Good News

 

Spread the Good News
 
            Am I the only person out there who’s growing weary of all the bad economic news?
            I believe recession fatigue is about to set in…..and that can be a good thing.
            Eventually we’ll start looking for the silver lining in all of those clouds and things will get brighter.
            It may already be happening. I couldn’t help but notice two commercials last week that jumped out at me with their refreshing perspective.
            The first one wasDaytona Beach Harley Davidson, in Daytona Beach, Florida, talked about how aging boomers are growing tired of seeing their mutual funds shrinking and are opting to invest in their life-long dream, a new Harley Davidson.
            The Harley dealer, Bruce Rossmeyer, was proudly proclaiming they sold a whopping 44 bikes a day during Daytona Bike Week! A world record! Two things captured my attention;
1.) Good news jumped out among all of the doom and gloom. I welcomed it.
2) Bruce talked about relevant economic issues, like shrinking mutual funds, and gave them a positive spin I could relate to.
            As I returned home to Ontario, Canada, I was struck by another commercial for a hot tub store in Barrie. The owner announced having his biggest sales month ever in February. He validated his claim by suggesting that consumers are choosing to ‘cocoon’or spend more time at home. He said they are investing in home leisure activities and increasing the value of their home with his hot tubs.
            Your clients are always looking for a way to make their ads stand out, and these ‘good news’ ads really do stand out.
            Those of you who have been receiving our ENS on Sales, know that I’m not a fan of discounting our product to make a sale. I am, however, in favor of discounting as a service to our audiences.
            We’ve all heard clients and consumers complain about all of the bad news in the media. Your commercials are part of your media content. Bankruptcy sales, desperation clearances and other ‘bad economy’ sales strategies are part of that bad news noise.
            Why not offer a ‘good news discount’ for every advertiser who can legitimately shine a positive light on their business in this economy?
            Can you imagine the impact if every commercial island had a commercial talking about record sales and why it makes sense to buy in this economy?
            My proposed good news discount makes sense for a number of reasons;
1.) The advertisers who are already enjoying sales increases are your best prospects.
2.) Business owners who hear about these successes will reassess their own plight and begin advertising more aggressively.
3.) Audiences will come to realize and appreciate that it’s not all bad news out there.
4.) Your good news advertisers will have a timely, topical and relevant hook to make their message stand out.
5.) Business owners will appreciate your drive to introduce good economic news to your community. 
 
            If you like our idea of a good news advertiser discount, I recommend applying three rules for campaigns to qualify;
1.) They must mention sales increases or record sales, and tell the truth.
2.) They must mention WHY people are choosing to buy from them in this economy.
3.) They must have a call to action to keep their sales on the incline.   
 
            Give it a try, and send us the good news you uncover.
 
P.S. If you can talk your news room into airing regular good economic news features, I’ll bet there are sponsors who’d love to jump on board!

Email Popular

 

Too Much Email?

          Do we receive too much email? According to a recent survey; if you ask first, the answer is, ‘no.” Permission marketing works and recipients appreciate receiving your emails if you ask first.
           In an October survey of 1,517 respondents, Epsilon and ROI Research found that 84 percent said they enjoy receiving email from the companies they’ve chosen to give their information to. Even if they don’t always read every message, the respondents said they just like knowing the email is there if they want it.
          Fifty-seven percent of respondents said their impression of a company improves when they get a message, and a full 50 percent said getting permission-based email makes them more likely to buy from that company in the future.
          Your customers and prospects are noticing emails that benefit them in running their businesses. While they may not be ready to advertise immediately, the survey found that 71 percent of recipients recall an e-mail they received when they are ready to purchase.
          Our SoundADvice is the perfect radio e-marketing system, keeping you front and center with your clients and prospects every week, with helpful tips to grow their business

Refusing to Participate Feels Great

Refusing to Participate Feels Great.  

          Last fall the American portion of my business began to shrink.  I let myself fall into a downward spiral of excuses about the economy, like water circling to go down the drain.
          While in this frame of mind, I found myself on a plane beside a building contractor. “I guess things are a little slow for your business right now”, I said.
          “No”, he said, “this economy has created all kinds of new opportunities.”
          I’m on my way to a plant in Arkansas that is doubling its staff and building a huge addition.”
          He went on to explain that the booming business made frozen waffles, pancakes and pastries. He said that people with large families were going to restaurants less often and opting to prepare convenient low cost meals at home. The frozen waffle factory couldn’t keep up with demand!
          After speaking to that contractor, I reflected upon the immortal words of Henry Ford; “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you are right.”
          I immediately chose to discontinue participating in the recession.
          That decision alone actually made me feel better! I chose to utilize the extra time I had as a result of a downturn to develop new and innovative services which are now producing amazing results for the stations we work with.
          My business, like the frozen waffle business, is back on track for growth.
          Sir Winston Churchill said, “Sometimes it is not enough to do our best. Sometimes we must do what is required.”
          Just “doing our best” can cause us to blame the economy or other uncontrollable external factors for our failures.
          I invite you to join me. Choose not to participate in the recession. Seek new opportunities to capture your long-term vision. Doing so will re-ignite the passion that makes your job exciting and your company successful.   

Vision vs Panic

Vision versus Panic

“You always have two choices; your commitment versus your fear.”
-Sammy Davis, Jr.-
 
          Experiments on hypothermia at the University of Winnipeg have proven that the choices we make out of fear are often fatal.
          In controlled experiments at the university, two groups of students were immersed in freezing cold tanks of water to study what choices they would make to save their lives.
          Most people believe it only takes two to three minutes for hypothermia to set in. The first group of students was thrown into the freezing water with that belief.
          In reality, it takes 35 to 40 minutes for hypothermia to take its toll. The second group of students was thrown into the freezing water with that knowledge.
          Invariably, the first group made choices out of fear and panic….choices which, under real life scenarios would have cost them their lives.
          The students who understood they had time to think ahead, consistently made better choices than their panicked counterparts.     
          The absence of vision, commitment and long-term goals for your stations can also result in panic choices which can be fatal.
           Are you committed to a long–term plan for your business survival? Or are you making panic decisions under pressure?
          Your advertisers are reading newsletters and blogs which suggest they should “take advantage of this downturn and put the heat on media suppliers”.
        That “heat”has caused some broadcasters to sell at rates below break-even. We’ve all heard the joke about the widget manufacturer who was losing five dollars per widget but planned to “make it up on volume”.
          Even in good times, far too many sales managers let the bottom right hand corner of a broadcast order influence them to sell at a loss. You cannotsell at a loss and “make it up on volume”!
          Selling at a loss not only hurts your stations, but in the long run,hurts advertisers.
          Cutting your rates will inevitably cause cuts in service to your advertisers and to your audiences. As those cuts impact audiences negatively, advertisers will find it increasingly difficult to find a media that has enough reach and influence to achieve their goals.
          Our biggest selling job has always been internal, not external. We need to sell ourselves and our staffs on the value of advertising before they can have the confidence to sell our services to advertisers at a profitable rate.

Make Mantra

Make Mantra

          Albert Einstein said, “Genius is making the complicated look simple.”
I attended the Radio Ink Convergence Conference in San Jose, California last week,and by Einstein’s definition, the conference key note, Guy Kawasaki, is a genius.
          Throughout my career I’ve been telling media sales people that if you focus on getting results for your clients, the money will magically follow you.  I called it “putting on your ad manager’s hat” and presenting a campaign that will work for the client.
          I’ve gone through gyrations to prove that focusing on selling tactics and this month’s budget won’t be as successful as learning how to create results for your clients and building strong customer relationships.
          But Guy Kawasaki made it simple when he said, “Make mantra, not money.”
Guy, the author of nine successful business books including Reality Check and The MacIntosh Way, led the Apple charge against domination by IBM.
          He astutely observed that the companies which had the most growth in the last ten years are those that set out to ‘make the world a better place’, not those that had a business plan focused on making money.
          From creating more user-friendly computers to creating Facebook-style chat lines for friends to keep in touch, the money does follow those who help others.
This isn’t new.  Motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, always said, “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
          But Guy’s genius made it simpler. “Make mantra, not money.”
He also suggests that we get rid of complicated mission statements with all of the business buzzwords and that we make simple mantra with just three words. Can you explain why you exist in just three words?
          While companies like Wendy’s and FedEx might have trendy or lengthy mission statements in their board rooms, their mantra is simple.
          Wendy’s mantra is, ‘healthy food fast’ and FedEx creates ‘peace of mind’ allowing you to track your parcels 24/7.
          Try it!  Say what you do in three words, then use that mantra as your beacon for every plan and decision you make.  After hearing Guy, I’ve finally created mine…… ‘Make advertising work!’
          It’s what I’ve always done, and the money has followed.  There’s not a lot of ‘selling’ to do when your clients realize the ideas you are presenting will make their advertising work.