Tag Archives: business

What Makes Your Clients Loyal… to You?

While reading a story on customer satisfaction of products, it dawned on me that the reasons people stay loyal to certain products or brands are the same reasons that business owners stay loyal to their media reps and stations.

A story published in the March 13th edition of eMarketer.com quoted several surveys, all related to “Why we Buy: Consumer Behavior and Loyalty in the Age of Infinite Options”. One survey by Criteo stated the obvious, and that was quality products or services at a good price are still the biggest drivers of brand loyalty.

More importantly, the article went on to quote a survey conducted by Epsilon that said, “Eighty-percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences”. In our line of work as Marketing Reps, this is where we start to separate the GREAT reps from the good reps. What type of personalized experience(s) do you offer to your clients and prospects that make you stand out from the crowd?

Yet in another survey by Morning Consult, it said 88% of respondents agreed that well-priced products with matching quality are important. More significantly, 92% said reliability and durability were key in creating brand loyalty. Are you reliable and durable for your clients? Are you there when they need you and are you continually bringing them ideas to help them grow their business?

Finally, and here is where we really separate the GREAT from good, and good from average…The same survey from Morning Consult stated that the primary reason for abandoning a brand was that the quality had gone down. Never take your clients for granted. Always be doing things (personalized experiences) that make them appreciate you more and more every month and year.

Be Loyal to your clients and give them everything you have and they, in turn, will be Loyal to You!

“Never Stop Learning – Get Better Every Day”

Do You Mind If I Take Notes?

It seems like a silly little question, and in some ways it is. But it can also have a profound impact, and just might be so obvious that it catches them off guard and captures their attention. When you’re calling on a new business and about to start your “CNA” meeting, just as you are taking out your note pad or computer, ask the person, “Do you mind if I take notes?”

Their answer, of course, will always be, “Yes”, or “I don’t mind at all”. While it seems obvious that you would take notes, it’s the subliminal message you send that has impact. It tells the prospect you are engaged, ready to listen, serious about what you do, and that you are focused. This is also a good point to assure them, or reassure them, that everything you discuss is confidential.

Throughout the questions and answers, if you miss something, don’t be afraid to ask, “Can you repeat that?” or “Did I hear you correctly”? Then restate what you thought they said. Again, this little sign of being really engaged can often give them the confidence that you are really there to help them, and that you are a professional.

You’ve heard the expression, “little things mean a lot”. When you’re asking business owners to spend their hard-earned dollars with you, it’s more than just an expression. The “little things” are often what determines whether they trust you enough to say “yes” to your recommendations. After all, what they are really saying “yes” to … is YOU!

Do you mind if I take notes?

Who’s Getting the Credit?

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.

Remember When?

Remember the days when getting a first appointment with your new prospects was relatively easy, and more calls meant more appointments? You simply picked up the phone and said things like:

  • I have a great idea I would like to share with you.

  • I’d like to ask a few questions to learn more about your business.

  • I have a new station package or special offer I’d like to drop off.

Today, your prospects and clients are bombarded with many new media and traditional media sales amateurs claiming they want to learn more about their business. Business owners today don’t have time to teach you about their business. They want to work with salespeople who have put in the extra effort to learn about their business BEFORE they call.

The skeptical business owner is saying to themselves; “I don’t know you, I don’t know what you stand for, I don’t know your company, and what do you know about my business or any business for that matter?”

Effort breeds psychological reciprocity; that deep-rooted subconscious need to do something for someone who has done something for you. Provide your prospects with usable knowledge about their business over a period of time, and you might just peak their interest – IN YOU!

You can begin building your brand and demonstrating your knowledge and effort by sending a few helpful marketing tips like those in our SoundADvice e-marketing system BEFORE you ask for the appointment.

Once you have presold who you are, what company you’re with, and what you stand for, securing an appointment will become much easier. Better yet, they”ll just call you for that appointment!

The bottom line? The most important thing you have to sell is trust. And trust is built over time, not with just one phone call or one cold call.

Busy decision makers today don’t have time for typical salespeople or old school sales tactics. But they will make time to talk to professionals who have branded themselves as marketing experts who know something about their particular business category, and who appear willing and able to help them grow their business.

Want to learn more about how the SoundADvice e-marketing system can pre-sell your media reps’ qualifications? Click here to set up a time to talk with Rick.

Practice What We Preach

Every day we ask our clients to promote and market themselves. Are you marketing yourselves? The most successful stations we work with are visible everywhere in their communities, in pursuit of audience. But I’m convinced their high visibility does even more for their revenues than it does for their ratings!

Prospects who don’t listen to your station can get the impression that everyone else in town does listen to you when your vehicles, banners, sponsorships and staff are seen at every community event they attend.

With all of your competitors claiming to be “number one”, most business decision-makers don’t believe ratings.  On the other hand, they do believe their own eyes and have confidence in your popularity when they perceive they see you everywhere.

Retailers claim the key to success is location, location, location. Are your station vehicles tucked away overnight in an employee’s driveway or hidden behind your station, or do you have a plan to keep them out, moving and visible?

Do your personalities pull a shift then hide in their cocoons the rest of the day, or are they out and about, clearly identifying themselves as your stars with their attire and vehicles?

By the way, radio advertising works too! The easiest person to sell is someone who listens to your station….you don’t have to convince them someone listens, they know firsthand. Do you run creative, relevant, thought-provoking commercials to attract new advertisers?

Our business is no different than our clients’ businesses. Advertising is the first link in a marketing program, but advertising only “attracts” audience and sponsors. It’s what comes over your speakers and what we do to create value for our advertisers AFTER the sale that will determine your long-term success.

Our radio e-marketing system, called SoundADvice, can help brand and advertise your reps and stations by providing useful marketing tips to your clients and prospects each week. It can be the most cost-effective advertising you can buy. Contact Rick to learn more.