You know that consumers who don’t want Coca Cola, don’t buy it because they’ve received a 50% off coupon. Consumers who redeem those coupons were already in the market for Coca Cola. They just paid less than they had planned to pay. So Coke not only took a hit on the profits, they also had the added expense of the coupon distribution. Huh?You also know that buyers who buy based upon price alone, have no loyalty, and go to the cheapest vendor the next time they buy.You also know that ‘winning’ by offering the lowest price is a never-ending downward spiral as competitors enter that race to the bottom. As Roy Williams says, “Discounting is the cocaine of marketing”.So…why do you have one day sales and engage in expensive ‘key’ programs?Why not train your salespeople to sell your product for what it’s worth, and help your advertisers get better results from their advertising?In the long haul, it’s ROI that dictates what business decision makers are prepared to invest with you, not bottom feeding at the price trough.P.S. Sorry if this offended you. We didn’t target you specifically. All of our readers received this week’s ENS on Sales.Again, to quote Roy Williams, “The risk of insult is the price of clarity.” |
Tag Archives: ROI
Downside of Relationships
If you have been on our website you know our motto is “Helping media companies and advertisers to establish stronger more profitable relationships.”But there can be a downside to ‘relationships’.I talked to a radio salesperson last week who had left the competition’s cluster to join my client’s station cluster. Upon arriving at the stations we consult, he was shocked to learn that a client, who had spent $1,000 a month with him at his previous stations, had been spending $4,000 a month at our stations. When he asked the client why he hadn’t been spending $4,000 a month with him at the other stations, the client said “You never asked me to.”Many account executives confuse ‘relationship’ with ‘friendship’ or become protective of their relationships and fear asking for more. Often they become ‘too close to the forest to see the trees’.Your clients are all adults. They are perfectly capable of saying ‘No’ when you’ve reached their budget threshold. Your clients are in sales too, and they respect salespeople who have enough confidence in their product to ask for more.I’m not proposing you gouge or over-sell your good clients. But your relationship can be more damaged by accepting token buys than it would be by presenting solid plans to increase reach and frequency to help improve your clients’ R.O.I. (Return on Investment). |
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