Tag Archives: Surveys

SOV = SOM = SOM  

If you’ve worked in media sales for any time, the formula SOV = SOM = SOM is not new to you.

For those of you that have not seen this before, let me explain and then discuss why we should make sure every business owner understands it and why it is still relevant in today’s new media world.

Share of Voice (SOV) is the percentage of media spending by a company compared to the total media expenditure for the product, service, or category in the market. Share of Mind (SOM) is the level of Brand Identity or TOMA/Top of Mind Awareness that a business has amongst its competitors in the market. Share of Market (SOM) is the percentage of the total amount of business being done in a specific category within their market.

In simple terms, the greater the amount of SOV a specific business has the greater the amount of SOM, or TOMA, they have, and then ultimately the greater amount of SOM they have. Of course, there are underlying factors that can cause Share of Market to be swayed one way or another, but that is for another article.

Having this conversation with your clients and prospects is important for two main reasons:

  1. Most business owners do not equate their share of the market like this. At best, they simply know “which competitors” have “what share” of the business within their market. They don’t necessarily know “how” they got it.

  2. Getting them to understand that having a greater Share of Mind is the end goal to having a greater Share of Market.

In the twenty-four years ENS Media has been conducting TOMA research and surveys, this formula rarely ever fails. The business with the largest and best Share of Voice (SOV) has the greatest TOMA or Share of Mind (SOM) and therefore has the largest percentage of, and an equal and proportionate amount of, Share of Market (SOM).

If I ask you to name a fast-food restaurant, what name comes to the top of your mind?

If I ask you to name a brand of a canned soup, what brand comes to your mind? The top answers to these two questions, by far, are always McDonald’s and Campbell’s.

Who do you think does the majority of the business in the fast food and canned soup categories? You guessed it… McDonald’s and Campbell’s!

Now, name the first local Auto Body Repair Shop (or any other local business category) that comes to the top of your mind? Did the answer(s) that you came up with prove the formula right or wrong? I can assure you, once you complete the formula, it’s almost always right. If they have 8% Share of Mind, they’re probably doing close to 8% of the business in their category.

Do you have clients that want to increase their Share of Market? If so, they must first increase their Share of Mind. I’m hoping you can figure out the last step.

If you would like to find out how a TOMA Survey can help not only generate additional and new revenue for your stations but also train your sellers to use this and other proven practices, strategies, and formulas, give us a call or email me to arrange a time to chat.

Note: If your sales team is not strong at selling long-term strategy-based advertising, a TOMA seminar is not a good fit for you. If this is the case, call me, and let’s talk about training your sales team to be professional media reps.

Disruptors Fill a Void

Technology by itself is not the real disruptor.

Not being customer-focused is the biggest threat to any business. Technology only fills the void left by poor performance and high costs.

Robots didn’t kill assembly line jobs:  High wages, careless quality control and the pursuit of profits did.

Uber isn’t killing the taxi industry:  Limited access, poor service, and poorly maintained cabs left an opening for Uber.

Apple didn’t kill the music industry:  High prices and being forced to buy full-length albums drove customers to purchase only the songs they wanted.

Ariel Durant, author of, ‘The Story of Civilization’, said, “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.”

Is your company providing enough value to your listeners and your advertisers to circumvent the appeal of new technologies and platforms?

We have room to conduct one more Local TOMA Survey in your market this year to jump start your sales next year.  Contact [email protected].  These surveys consistently prove local radio’s effectiveness, and help radio account executives to close more new business.

Increase Your Sales in 2018

 

Your Local TOMA Surveys will prove what you already know….Radio Works!

  • Are your sales executives finding it more difficult to capture new business appointments?
  • Do you need a strategic system to capture new high-quality leads?
  • Are your prospects claiming great results from digital?
  • Are local advertisers in your market questioning radio’s continuing relevance?
  • Do you need more new business in 2018?
  • Do your salespeople need a tried and proven system of developing more 52-week business?

Special Offer

Launch your local TOMA Research survey this year, if you act now with nothing to pay until next year!

We have room for 4 more local market TOMA Surveys this year. As a special offer to four of our ENS on Sales readers, we can conduct your TOMA survey this year, so your team can hit the ground running with it in January 2018.

Contact [email protected] to arrange an online overview of TOMA for your market.

Roy Williams says;

“I’ve long suggested that radio stations fund a TOMA study every two years. Few things are as valuable in the eyes of advertisers as these revealing market snapshots.”

12 Things Your Survey Can Tell You…

While the digital media world seems to receive all the limelight today, The ENS Media TOMA Surveys are helping broadcasters across North America to capture increased local advertising revenues.

Here are the top 12 benefits you and your advertisers will derive from these local surveys.

1.  Your surveys will always prove that the best way to ensure consumers click on a business when they search online is to create a pre-need awareness and preference for the business with intrusive broadcast advertising.

2.  It’s much more powerful to make an appointment to talk about your prospects’ ratings, and their competitor’s ratings, than trying to get an appointment to talk about your ratings.

3.  If you have done Share-of-Mind or Top-of-Mind surveys in the past, your survey can prove that businesses that began using radio/TV after your last survey actually increased their Share-of-Mind score.

4.  The most important findings will be uncovering ‘open’ categories. Categories with no strong Share-of-Mind leader are very easy, and very inexpensive, for new radio/TV advertisers to capture the dominant Share-of-Mind and Share-of-Market.

5.  Mature categories are those categories where the market leader has more Share-of-Mind than number two and three combined. These categories create ‘niche’ opportunities for you to sell. For example, if furniture is a mature category in your market, you can help a furniture store compete against the generic category leader by choosing a niche to promote on your stations. The niche might be leather furniture, cheap financing, high-end decorating advice, patio furniture etc.

6.  Your survey might reveal an advertiser needs to be more consistent in the way they express their name or brand, if their name is expressed several different ways in the survey. You’ll provide real value pointing this out to your prospects/clients and increase your sales as they begin to realize higher returns on their advertising investment.

7.  If there is a mature category, where the leader is not a broadcast advertiser, it’s important to note they are vulnerable and are winning by default because they have no significant broadcast competitors. These are still open categories, in effect, because our surveys in more than 100 markets reveal that a category leader that wins by default can be overtaken by a competitor that begins using broadcast advertising.

8.  You might have a good radio advertiser that does not fare well in your survey. The reason will generally be found in Roy Williams’ “Twelve Causes of Advertising Failure”, and isolating why their advertising isn’t effective can help you increase their advertising results and their advertising investment.

9.  In most cases, if a generalist leads the category, and there is a relatively high ‘no answer’ score, the generalist has won by default and a specialist can quickly and efficiently become the category leader. For example, if Home Depot leads the windows and doors category, or the flooring category, advertisers who specialize in those categories, and use intrusive broadcast as a pillar of their promotion, can quickly capture Share-of-Mind and Share-of-Market.  While the Home Depots of the world have to divide their budget to cover dozens of categories, a specialist can dedicate their entire budget to their category.

10. Your survey will also prove that the only SURE way to be found online is when prospects search for a business by name because many businesses have fierce online SEO competition for first-page positioning if consumers search the category generically.

11 Your Share-of-Mind survey will make that vital link between Share-of-Mind and Share-of-Market. Your survey will also prove that branding and Top-of-Mind awareness are not the sole domains of large national advertisers and that local businesses can capture top Share-of-Mind as well.

12. Your Share-of-Mind survey will prove that sellers of various minor players in search, like Yellow Pages or reach local, do not have the reach that they claim, and that Google is by far the only search engine businesses need to concern themselves with.

The TOMA Selling System will help you sell more in 2018 and beyond.  Contact [email protected]  to arrange an online overview of what TOMA Research and Training can do for you.

Out of the Way Places

Local radio, TV, coupon envelope, Yellow Pages and newspaper salespeople in your market have beat main street retail to death.

But there is radio money hidden in the out-of-the-way industrial and commercial corners of your market.

Many factories, warehouses and other non-traditional retail establishments have something to sell to the public.

Simply drive around those areas looking for their signs. You’ll see small signs in some windows saying things like ‘Open to The Public on Saturdays”

or ‘Wholesale and Retail’ and ‘Factory Outlet’.

Many have occasional product over-runs, discontinued lines, scratch and dent items, or simply need to clear product to make more room. Others will delight in being able to sell to the public for higher prices than they can capture in the wholesale market.

You’ll also see ‘help wanted’ signs in businesses that you can sell recruiting campaigns to.

There are a number of advantages to going where your competitors have not tread.

One is, you won’t get beat up on rate. These businesses are usually shocked at how low your rate-card rates are.

Another is, they’ll get amazing results. Your audience is always looking for bargains, and are delighted to hear about the savings at these factory locations.

You might even consider creating a Factory Outlet Directory or Warehouse Sales Directory on your website for these out of the way places.

These aren’t easy sells, because most of these businesses have not advertised in the traditional sense, and have no ad budget.

But when you do sell one, they’ll get results, and you’ll have a client for life!

 

P.S. Click here to arrange an appointment to discuss how our TOMA (Top Of Mind Awareness) surveys and seminars can also help you find new revenue sources as well.

Follow the Leader

The next time you are talking to a prospect who is infatuated by social media, try not talking to them about your ‘audience.’

      Instead, talk to them about your station’s followers or fans.
      I’m betting your station has more followers than your prospect’s social media page, and that they’d like to sell something to your followers or at least convert some of your followers to be their fans.

       Our local Share of Mind Surveys consistently prove broadcast’s role in driving more online traffic. Contact [email protected] to inquire about conducting a survey in your market.   

 

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