Tag Archives: Media

The Game of Search and Click

We have all had clients tell us they “surveyed” their customers about how they found them. In today’s New Media World, digital tends to garner the majority of the credit.

To a degree, this is a justified response. After all, in many cases, digital was the last medium the customer may have used. But, WHY did they click on the chosen business name?

When you receive this reply from your client, ask them to look at their google analytics and see what “words” are most often used to search their business. Without fail, the #1 word(s) used to search for their business will be the NAME of their business. This is despite all the fancy and creative keywords or SEO tactics they may have paid for.

ENS Media’s TOMA surveys prove that people will click on a name they are familiar with 72% of the time, even when it’s lower on the page. This is compared to clicking on an unfamiliar name at the top of the page only 4% of the time. Search Engine Journal confirmed this in their study stating, “nearly 70 percent of U.S. consumers said they look for a ‘known retailer’ when deciding what search results to click on”. They also stated, “Branding is our only hope for conducting better SEO”.

No advertising can brand a business name better than Radio.

Being known before being needed is paramount in the game of “Search and Click”. In today’s New Media World, TOMA is more important than ever!

The ENS Media local TOMA surveys prove to business owners that intrusive broadcast advertising is the best way to create pre-search name awareness.

Our TOMA surveys and seminars also uncover hundreds of new prospects, and train media reps six simple ways to use TOMA as a powerful radio sales tool.

Click here to arrange a free online demo of our TOMA research training system.

A Second Chance

You’ve heard the expression that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. While that may be true when it comes to meeting people, it’s not necessarily the case when it comes to B2B (business to business) sales. In fact, in the B2B sales world, if you play your cards right, not only may you get a second chance, but you could get a third, fourth, fifth, and even beyond.

There is a reason that those selling vehicles, appliances, furniture, and other B2C (business to consumer) products come off a bit pushy, and by doing so, often lose the opportunity for a second chance. It’s because once the customer has made the purchase, they are out of the market for an extended period of time. It’s Risk versus Reward. They push because they know that it may be years before those customers are in the market to purchase again.

In media sales, if you make a presentation to a prospect or client today and they say no, you can always reload and present again tomorrow or in the very near future, IF…

The “IF” is… If, you play your cards right and take the “no” professionally. No pouting, no arguing, no trying to make them feel guilty or stupid because they didn’t accept your ideas or didn’t want to do business with you.

Accept the “no” politely and professionally and be ready to reply with a few well-prepared statements and questions, such as, “Mr./Mrs. Prospect, I really appreciate your time and consideration of our proposal or plan. Can I ask you a question or two? Is there a specific reason that you have decided not to move forward with this plan? If I were to re-tool this plan or go back to the drawing board, what changes, things added or subtracted, would you like to see?”

Find out what the possible reasons may be and re-think your proposal. A warning though; business owners do lie and how they respond to these questions may not necessarily be the truth. Be prepared to dig a little deeper to uncover the real reasons.

By being professional, you will always leave the door open to present again. Anything less is unacceptable. In media sales, there is always a second, third, fourth chance to make that first time sale.

The More They Know, The More They’ll Buy

The reason most business owners don’t like advertising is because they don’t understand advertising.

Do business owners understand the importance of having Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA) in their business category?

The more you educate your clients and prospects, not only are they more LIKELY to buy from you, but they will buy MORE from you!

If we are simply talking to clients about OUR stations, OUR ratings, and why advertising on the OUR stations is a good deal for them, they may buy, but chances are they will never buy as much from us as they can or should.

Educate them on the “How” and “Why” advertising works and watch your sales grow!

While the digital media world seems to receive all of the limelight today, our ENS Media Share of Mind Surveys and Seminars educate business owners on the important role that radio plays in creating Top of Mind Awareness, how important creating TOMA/brand awareness is in today’s competitive New Media world, and how radio works in conjunction with digital and social media in the buying process.

And…these Share of Mind Surveys and Seminars may be one of the best training and educational tools your sales team has ever seen!

To learn the top 12 ways your advertisers, and your sales team, can benefit from facilitating Share-of-Mind Surveys and Seminars in your market, click here.

Ask Deeper Questions-Get Deeper Answers!

All too often in media sales, the conversations with clients or prospects are about our industry, our stations, our formats, our coverage areas, our demographics, our promotions, etc., etc., etc.!

With any sales training at all, we know that our conversations should be more about the client and their business and less about us and our stations.

The real information, the good stuff, and where you build credibility with your client, is when you start to ask questions that they have never been asked before.  The questions that go deeper than normal and touch their emotional hot buttons; questions about their hopes and dreams, questions about what keeps them up at night, questions about them and their customers, questions that, frankly, make them feel like you really care about them and their business. Ultimately, questions that confirm that you are a professional and not just another media rep looking for a quick sale.

When radio doesn’t work, the overwhelming reason is that the message was bad. If you only ask the surface questions, the same boring, you already should know the answer to questions, you’ll only have the same answers as every other rep.

Once you start learning how to ask deeper questions, then and only then will you get deeper answers. Deeper answers, help create better ads and ad campaigns. Better ads equal better results for your clients, and better results equal happier clients and longer-term contracts for you and your stations!

One of the best compliments you will ever get from a client or prospect is when they say, “You’re different than the other media reps. You ask some really great questions”!

Start asking Deeper Questions and start getting Deeper Answers!

ENS Media works with media companies to help brand and train media sales teams on how to become marketing and advertising professionals. If you are considering outside training for your sales team and would like to visit about our revenue generating programs, click here or give Rick a call at (605) 310-2062.

Location – Location – Location

If you’ve been around long enough or you have taken a marketing class, you’ll know the 4-P’s of marketing are Product, _________, Price and Promotion. If you didn’t automatically say it, the second P is “Place”.

In the by-gone days of business, the best “Place” was at the corner of Center and Main. Location, Location, Location! Having a business located in a great location is still a good option. However, in today’s New Media world, the best location … is in the “Mind”.

As we have quoted so often, digital marketing guru Seth Godin says, “It’s better to be sought than found”.  In a recent article by Search Engine Journal, they agree with Seth and wrote, “Brand recognition is critical to getting clicks”.

In that same article, they sighted research from Search Engine Land andSurvey Monkey. According to their data of over 400 consumers, “nearly 70 percent of U.S. consumers said they look for a ‘known retailer’ when deciding what search to click on”.

That survey verifies our TOMA surveys conducted in over 160 markets which suggest the same thing. On average, 72.5% say they would click on a business they are familiar with lower on the page rather than a business they have never heard of at the top of the page.

Here’s the real kicker, according to the Search Engine Journal article, “Brand awareness users are 2 times more likely to purchase from a business they are familiar with”. They also stated, “Branding is the only way to do it, and it’s the most viable SEO strategy on the market today”.

Explaining to our clients that today’s best “Place” is in the Mind is critical to making sure they are getting clicked on. Otherwise, it’s a crap-shoot!

There are no other mediums that can create Top of Mind Awareness like Radio and TV. If you would like to learn how ENS Media‘s TOMA Surveys and Seminars can teach your prospects, clients and your sales team on how to create TOMA, click here.