The TOMA Tale

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/