How many times have you heard an advertiser say, “We ask every person that calls or comes through our door how they heard about us.” The answers vary, but prior to the New Media Age (digital/social), it was typically newspaper, direct mail or the Yellow Pages that garnered most of the credit.
Why do the customers say this? Mainly, because it’s true! These mediums are usually the last point of contact just prior to the purchase. It’s the end of the buying cycle or the bottom of the Marketing Funnel.
But, have your advertisers considered that it may have been the radio or TV ad that persuaded their customers to even consider looking at their ad or visiting their website? “Intrusive Media” (Radio/TV), if done correctly, should have created an emotional connection with prospective customers long before “Passive Media”(print/digital), which is the point of research prior to purchase, comes into play.
The average person will only consider doing business with someone they are familiar with and feel good about.
We ask the question in every one of our TOMA surveys, “If you use Google or some other search engine, would you be more likely to click on a business that you have never heard of at the top of the list, or the first business you recognized or were familiar with?” The results are ALWAYS the same. 82-86% say they will click on a business they are familiar with. 1-2% say they will select the name at the top of the list, and approximately 12-15% say both.
It’s clear that having TOMA, “Top of Mind Awareness”, has a LOT of value!
Feel free to use this question and its results the next time a client says that their customers heard about them via the “Passive Medias” of the world, i.e. print, direct mail, social/digital.
It’s still the “Intrusive Medias”, TV & Radio, that do all the heavy lifting!
If you would like to see how our TOMA Surveys and Seminars can help you generate new income in 2019 and beyond, click here and let’s talk.
Have you ever noticed how negatives seem to jump out at you and smack you in the forehead, and the positives can go unnoticed or taken for granted?
Your sales reps hear the negatives every day, “No one listens to radio anymore”, No one listens to your stations”, “Your prices are too high”, “I’m cutting my budget”, “I tried radio once and it didn’t work”. They get beat up every day on the streets.
Part of a Sales Manager’s job is to motivate the troops. At your next sales meeting, open a discussion about what it is that they like about their career. (Use the word “career”, not “job”.)
You’ll get an amazing array of answers like, “helping businesses succeed”, “the creative aspect”, “it’s different every day”, “working with a variety of different people and businesses”, “not having to sit behind a desk every day”.
This exercise will achieve three different objectives for you:
1) It will remind them about the positives of their daily lives.
2) Some of their peers will present positives others never thought of.
3) You’ll gain valuable information into each individual’s motivation to help you in your coaching sessions.
Note: You may have to prime the well and start the conversation by sharing why you enjoy your career and/or company.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, listens to your stations for the ads. The trick is, making people “HEAR” the ads! Unless your listeners hear the ads and have an emotional connection, (sometimes logical), the ads won’t work, period!
So, how do you win in advertising? It starts with having a strategy….“What does the business want to be known FOR”? Then, you write stories, interesting, funny, unique stories, that speak to the strategy!
Why are GEICO, Farmers Insurance, and Progressive ads remembered so well? Two reasons mainly, they have great strategies and they tell stories.
Each company has their own strategy that appeals to different people with a different set of wants and needs. You can’t be everything to everyone! GEICO is low prices, “15 minutes could save you 15% or more”. They never talk about how good their insurance plans are. Farmers’ strategy is that they pay your claims, even the crazy ones, “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two”. And how could we forget about Progressive? Flo and friends are cute, funny and unique. Their slogan(s) can be somewhat hard to remember as they change from time to time, “Name your own price” or “Think Easier – Think Progressive”, but their strategy remains steadfast. You can name your own price, and they are the place to package all your insurance together.
Are you talking strategy to your clients? Are you telling them the truth? And the truth is, bad ads don’t work very well, even on the best radio stations. But GREAT stories can turn little known companies like the Government Employee Insurance Company into a GIANT, like the itty-bitty, teeny-weeny Gecko called GEICO!
Start with strategy, find out what your client’s business strategy is. If they don’t have one, help them create one. Then write stories that speak to the strategy and you will have success. The better the strategy, the better the story… the better the RESULTS!
Everyone LOVES a good story!
If you’re interested in learning or training your team on how to write better ads THAT WORK, let’s talk. We have a workshop designed specifically for this.
“I know a thing or two about writing ads because I’ve seen a thing or two.”
Starting this Friday (now Thursday), the biggest shopping days of the year begin and your clients, particularly your retail clients, are scared to death. It’s not J.C. Penny, Best Buy or Walmart that scares them. Today, it’s Amazon and the many thousands of other online minions that are trying to gobble up their customers and rain on their holiday shopping parade.
Is there anything you can do about it? Yes, in fact, there is!
First, DO NOT buy on-line yourself, unless you cannot buy it at a “brick and mortar” store. Lead by example and share this with your team. We should never tell our employees where to buy, but you can encourage them and show them the impact it can and will cause. In advertising sales, we rely on the “brick and mortar” stores to make our living. If we personally don’t “walk the talk” and support them, how can we honestly ask those clients to spend with us?
Secondly, one of the most powerful things I have ever heard came from my lifelong mentor, Don Jacobs. Don ran what he referred to as TOMA Branding Ads for his group of radio stations which covered topics on advertising, business, and life. The most powerful one he ever wrote was titled “Buy Local”, and he ran it during the holiday shopping period. In a nutshell, the ad asked the listeners of his stations to buy local instead of buying online. He outlined why it’s important to our community and our local businesses.
Do you think the local business owners appreciated him and his stations for this message? They didn’t just appreciate it…they absolutely LOVED it! Finally, someone (this group of radio stations) was standing up for them and asking people NOT to buy online, but instead, support their local businesses.
It’s not too late to write and produce this powerful message and run it in your market. Like Don, you too will be a Hero!
Don has graciously offered to give you a free sample of one of his “Buy Local” ads. If you’d like to take advantage of this, click here and we’ll get you a copy ASAP.
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;
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%).
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”.
Do you think the businesses you work with need to continue to build TOMA? Siri, Cortana, and Alexa think so!
If you would like to learn more about our TOMA Surveys and Seminars and how they can help grow your local direct revenue in 2019 and beyond, contact me or give me a call and let’s talk!