have different interests, otherwise you might be boring to your partner.

One last thought ran through my mind before I hit the publish button.

15 years ago, my wife threw a surprise birthday party for my 50th.  It was at our home and in attendance were friends and family including my son Josh who had just turned 25 the month before.  I had a moment of reflection that evening too.

I mentioned how here I was 50, Josh was half my age and I was amazed at how the past 25 years had been since he was born, not just my life but everyone’s life. I also mentioned how I was enthusiastically anticipating  how the next 25 years would turn out.  We’re not there yet, and perhaps I’ve got another 25 years on this planet.

We shall see…

 

Learn From The Best

Learn From The Best

by | Apr 7, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, Uncategorized, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

It’s a weird and wacky world out there right now.

We are hearing stories about the record number of people who are filing for unemployment, the devastating stories of people dying from this mystery virus that we have yet to get a handle on because it is new to the medical and scientific community.

Some of us are working from home, other are at home trying to figure out how to occupy their time.

As business owners and managers, I understand you want some answers, but the answers to the questions you really want aren’t available yet.

We don’t know what the final tally will be healthwise or financially. We are living in the middle of a movie and this is not your typical romantic comedy or action flick where we know the good guys always win.  This is real life, your life, my life and the lives of the people we work with and live with.

You want answers, you want solutions, and while I wish I could give you a road map to follow exactly…

I can’t because each of you have different circumstances and variables that will determine the steps to take.

Instead I am going to take a moment and share with you some resources that I shared with my team.

Near the end of February, I was offered and accepted a promotion to become the General Sales Manager of WOWO Radio. WOWO is one of a dozen stations owned by Federated Media in Indiana  and the past few years the WOWO Local Sales Team has been the largest producer of revenue for our company.  I’ve been part of that team for nearly 7 years.

Less than 4 weeks after the promotion to lead, manage and coach our team, Black Friday hit.  It was my wife’s birthday March 13th and the orders to stay at home were causing businesses to scramble and try and figure out what to do next. 

One of the things I prepared for my team was a list of some resources that have helped me over the years. With the extra time you have and your desire to find some answers, this list of resources could spur your thinking and creativity.

In 1986 I made the switch from having fun and being creative as a radio personality in the programming side of the business, to needing to learn how to apply that creativity and fun to the money making side of the business, the advertising, marketing and sales side.

Roy H. Williams:  https://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/  I subscribe to this and have fun digging into the “rabbit hole” in each memo.

 

https://harveymackay.com/ Has a bunch of resources and I’ve read and recommend his first two books, Swim and Naked.

 

https://www.gitomer.com/ has free stuff you can sign up for.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586  Is a book I bought when I first started in the advertising side of radio in Detroit.  Great stuff.

 

I subscribe to Art’s emails: https://businessbyphone.com/

 

And circling back to Roy Williams, some of his partners also write great stuff that you can subscribe to: https://wizardofads.org/articles/

 

I  also have over 1400 articles and over 150 podcast episodes that I’ve created at my own website: https://www.scotthoward.me/ and I update with fresh material every single week.

I have been learning for over 30 years and continue to soak up wisdom from others.

I also have a weekly newsletter called Sound ADvice that is free and delivered to your email Wednesday mornings if you sign up for it.

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Keeping Your Core Customers

Keeping Your Core Customers

by | Apr 30, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, Uncategorized, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Core Customers – Keep Them!

Every business owner understands that keeping a current customer is much less expensive than creating a new customer. Or at least you think they would! Let me rephrase this; Every SUCCESSFUL business owner not only understands this, but they do things to ensure that they remain a customer and become a Core Customer.

So what exactly is a Core Customer? A Core Customer is someone that has done business with you in the past “X-period of time” and has the potential to do business with you again.

The “X-period of time” depends upon the purchase cycle or how often purchases are made within each business category. For example, in the automotive category, a typical person purchases a vehicle every 3-½ years. In the plumbing business, less than 20% of the population use a plumber every year and 50% of the population only needs a plumber every 4 to 6 years. In the hardware business, it can be 1 time per month or more.

If your current customers have purchased from you within your “purchase cycle” time frame, these people should be considered a “Core Customer”. As a business owner, you want to connect and reconnect with people between purchases until, at minimum, they are out of the “purchase cycle” period.

The other important question is, how often do you need to keep in contact? It can vary to some degree depending upon the buying cycle, but the rule of thumb is 3 to 5 times a year, with a minimum of two.

The first thing you must do is identify your business’ buying cycle. Then, identify who your current core customers are.

If you do not have a list of your customers and their contact info, start to create one. The only info you need is the name, mailing address, email address, date of purchases, and if possible, what they purchased and the transaction amount.

Having this information is useless unless you USE it!

Keeping your current customers is one key to success, but we must understand that regardless of what you do, you stand to lose 20% of your customers each year due to attrition in one form or another. Therefore, it’s paramount that you continue to attract new customers that turn into Core Customers. Once you’ve created the relationship, do everything you can to keep them!

I have 8 helpful tips on how to stay connected with your Core Customers and protect them from predators (your competition). Just email send me an email to Scott@WOWO.com with the subject  Core Customers. I also have a weekly marketing tips newsletter that I will send to you free when you fill out the form below.

 

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Why Radio is Personal To Me

Why Radio is Personal To Me

by | Feb 8, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Really? The Personal ScLoHo, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, Uncategorized, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Are you one of those people who wonder if advertising on the radio would work for your business?

I’ve got something for you to watch, or at least listen to for 5 minutes in a moment.

Last year I turned 59 and listening to the radio has been part of my life since I was a kid.  I remember having a clock radio and being responsible for setting my alarm so I would be up in the morning when I was in grade school.  Listening for school delays and praying for school closings that never came was my first experience.  WOWO radio in Fort Wayne with Bob Sievers was my station.

Later, as I entered my teen years, it was my source of music.  My Music, not my parents music. I still listened to WOWO after school and when I was supposed to be doing my homework and felt like I knew Young Chris Roberts and Ron Gregory who did the afternoon and night shows on WOWO.   I also discovered the MAGIC MEE and Top 40 Radio with WMEE.  The first FM station that was mine and not my parents was ROCK 95, an automated station that played music off reel to reel tapes.

Many of today’s youth and young adults have other ways of getting that same news information and entertainment.  Social Media and the entire web have created a generation or two that have choices of where to get those things that I relied on my transistor radio for.

However, I used the word choices just now very deliberately.  Because radio listening has not declined, and results for radio advertisers continue to be outstanding when it’s done properly.

What you are about to see and hear is a 5 minute video produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau.  They are passionate about radio and rightfully biased, just like I am.

Now let me share with you a bit about my personal story.

Those radio stations I mentioned, WOWO, WMEE, and ROCK 95… the local Fort Wayne stations I listened to as a kid, I’ve worked for them as a grown-up.

WMEE moved from being the MAGIC MEE on 1380 am to 97.3 WMEE and I was on the air at WMEE in the early 1980’s.

ROCK 95 became a soft rock radio station and I worked for them on the air in the 1990’s.

And now, I work in the same building I used to work in during the 80’s… the building that WMEE is in is also the home of 5 other stations including WOWO radio, the station I’ve worked for since 2013.  WOWO transitioned from being a music station to a news/talk station a couple decades ago.

Since you’ve read this far, I’ll share with you a couple more cool things.  Recently I connected on Facebook with Shotgun Lenny Harrison whom I remember listening to on the MAGIC MEE in the late 70’s.  We were trading stories and reminiscing about our days on the air. Lenny worked with Steve Shine, another WMEE d-j who is now our main fill-in morning show host on WOWO. I’ve also connected to other former coworkers from WMEE and other stations on Facebook and face to face too. 

One more item is the very same Ron Gregory who inspired me to want to work on the radio when I listened to him on WOWO as a teenager… Ron and I have been friends for about a dozen years now.  A couple times a year we will sit and talk over a meal or a beverage.  Small World.

 

 

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The Talk Radio Advantage For WOWO Advertisers

The Talk Radio Advantage For WOWO Advertisers

by | Dec 12, 2018 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, ScLoHo's Media, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, Uncategorized, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Not all advertising venues are created equal. The idea of an ad is an ad is an ad is like saying a cow is a cheeseburger is a filet.  Yes they are all forms of beef, but with big differences.

In Fort Wayne, I’ve worked in the radio advertising world since 2003.

I have created successful advertising campaigns for hundreds of companies using all formats of radio stations including both music and talk formats.  But this story is not about me.  It’s about what I have observed over the past 5 years that I’ve been on the WOWO Radio advertising sales team.

Quite simply, WOWO listeners pay attention to the ads on WOWO and respond to them like no other form of advertising I have ever seen in Fort Wayne.

This is a conversation I have several times each month.  It is about the mental state of people who are exposed to your advertising messages. 

We are going to look at the big picture and include many of the places you can spend money to advertise.

Start with television.  When you and I sit down to watch a show, we are paying attention to the show.  When commercials come on, most of us stop paying attention, at least not the same level of attentiveness that we have during the show.

Newspapers and magazines.  Unless it’s a fashion magazine that is chocked full of 50+ pages of ads before the articles start, we are not really interested in the ads.  We bought the paper to read the stories, get the scores, or see if someone died.

Social Media.  Facebook for example is a place to go to find out what’s happening with friends and family.  They have managed to work ads and sponsored posts into out timelines so we can’t help but seem them but we are not on Facebook to check out the ads.

Radio. Not all radio stations are created equal.  For this discussion, let’s look at the difference between music based stations and talk based stations.  The reason we tune in to a station that plays music, any music for that matter, is to hear music that we like.  In Fort Wayne we have country music stations, rock music stations, pop music stations and plenty of variations.

Every listener to a music radio station selects that particular station because they want to hear that particular style of music.  Anytime the music stops for any length of time, say 2 minutes, we pay less attention.  If the station plays 5 or 7 minutes of commercials in a row, we really tune out and pay less attention.  Some may even change stations.  The reason we listen to music radio stations is to hear music.  It’s to escape.  Anything other than music on a music station is an irritant.

Talk based radio stations are a different animal. Stations like WOWO which are a combination of News and Talk have listeners who tune in for information.  The programming on talk radio stations is brain food, not escapism like the music on a music radio station.  When the newscaster or program host is talking, listeners are paying attention to the words.  It’s the information that people want to hear.

So what happens when your commercial airs on a talk radio station like WOWO? 1st off, it’s not interrupting music, taking the place of your favorite song, so it is less of an irritant. Next, if your ad is a live endorsement from the radio personality, that is the very best kind of commercial because you have the credibility of the radio personality combined with the credibility of WOWO and a receptive audience that is listening to hear the talk, whether it is about politics or your business, it doesn’t matter.

If you air regular recorded commercials on a talk radio station like WOWO, you still get a receptive audience that is not turned off by talking on the radio and you are on WOWO which adds credibility to your business.

I discovered another way to use WOWO’s talk radio format to help your business and that is with our live 10 second sponsorship messages of news, weather, traffic and sports.  These are done live by the newscasters and program hosts and are embedded in the program and carry almost as much weight as a full endorsement.

This relationship between the WOWO listeners and the WOWO air staff with our news and talk radio format is one of trust.

For many it’s as strong a bond of trust as a trusted friend.  

You don’t get that with a newspaper ad.  You don’t get that with a TV commercial, You don’t get that with nearly any other form of advertising you can spend your money on.

This is the Talk Radio Advantage WOWO advertisers receive.   Want more info?  Let’s talk.

The Holi-daze Marketing Thought-Starter

The Holi-daze Marketing Thought-Starter

by | Nov 20, 2018 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, Uncategorized, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

The Holi-daze are upon on and this is a weird and wonderful time of year.  I’ve created a few items that you as a business person or marketing person, or what ever kind of person you are, you can take a look at and use to help you navigate the last few weeks of this year.

If this is make it or break it time for your retail business, it’s time to suck it up. Just because you are having to work long hours and cover for the employees that are sick or you just are short handed because all the good people have jobs elsewhere due, remember your customers.

The customers who actually drove to your store really want to buy something that you sell.  Otherwise, we would have ordered it online.  Just the other day, my wife was working on a project and after making a couple trips to the store, she asked me to order a tool online. It took me less than 10 minutes on a Saturday afternoon and it arrived at our house Monday.  While that was convenient for my family, we are also a shop local family.  Of the $200 we spent on this project, $185 went to a local store and $15 went to Amazon.

That’s because we are consciously looking to support our friends and neighbors.  Locally owned coffee shops and restaurants get most of my food and beverage money every month.

The point is, the people who come to your store, have a choice to buy from you or someone else.  Super-serve them and keep them coming back.   Create a positive shopping experience for them and they will come back.  Make it a bad experience, and you may have lost them forever.

Advertising is the part of marketing that functions as the invitation to your company.  But advertising can’t fix problems that go on inside your company.

Last week I was meeting with someone who wanted to hire me to train his staff on how to upsell his customers in a manner that is not annoying, but instead is genuine.

Speaking of advertising, you really need to invite people to your store right now.  People are spending for themselves and for others.  They are overspending, maxing out credit cards this time of year.  While I don’t believe that is a good thing to do, I’m not their mom and they are grown ups right?

Advertising this time of year might be challenging if you haven’t planned ahead.

Using television ads means you need to get a fresh ad produced and that takes time and money. Also the television viewing is different this time of year due to the holiday specials on TV and combined with the changes in TV viewing habits, I recommend you stay away from TV unless you already have it planned out.

Print ads might be available in the daily newspaper, but with the dwindling number of readers, just say no.

Social Media including Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest might work, but you better have a professional managing it, or else you can waste time and money.

I offer some online advertising options through the Federated Digital Solutions division of my company, but again, it’s kind of late to plan for this Holi-daze season.  If you want to talk about it, let’s plan a campaign for the new year.

My suggestion is using radio advertising to capture customers right now for the Holi-daze season.

Within a couple of days, I can get your message in front of thousands of people right here in our city who are shopping.  WOWO radio continues to be one of the most listened to radio stations in Fort Wayne and it’s a hot time right now.  Our annual Penny Pitch drive is underway with money being raised for two local non-profits. Weekly events that you and your business can be associated with provide a feel-good connection.

I also can create room for advertising for a special event.  Earlier this month, I put together a radio advertising campaign for an event that was less than a week away.  I wrote the ads, we produced the campaign and in the 5 days leading up and including the sale days, over 50 ad invitations were heard by over 75,000 WOWO listeners.

If this is crunch time for you, let’s talk now.

Or if this is a slow time of the year for you because you are not part of the retail Holi-daze season, this is an excellent time to plan for the new year.  I can make time to help you with your planning, reach out and we’ll get started.

By the way, I have a couple of ideas for retailers that you can do right now for this Holi-daze season:

  1. This first one was inspired by Amazon.  I use Amazon to buy gifts for my relatives that are hundreds of miles away. I often spend a little extra to have Amazon gift wrap those presents. What if you offered to gift wrap purchases as an upsell to people who are in your store? Make it easy and just have a stock of gift bags and tissue paper, and charge them your cost plus an extra buck or two.  You can even partner up with a local charity and give the proceeds to them.
  2. This other idea also was inspired by something Amazon does not do. Sometimes I buy a gift ahead of time and I don’t want it to arrive before hand.  What if you offered a Santa’s Closet for people who want to buy presents now, but wait a few days or weeks to take them home?
  3. My last idea is something you need to start and continue forever.  Collect email addresses and text numbers and offer a program to customers who sign up to be notified of special events. Most major retailers do this and you should too.