Monthly Archives: June 2011

Analyst or Entrepreneur

Analyst or Entrepreneur?

Ted Turner was told by the analysts that an all-news cable channel would not succeed. His bold plunge forward with CNN is a huge success story. Online designers predicted Craigslist was too cumbersome, with too many links and was not slick enough or trustworthy enough to succeed. Last year Craigslist generated more than $125 million in revenue, of which nearly $100 million was profit!
Are you an analyst or an entrepreneur? Analysts investigate what has been done in the past to design systems or processes with minimal risk and a certain security or safety of return.

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are in possession of a new unproven enterprise, venture or idea, and are accountable for the inherent risk and results created by that idea or venture.

The route taken by analysts seldom produces extraordinary results, although conversely, they seldom fail. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, often fail, but occasionally stumble upon amazing results.

In the pre-consolidation age of broadcasting, many of the eccentric entrepreneurs who had broadcasting licenses were admittedly poor business people or analysts. But they succeeded, and failed, because they had a passion for trying new ideas. And they had fun!

There’s an old adage that says “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”.

If you take a walk on a beaten path in a public park, you can logically predict your destination. Scaling the rugged cliffs of Mount Everest, while not nearly as predictable a journey, is certainly more exhilarating, rewarding and extraordinary than walking the beaten path.

Most shareholders want analysts at the helm of their investments. But these same analysts can limit extraordinary success in favor of moderate returns.

I think it’s time to create a hybrid broadcast company…..one that has a ‘safe’ predictable business plan, accentuated by a few risky ventures, one of which just might be the next CNN or Craigslist….nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Randy’s What If: What if you challenged each of your sales people to launch an unproven idea to generate more sales and they all failed but one? And that one created a huge annually sustainable success?

Unqualified Friends

Unqualified ‘Friends’

Local marketers are quickly starting to realize that the new media they once cherished because the metrics were ‘measurable’ are quickly discovering that clicks ain’t sales and the measure isn’t as qualified as once thought.

And for good reason.

Take for example, this email sent to me from a friend asking me to do a “favour”;

          My nephew, an up and coming musician, is trying to win a talent contest and I have sent you the web site. Please scroll down and vote for him as         your choice for the winner in the BEST ROCK ARTIST category….He really       is the BEST!
          This counts from anywhere in the world so New Zealand, Australia, UK,    Luxembourg, Mexico, USA, Bangkok, Switzerland and of course all over       North America, let’s help this young man..
          Pass it on to anyone you think will help us out! I’ll return the favour.

My friend is well connected, with lots of ‘online friends’ so there is no doubt his nephew has a chance to win the talent contest, even if he couldn’t carry a note in a bucket. Heck, I voted for him and I’ve never heard him.

Clicks or friends are not a measure of success, or as in this case, a measure of qualified contacts. The measurable metrics touted by digital ad sales people do not consider two main points;

1.) Global clicks or followings might be good for world-wide marketers like Coca-Cola, but what does a follower in Bangkok mean to a local business?

2.) Even in the case of Coca-Cola, does the fact that Coke was referred by a friend really entice someone on a sugar-free diet to buy a case of Coke?

I was not qualified to judge my friend’s nephew’s talent because I’ve never heard him. But I voted for him as a favour. Many clicks, friends, page views, followers or other metrics touted by new media sales people are not qualified.

There is only one true measure of advertising success…..sales over time.

Randy’s “What if”

What if you could persuade your clients to focus on local targets, using localbroadcast to build local awareness for higher long-term R.O.I. (return on investment)? Contact [email protected]

Error By Omission

Error by Omission

I’ve had it with broadcast sales and management types accepting the misleading information disseminated by digital media ‘gurus’!

Their blogs, media releases and seminars might not lie, buy they certainly leave out important information about our heightened role in the new media landscape….and we let them!

I recently spoke at a broadcast association conference where one of my fellow speakers was a ‘Facebook guru’.

She posed this question to an audience of radio and TV managers;

“If you wake up tomorrow with a terrible toothache are you more likely to;

a.) Go to the mailbox and hope Valpak has a dentist’s coupon?

b.) Search the internet on Google for dentists?

c.) Go to a friend you trust on Facebook to recommend a dentist?”

The answer to this loaded question was all too obvious. But not one of the broadcasters in the room stood up to pose a fourth option;

d.) “Call a dentist who had created an awareness and preference and presold you with a consistent radio or TV campaign?”

Again, the answer would be obvious because you wouldn’t have to go online or search anywhere….you already have an awareness and familiarity with a dentist who has properly branded his/her practice!

Radio is old news. No one goes to their industry conferences to hear about radio…they’ve been there, done that. And your prospects’ trade magazines aren’t publishing articles about anything old or traditional….that’s just not news.

The digital media bloggers, consultants, authors and guru’s don’t mention us either. But their teachings are an error by omission.

I recently read an article that included this graph showing that smartphone users take action or buy;

The Knowledge Economy

The Knowledge Economy

Why does a lawyer earn more than a garbage collector? Because nearly everyone is capable of doing the garbage collector’s job, but the lawyer knows something most of us do not. So she makes more money.

Why are accountants paid far more than the average person? Because they know something the average person does not.

Knowledge is power and knowledge earns big bucks for those who have it in the new economy.

I’ve heard it said that “sales is sales, and anyone who can sell, can sell spots”. That’s probably true. A lot of people can sell; from retail clerks to car sales people, and from insurance agents to Yellow Pages people.

Thousands upon thousands of people can sell.

Advertisers today are bombarded with advertising sales people selling their commodities; from sellers of online directories, to web malls and banners, to traditional media and more. So selling ‘spots’ isn’t really worth all that much.

The advertising salespeople that earn the most into the knowledge economy are those who can teach advertisers how to make strategic sense out of a fragmented and rapidly evolving digital media and, the traditional media mix.

And of course to be able to teach, you have to have knowledge. Just as other paid professionals like doctors and lawyers invest time and money in knowledge, you have to invest time and money into your knowledge of the new media landscape to be more valuable than your competitors.

I personally budget 20 days a year for attending courses and seminars, I read dozens of new media blogs each week, and read a minimum of one new business book a month. You need to establish your own learning planner to keep your marketable skills and knowledge ahead of the curve.

Virtually all of your competitors who have had sales training and can sell.

Investing in strategic marketing knowledge not only gives you a strong competitive edge against those look-alike sellers, but that investment stays with you forever. Today, selling is teaching, and teaching is a skill unto itself.

Want to learn how to turn your knowledge into more sales? Click here to inquire how our Guided Discovery Selling can help you teach your clients why you deserve a bigger piece of the pie.

Randy’s What If:

What if the knowledge you bring to your clients added another 10% to their perceived value of your ‘spots’, or helped you close another 10% new business?

New Multi-Sensory World

The New Multi-Sensory World

          New media are all the rage at the conferences your clients attend and in the trade publications they read. Not because they are necessarily better, but because new captures attention while old is, well……old. Most advertisers have used radio, been there, done that and still have the t-shirt.
          ‘New’ makes news. Consumers want to be the first to sample the newest restaurant in town and to buy the latest electronic devices. The newest restaurant may not be better than their favourite heritage restaurant; it’s just ‘new’.
          New media, and particularly social media like MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube, are all the rage today. But just as a great heritage restaurant continues to thrive during the onslaught of ‘new’ or trendy restaurants, heritage media like radio that provide a return on investment continue to play a major role in the new media mix.
          If radio were invented today it would be all the rage. We live in an on-the-go mobile society, and radio reaches active consumers wherever they are and whatever they are doing. In their cars, offices, homes and workshops, radio is the mobile, intrusive, affordable medium, proven to work for decades.
          Your job as an account executive is to teach marketers who are confused and intimidated by all of the new and ever-changing media choices, where radio fits in the new media mix.
            Getting your clients to talk about radio can be difficult; getting them to talk about integrated campaigns, multi-platform marketing and multi-media strategies will almost certainly capture their attention.
          Do your homework, and learn the facts; facts like research conducted by Wilson Ellis Consulting reveals the new social media channels work best when integrated with traditional marketing channels.
          Over a three month period, Wilson Ellis studied a control group of consumers who were active exclusively on social media platforms. They discovered that customers who were active on social media channels spent 34% more than those not participating in social media.
          Very impressive. But customers who were exposed to a combination of social media and traditional media spent 52% more than the control group! Even more impressive. Of course, having traditional media in your mix ensures you will also capture the 54% of consumers who are not yet actively involved with social media.
          Another study, The Weiss McGrath Retention Study, reveals a 65% retention rate after 72 hours when the message is seen and heard, versus a 20% rate when the message is only seen.
          While time spent with other traditional media is on the decline, radio still captures huge audiences. From establishing top of mind awareness and preference, to reaching consumers closest to the point of purchase, radio is the perfect new media companion today.