Holiday Cheer!

By Kellie Lala

It is almost Christmas.  The roads and parking lots are crowded with last minute shoppers. Cash registers are on overload and the credit card companies are adding up their “interest” columns.  From all indications, consumer spending $$ is up over 2009.  Electronics, video games, DVD and Blue Rays along with the latest and greatest new phone models are leading the way.  As our world continues to move at warp speed in these categories, it is interesting to watch for the “next generation”.  Our radio stations have been doing texting for over 2 years now.  We were WAY ahead of the curve in our market.  We do social media and post fun, cleverly done videos on YouTube. Our Z102.9 Morning Show of Schulte and Swann offer compelling and entertaining shows each and every day. I am looking forward to a fun-filled 2011.  I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.    

What do you want for Christmas?  Have you been naughty or nice?   Only Santa knows!    

Kellie Lala, CRMC/MRM

Senior Account Manager

KZIA Z102.9 FM and HD-HD-2 Classic Rock

KGYM-AM 1600 ESPN

1110 26th Ave. SW

Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404

Phone:     319.363.2061

Phone:     319.351.9300 Iowa City

Cell:         319.721.1820

Fax:         319.363.2948

www.KZIA.com and www.1600ESPN.com

http://AdAnimals.blogspot.com/

Mobile Marketing

By Jeff Taylor 

The use of text messaging, also called SMS (for Short Message Service) has exploded in the U.S.  According to CTIA, the wireless industry trade group, 3.5 billion text messages are sent daily – more than actual calls made.  57% of U.S. cell phone subscribers use text messaging, with 43% of them using it daily.  The median age of a person who uses text messaging is 38, however the 45-64 year old age group is growing 7 times faster than those 18 & under.

Text messaging allows businesses to reach customers in a completely different kind of way.  Since people need to ask to receive your text message, your marketing message is not seen as intrusive.  When you consider that 97% of text messages are opened (83% in an hour), you can begin to understand the potential power of this tool.

I have put together several different types of text campaigns for clients, but they essentially fall into 4 categories:

“Text For Offer”:  Text in to get a mobile coupon sent directly to their phone.

“Text To Win”:  Text in to win a prize.  Creative ideas with this option are endless.  One recent creative example was with Jiffy Lube.  They ran a campaign that gave radio listeners a chance to win free oil changes for a year.  Everyone who responded received a $5 coupon via text.  The results were very strong and 50% of those who redeemed the $5 coupon were new customers.

“Text for Information”:  Text to get information on a certain area of interest, products, insurance / mortgage rates, real estate, event information, location information, etc.

“Community”:  People join your businesses community to receive updates, coupons, specials, etc. on their phones.

A few tips for a successful text campaign:

· Combine your text campaign with your other marketing strategies

· While short term campaigns can work, the best results are a part of a long term strategy

· Avoid slang and shorthand

· Limit the messages you send to your text community to 5 per month

· Offer something free in the beginning if you want people to sign up to receive updates from you

· Extend the life of your customers by offering an occasional high value coupon

A Merry Christmas Message to Corridor Auto Dealers

by Chris Law

A Merry Christmas Message to Corridor Auto Dealers  

Very few industries felt the crunch of the recession harder than the automobile industry.  According to this article from the Automotive News at least one analyst predicts auto sales to rise above 14 million units in 2011.  While the others aren’t as optimistic all project solid growth, and virtually everyone gets to the same spot in their two year projections. 

The bright spot appears to be the likely loosening of credit markets.  That combined with projected job growth should spell good things for auto dealers (new and used) here in the corridor in the next few years.

Read more about it here....

Truth in Advertising

By Julie Hein

There’s a story out now about Dannon Co, international yogurt makers.  Remember all the ads with Jamie Lee Curtis talking about Activia and being “good to go” in the digestion sense?  And they said DanActive drinks could ward off colds and flu.  Well, apparently there is no medical information to back up those claims.  They’re in trouble now.  $21 million in fines and they must stop making the claims.

I’d hate to be in that marketing department right now.  Find the truth about why people buy your product or service.  What do you do better than anyone else, 99.99% of the time?  There’s your story.  Now find a compelling way to tell it, honestly.  We'd love to help.

The Joy of Giving

By Kellie Lala

In 2005 I traveled to Tanzania in East Africa for my first safari.  It was a life changing experience in ways that I never expected.  My trip leader and guide was Modest Bayo.  One afternoon, he asked the group if we would like to go to his school that he had started.  At that time there were just 75 students in elementary grades.  He had started the school in his own home.  I was so touched by that experience and the children that I met, I began raising money for the school thru my church.  Today, the school teaches over 375 students thru 7^th grade.  There are 90 boarding students as well. 

This journey has been a deeply rewarding and touching addition to my life.  Why do I tell you this story?  Because as we are in the holiday season, it is important that we all look at ways that we give back.  That can be in many forms; a cash donation to a favorite cause, volunteering at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen, taking a freshly baked plate of cookies to a shut-in and the list goes on.  Marketers are always looking for ways to reach the consumer.  Take note of how some big companies are “giving back” (Target gives a specific % back to every community in which they have stores).    What will you do?  How will you bring joy to others this holiday season?

         

The Sweet Business of Branding

By Glen Gardner/Z102.9 and 1600 ESPN consultant

How important is your brand? Several years ago the importance was
graphically displayed to me during a tour of a chocolate manufacturing
company. This company (which will remain unnamed at their request) is
located on the East Coast and produces chocolate bars and other candy
under its own label and also produces products for other companies.
The person leading the tour said he mostly gets school-aged children
touring the facility and was happy that he had a chance to show some
adults through. He asked me what I did for a living and I told him I
helped companies with their marketing and messaging. He looked me in the
eye and said, "In that case I'm going to show you something we don't
usually show folks who tour the plant." He said we were going to see
something called the "label room."

After touring the various parts of the plant that mixed chocolate and
formed it into bars, Santas, rabbits and other confections, he stopped
in front of a door that read "label room." He opened the door and there
were boxes stacked floor to ceiling with labels on all the shelves. The
labels were the outside wrappers for chocolate bars produced by the
company. He said this room is where the same chocolate bars get labeled
and then shipped to the various companies that wanted their own
private-label candy bars.

The tour guide picked up one of the bars that had a Dean and Deluca
wrapper. He picked up another that had a wrapper for a supermarket chain
out east. He said, "You see these two bars. They are exactly the same.
They are the same chocolate and the same weight. But the Dean and Deluca
sells for about $10 and the one you can pick up by the register in the
supermarket sells for about $2." Then he said, "Isn't that just the
darnedest thing?"

Your brand does matter matter. In this case it allows Dean and Deluca to
sell a product for five times what another retailer could ask. It's the
same exact product, but someone is willing to pay five times as much for
it because of the brand.

Think about your image and your brand. Would you rather be Dean and
Deluca, or discount your product by a factor of five because no one
perceives the added value?

The most effective way to brand is to repeat your message electronically
and make sure you repeat your value proposition. It can be a very sweet
deal for you!

".....which means...."

By Jill Dennis

Features and Benefits.  Isn't this the first thing you're taught in Sales 101?  Yet, the art of translating the feature into a benefit is often lost in advertising.  We assume that the customer has a level of understanding that they don't have.  We assume the information we're trying to relay is common knowledge.  And then, because we assume, the customer is not able to clearly see the benefit of the product we are trying to sell.

So, how can we guard against making statements about features without showing the benefit?  Well, in Roy Williams' book "The Wizard of Ads", he talks about his friend who trained himself to silently add the words "which means" to every statement he used to talk about the features of the product he was selling.  The result was that he constantly reminded himself to translate the objective, intellectual features of his product into the meaningful, desirable benefits they represent.  He goes on to give an example.  If a salesperson were to tell you that the car you're looking to buy has a V-8 engine and you'll love it.....most likely, that will mean nothing to you.  But if the salesperson instead says, "This car has a V-8 engine, which means it will last longer because it doesn't have to work as hard as a smaller engine.  You'll also have the power to pass in traffic, and most important, you'll have the acceleration to get out of the way of traffic accidents before they happen."    

Learn to translate features into the language of the customer, whose only question is, "What's in it for me?"  The customer will hear you when you speak their language.

Radio's Future

By Kellie Lala

We all hear it.  Those new buzz words around social media.  There is much hype and excitement about these new ways to communicate with friends, relatives and even your customers.  Heck, I have been in the radio business for over 18 years and there are always new things to learn, know and use. 

I am excited about the role of traditional broadcast (Radio and TV) in the new media mix.  Prospects and clients tell  me all the time how effective “word of mouth” advertising is.  Yes, I agree that it is a powerful tool because it is like a personal recommendation and it’s free.  I go on to say that radio is like “word of mouth on steroids” because it reaches thousands upon thousands of ears each and every day and you control that message.  Social media is much like that as well.  People telling their friends how happy they are with a product, service or experience.  They can tell a few hundred people with the push of a button.  

A new September 2010 study by Cone, a division of the Omnicom Group , reveals that being a business that wants to attract followers or friends on social media is not that easy.  Their study says “Even as new media adoption explodes-up 48 % from 2009-loyal followers can be hard to come by for companies trying to reach consumers online.  With millions of the world’s brands a click away, new media users still choose an average of only 4.6 companies online, making this the most difficult way for a company to gain access.”    

While other traditional media struggles, radio and TV are becoming an even more important way to market and communicate to your prospects for many local advertisers.  Have a presence with social media, just don’t put all your eggs in that one basket.  There is a lot of competition to be one of those 4.6 “friends”.     

THE POWER OF RADIO

By Kim Peterson

The voice is an amazing tool.

If used properly a voice can turn someone’s mood from sad to joyful. It can also irritate you like nails on a chalkboard.  The right voice and message can mesmerize you and make you forget what you are doing - like just the right song with lyrics that take you back to a forgotten moment in your past.  The right voice and message can even convince you to stop by Hardee’s to buy some hand-dipped chicken strips that are available for a limited time only.   

Listen to the deep voiced movie trailer announcer and you can understand what I mean.  They try to leave an emotional audio imprint on your memory in hopes you will spend big bucks at the box office.  This is the same subliminal effect that radio can create.

It’s not just the timing and quantity of ads in the radio campaign you need to think about when advertising.  More importantly, it’s the message. You need the best creative production possible with messaging that speaks to the customer’s perspective, captures their attention, and helps them solve a problem. 

This brings me back to my last blog “Watch out for advertising clutter.”  My client was accustomed to advertising a laundry list of items in his commercials.  A trip to his store by our creative director, Mo, resulted in a beautifully written commercial message that was simple, captured attention, and was ultimately more effective than packing as many details as possible into 30 seconds. Combine the right voice with the right message and you’ll create the emotional attachment that sure to be a winner.    

Get the best creative production possible.  Don’t spend your hard earned money on a radio advertising campaign that falls short because the message isn’t one that leaves an emotional audio imprint.

Did you know that what comes through our ears stays in our minds for nearly five full seconds before it begins to fade? Whatever enters your eyes is gone in less than a second. Radio is such a great way for people to hear your message because the mind processes the message even when you aren’t listening.

Great News for the Advertising Dept

By Julie Hein

We’ve hired a General Sales Manager.  John Phelan joins us today.  John has an enormous amount of broadcasting and marketing knowledge.  We are so pleased to have him working with our great clients and with us.  Reach out to him if there’s anything you’d like to discuss, whether you’re a current client or someone who might be interested someday. 

Deck the Halls

By Glen Gardner
Many people think that retailers "make it or break it" at the holiday
season, but the die is cast long before and long after the presents are
open and the tree is gone. Many businesses stake too much of their
marketing punch around the holidays.

I've always thought it was much more beneficial to implement a
consistent marketing approach that can be augmented during the holiday
season, if need be. The consumer will still tend to shop at the
businesses that have made an impression over the year. It's also more
efficient to advertise when the messaging environment is less cluttered.

Price also tends to be king with impulse consumers around the holidays.
That's why it makes more sense for "value" businesses to take a more
consistent approach all year-long. If you can't offer the lowest price,
don't bother advertising price. The price shopper cares about one thing,
and that one thing is the lowest price. The box-stores are out in
full-force at the holidays using loss-leaders and heavy budgets to
entice those cheapskates. If you try to slug it out in that arena, get
ready for a holiday race to the gutter. They will eat you for lunch.

A better approach is to make every day the holidays. Remind the consumer
how you add value. Tell them for a year what makes you different and why
they should use you. Then when the holidays come around, you've given
yourself a huge present!

MARKETING TO MOMS THROUGH EMAIL

By Jeff Taylor

Current statistics show that moms control about $4 billion in annual household spending today.  One of the ways to communicate with just about any target segment these days is through email, due mainly to its low cost and high ROI potential.  If you combine your email marketing to this audience with a radio campaign the results can be very powerful.

A recent report from Forrester predicts that emails from marketers to consumers' primary inboxes will swell to an average 9,000 annually by 2014. Considering moms' hectic schedules, you wonder when these active women have time to check email.

Mediapost.com conducted research among more than 400 women with children age 12 and under living in their households, including if and when they read marketing-oriented emails and newsletters. It turns out that even the busiest moms make time to check their email accounts on a regular basis. In fact, here's what they found:

• Nearly 96% of respondents said they check email at least once a day. 
•  More than 80% of them actually look forward to checking email.
• Most important, eight in 10 moms indicated they want to receive offers and information from preferred brands via email.

Understand Their Preferences

It's clear that email is a viable vehicle for engaging moms.  However, with 50% of the respondents indicating that they are most likely to "unsubscribe" either because they don't find the information useful or interesting, or they're being inundated with emails, staying relevant is key with regard to both frequency and content. Here are a few findings that might help you with this process:

• Approximately 45% of respondents indicated they prefer to receive email correspondence from any one brand about once a week.
•  Nearly 50% of respondents said they tend to read emails with time-sensitive subject lines, such as "50% Off Today Only," first
•  Nearly 85% of respondents said they wanted to receive coupons, and approximately 78% said they preferred to receive information about sales and promotions.
•  Nearly 73% of surveyed moms indicated they might make a special trip to the store after receiving an email containing a coupon or promotion.
• More than 63% said they print coupons for brands they use or want to try so they have it for their next trip to the store.

The right offer is what will drive a desired action. Additionally, look closely at your subject lines and ensure the content speaks to your consumers' personal interest.

Event Marketing (3 of 3)

by Chris Law

In my previous two entries I discussed tips/pointers regarding event marketing.  Today I’m going to talk about two real events, one that went very well and one that didn’t.  I won’t share which was successful and which wasn’t, but I’ll bet you won’t have to think too hard to figure it out.

Event 1:  Dance Studio Open House

This dance studio contacted me looking for a marketing idea to help boost sing ups for their fall dance class schedules.  Like many businesses in the area they were struggling somewhat at attracting new customers, and their current customers were attending fewer classes, on average, than they had in previous years.

We kicked around a few ideas before settling on an open house event.  After discussing the options, we settled on an ideal time--Friday afternoon/early evening.  It was the week before lessons were to start and also the end of the first week of school for local students.  This meant we had a good chance of catching mom and daughter together in the car.  We set up a radio schedule the week leading up to the event, the studio printed flyers and posters to hang in their location and prepared and sent a mass email to their mailing list of current and former students.

Once we had a plan in place to let people know about the event, we began to plan the event details.  We decided the best strategy to boost new signups were to get current students to bring in friends.  We came up with a generous referral bonus for existing students as well as a discount package to promote multiple class sign ups.  To further encourage existing clients to come in, we set up the event similar to a student teacher conference night.  Each dance instructor was in his/her classroom and they gave free demonstrations to parents, current clients, and potential clients.  Lastly they ran promotional pricing in their retail dance shop for apparel and dance related items.

Event 2:  Restaurant Grand Opening
A restaurant contacted me on a Tuesday afternoon regarding advertising for a grand opening on Friday of that same week.  Like many new businesses, the build out was running a bit behind schedule and they were anxious to open the doors to begin generating revenue.

I was a little nervous about the short notice, but they seemed confident they would be ready to go.  We settled on a custom radio schedule within their budget to promote the event.  We also discussed other methods of promotion including sending out a mass email to customers of a previous restaurant and successful catering business.  While they saw some benefit of doing this, they ultimately decided they were too busy with putting the final touches on the restaurant itself and decided not to invest the time needed to promote the open house in any other way.

Once the date and schedule was set, we began to discuss creative ideas for the commercial itself to generate as much traffic during the event as possible.  We explored many options including free deserts, free appetizers, buy one entrée get one free, one free kid’s dinner with purchase of each adult entrée, among others.  The restaurants ownership group decided they liked those ideas but were uncomfortable with the amount of discounts.  They settled on $1 off appetizers and ½ off dessert with a purchase of two entrees, and ½ off kid’s meals.

The big night arrived and a decent crowd came with it.  The restaurant looked terrific on the outside, but behind the scenes was a different story. One of the cooks did not show up, there was a glitch with the new ordering system and computer, and one of their vendors failed to make a delivery that morning, leaving them without several key menu items.

Final Result:

One of these events went really well and partly as a result they are enjoying a solid, if not spectacular, year.  One these events went poorly and partly as a result the business is under new ownership.

The bottom line is this.  Events, when executed properly, can be an outstanding way for you to showcase your business to new and existing clients.  When executed poorly they can actually lead to, or at least hasten, a business’ failing.  If you are thinking about doing an event for your business, perhaps it makes sense to place a call to your favorite media rep.  Even if you aren’t using his/her station to advertise the event, chances are they will be willing to share their thoughts to help ensure the event itself is a success!

The Theatre of the Mind

By Jill Dennis 

I've been in advertising for 18 years and I can't tell you how many times I've had a client say, "I just need more customers through the door.  Write a commercial that will bring me traffic."  As advertising consultants we have the ability to help the client tell his or her story as convincingly as possible.  The assumption of course is that the client has a story to tell.  The public no longer pays attention to advertising that is obviously advertising.  We've become immune to many phrases, statements and tones of voice.  There are literally dozens of businesses in our market who scream "Highest quality at the lowest prices".  What does that mean?  Highest quality of what?  Lower prices than who?  And if you have the highest quality, why do you want to de-value your product by selling it at the lowest price?

Any unsubstantiated claim is nothing more than a cliche.  You must be prepared to prove what you say in every ad.  Write meaningful commercials that will be remembered when the listener has need of your product.  Do your commercials describe what is waiting for your customer?  Do the words create a series of mental pictrures?  To be effective the commercial must allow the customer to "see" themselves doing what you want them to do.  Try to see your customer's needs as they see their needs.  Look at your product through their eyes.

If your commercial can leave out the unsubstantiated claims that muddle most advertising then you'll begin to set youself apart and that should be your goal. 

"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do." - Thomas Jefferson

Staying There

By Glen Gardner of Glen Gardner and Associates
Z102.9 and 1600 ESPN branding consultant

If you think getting there is tough, you're right, but staying there can be even harder.

The climb to establish your business as a brand is a long and hard fought process. You get there by being consistent and establishing your "mortar." That mortar is what people know you for. A common mistake many businesses make is backing off once they have actually accomplished the goal of establishing the brand.

In some cases they think, "well I've made it and now I can ease off." That line of thought can be a huge mistake. In many cases it's a fatal mistake.

Staying at the top of any market requires consistent branding messages. Once you are at the top, every competitor in your world is gunning for that market share that you worked so hard to get. If you back off, someone will step up to fill the vacuum and take your position.

The battle for mindshare never ends, unless you're out of business. So, getting there is only half the game... staying there is the other half.

Black Friday: Pent up demand will make retailers happy!

by Kellie Lala

Shopping for many women is a hobby.  For others it is the thrill of getting a bargain.  The term "Black Friday" is generally used to describe the Friday after Thanksgiving.  It is a really crazy shopping day that I generally avoid huge crowds, a early EARLY morning (some stores open at midnight or 4am) and parking lots filled to the brim. Granted, there are some amazing deals to be had if you brave all the elements but I figure that my time is worth something and I feel that sometimes the money saved doesn’t justify the hurdles.  According to a recent Chicagotribune.com article on October 21, 2010 they say that “for the past several years, Black Friday has ranked as the largest shopping day of the year, in both sales and traffic”.  Many analysts are saying that the this 2010 Black Friday will set a record.  Consumers have saved more, spent less and are more informed buyers during the past two recessionary years thus making this year the big one.  Seeing these trends, some retailers are getting a jump on Black Friday.  Sears started “Black Friday Now” sales on October 29^th.  They offer door buster deals every Friday and Saturday leading up to November 26^th.  Not a bad idea.  “IBM forecasts a 4.6% rise in consumer electronic sales” as compared to November and December 2009.  They go onto say “consumers no longer look at consumer electronics as discretionary purchases, but as necessities that make their households and offices run more smoothly”.    

What will you be doing on Black Friday this year?  Rolling over and hitting the snooze after a full day of turkey and dressing?  Standing in line at the local big box store with coffee in your frozen hands?  Running over another shopper with your cart?  Enjoying the sounds of Christmas on your stereo as you decorate your home for Christmas?   I will be doing the last one and enjoying every minute of it!  Happy Holidays!        

Watch out for advertising clutter

By Kim Peterson

This topic came to mind when working with a client.  They have advertised for years, off and on, and have never had a strong branding message.  They didn’t know who they were trying to target.  They were used to  advertising a laundry list of products and hadn’t gotten the results they expected so almost called it quits.

Just recently I was able to get them on a consistent advertising schedule.  They have been working closely with Mo, our genius who is responsible for writing and producing ads.  Each commercial that was e-mailed for approval was revised and e-mailed back with a laundry list of items to cover.  After the third rejection, Mo decided it was time we give them a visit.

This brings me to my topic…“watch out for advertising clutter”. No one is going to remember everything on your list. If you clutter the message with too much information, they will remember nothing.  It’s better to be known for something.  Focus on that one thing you are good at and stick to it.

 

My client has agreed to step back and trust Mo’s advice.  They thanked us both and couldn’t believe that someone would care enough to take the time to meet with them in person to gain a more complete understanding of their business and more specifically their branding message. 

Check back with my blog in the future to see how this advertising campaign turned out.   

Personality Types

By Julie Hein

Do you consider personality types in your communications?  A little knowledge can be a great thing in any type of relationship.  Of course, these personality surveys don’t say anything about intelligence or mental health.  They’re more about generalities—like you prefer your left hand or right. 

For extraversion vs introversion—I think it’s pretty easy to identify who is who.  Extraverts are energized by dialogue.  Introverts have to go inside themselves to be refreshed.  Extraverts make decisions by talking.  Introverts make them alone where they can think things through in peace. 

So, what to do if you’re an introvert married to an extravert?  Your spouse may chase you around the house wanted to discuss things.  After a long day or if there is a decision to be made, he/she really needs to talk.  This might drive you crazy.

What if you’re the extravert and your spouse is an introvert?  Don’t be surprised if your spouse hides from you, goes into the bathroom for extended periods, etc.  Introverts just announce things.  They’re not looking discussion--they’ve decided.  

So, what to do to extend courtesy (and increase the odds of getting the communication that you need when you need it)?

For introverts, if you tell them something new, surprising or different, give them some time to process.  Give them a warning about the topic so they have time to prepare.   Make an appointment for a later interaction. Usually, trying to close an introvert is a bad idea.  They’ve either decided or they need some time to decide.  You can give them new info – and then wait. 

For extraverts, listen to them.  Talk to them more than you think should be necessary.  Try to time your interactions for when you have energy so they can also power up.  They brainstorm, make decisions and get energy when their mouths are moving. Closing a sale with them can be fine – “hey, shouldn’t we do this now?  Let’s move forward.” That’s not pushy—that’s conversational. 

It All Begins With "You".

By Jill Dennis

According to Roy H. Williams from The Wizard of Ads:
You're writing an ad that needs to produce results.  Your ad-writing teachers have taught you to say the name of the company at least seven times in every ad.  Your experience tells you that cramming the name of the company into places where it wouldn't normally be heard will just make the ad sound like an ad. 

You've wrestled with this problem, haven't you?

The teacher who taught you to say the name of the company at least seven times is probably the same teacher who taught you to use loud noises and sound effects as attention getters and that words like "discount" and "sale" are irresistible.

I won't call this teacher a fool, but I think he'll do nicely until a real fool comes along.

The most irresistible word in the English language is "you". 

"You" engages the imagination of the listener.  It puts the action of your spot in present tense active.  Skillful use of the word "you" makes the listener a participant in your ad.

HOW MUCH DOES YOUR BRAND POSITION & PERCEPTION MATTER? CONSIDER THIS...

By Jeff Taylor

In Washington D.C. , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.  During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.  After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing.  He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later… 
The violinist received his first dollar.  A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

 At 6 minutes…
 A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes…
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly.  The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time.  This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes…
 The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.  About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour…
He finished playing and silence took over.  No one noticed and no one applauded.  There was no recognition at all.

 The violinist was  Joshua Bell, noted to be one of the greatest musicians in the world .  He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.  Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

The event was arranged by the Washington Post as an experiment in perception and priorities.  The experiment also has some very sound marketing lessons.  If your business is positioned as a premium provider, be very careful how you present your business to your customers.  If you speak about discounts and value you will confuse your customers and they will begin to ignore you.  Likewise, if you are a value and price business and you try to discuss your premium quality you will also confuse your customer.

When Joshua Bell presents his brand as a premium entertainer and prices his tickets accordingly he sells out.  When he was presented as value worthy of donations only, nobody paid attention.  Think about your brand position and marketing approach, are they consistent?

Great News for the Corridor

By Julie hein

A Forbes blog says that Cedar Rapids is expected to see employment growth of 14.2% -- which is the best in the country.  The CR economy  is expected to grow by 30% over the next three years which is also the best in the country.  Sounds like we’ve got a great thing going on here!   We knew that.

Are you poised to take advantage of this?  Better get ready!

 

Trigger Happy

By Glen Gardner

Normally being "trigger happy" might not be such a good thing, but when it comes to marketing and effective advertising it can be a great thing.

Knowing what the buying triggers of your customers and potential customers are can be a great tool in making your marketing dollars go further. It can also make your advertising much more effective.

The triggers are the things that happen to people that will move them from being cold to hot when it comes to your product or service. An example would be body work. Until I either hit a deer or slide on the ice, I'm not a hot prospect for a body shop. Once one of those triggering events happen, then I'm all of a sudden in the market.

In the case of the body shop, talking about those specific events will make my marketing dollars more efficient. If I have repeated the message enough, people will associate my business with that triggering event. That's why it's so important to run consistent frequency. We don't know when that trigger happens, but we do know what it is.

The job of good marketing is to make sure you get the call when they are ready. So go ahead and be trigger happy!

--  Glen Gardner GG&A Public News Service YourNews.com Madison 608-848-8502 office 608-345-5291 cell 800-881-9146 fax gardner.glen Skype

Part two: Ask smart questions, they think you're smart. Ask dumb.......

By Kim Peterson

According to Jeffrey Gitomer's “Little Red Book on Selling”,

Here are the dumbest questions salespeople ask-and why they’re dumb:

·   Who are you currently using..?  Pre-call research should tell you that.  And maybe the prospect feels that’s none of your business.  Good start.

·   Are you satisfied with your present ….? Everyone will tell you they’re satisfied. So what?  Well, OK, if you’re satisfied, I’ll just leave and quit.

·   How Much are you currently paying for…?  None of your business #2.  Let’s get down to price as fast as you can.

·   Can I quote you on…?  Why send a quote- the next person who quotes 2 cents cheaper gets the business.  What about the value?

·   Can I bid on…?  Same as a “quote” only worse.  This is a 100% price driven sale.  Low margin.  Low commission.  Low percentage of success.  How low do you want to go?

·   Are you the person who decides about….?   Come on.  This is THE question that breeds the most lies.  The answer is most often “yes”, and the answer most often is false.  Why ask a question that breeds misleading information?  The correct question to ask is:  How will the decision be made?

·   If I could save you some money, would you…?  Every salesperson thinks that the customer will jump at the hint of saving money.  This tactic actually has a negative effect on the buyer and makes the salesperson work twice as hard to prove himself and usually at a lower price(and lower commission).

And the worse question of them all:

·   What would it take to get (earn) your business?  This question literally is saying to the prospect: “Look, I don’t have much time here.  Could you tell me the quickest way to get this order, and make me do the least amount of work possible to get it.”

 Sales Truth:  Salespeople become known by the questions they ask.

The sale is yours for the asking; all you gotta do is ask for it in the right way!

Chicago Just Got Closer

By Julie Hein
I know that our friend Eliot Keller is dancing in heaven as they announced federal funding for passenger rail from Iowa City to Chicago.  This is good for everyone.  Millenials who want to be close to the fun and shopping of a big city will soon (well, 2015) have a way to groove into Chi-town and back without the monotony of driving or paying all those annoying tolls.  One of the true joys of living here is that it's so close to everywhere--the Twin Cities, St. Louis, KC, Chicago. 

MAXIMIZING YOUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS

By Jeff Taylor

How do you get your loyal customers and advocates who love you talking about you more? Consider these ideas on how to get these advocates to help your business.

1. Create a Fan Club – Formalize an official fan club where you send your fan club "Fans Only" offers or even send them gifts.

2. Bring them to Your Store or Place of Business – Get to know them! Why not have a mixer where you invite them to your work to meet employees that work for you. People want to get to know who they are advocating so it’s important to put faces with names.

3. Early Deals – If you know you will be having a huge sale, why not reach out to your advocates a week or two earlier and give your deals to your VIP’s

4. Give them Schwag – Your loyal customers are going to likely use or, better yet, wear things with your logo on them. So if you got it, send it.

5. Thank Them – When an advocate has said something nice about you, why not send them a note? Sometimes a simple thank you goes a long way.

Event marketing, part 2 of 3

By Chris Law

Event Marketing, part 2 of 3

In my time with Z102.9 and 1600ESPN, I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of several events and live broadcasts.  Many went very well, others unfortunately didn’t.  Here I have a mini-list of things to consider before booking that live broadcast for your birthday bash.

1)     Make sure there is something in it for the customer.  Yes, we covered that in part one, but I need to mention it again here because frankly, it’s just that important.  Peoples’ lives are busy and if you want your customers to make an appearance at your party, they need to have a reason.  Free popcorn, free soda, and balloons for the kids just won’t cut it.

2)     YOU need to be the star of the show.  Few people will show up at an event just to see our on-air staff, and those that do typically aren’t your best customers.  Radio personalities are very good at talking to people over the air, so let’s get them talking about your event and the reasons your customers should stop by.

3)     The most important element of a live broadcast is the commercial package that comes with it.  Before people can attend your event, they have to find out about it.  Yes, some of your customers will hear about your event in real time with the live on-air breaks, but that pales in comparison with how many people will find out about it via the commercials we run before it.  A live broadcast without an up-front advertising schedule is nothing more than someone standing out front of your business with a really big megaphone.

4)     Don’t forget about your existing customers.  The most likely people to attend your event are those that already know and love you.  Let them know about your event well in advance via email, phone calls, signage at your place of business, newsletters, your webpage, Facebook, twitter, while they shop… you get the idea.

5)     Timing, timing, timing.  This can mean a lot of things.  Thinking about throwing a 1^st anniversary party for your winery?  That might be a problem if it’s located on a scenic and twisty road in the middle of January.  Putting together an outdoor event in June?  Better have a backup plan in the event of rain.  Thinking of a big Saturday sidewalk sale in Iowa City in the fall?  Better check that Iowa football schedule first.

6)     Make sure you are ready for it.  Live remotes can be great tools to help a grand opening get off the ground, but if things aren’t running smoothly they can do more harm than good.  Nothing is worse than having throngs of people show up to opening night at your restaurant only to find out the computers don’t work right, your servers don’t know the menu, and your head chef doesn’t know medium rare from medium well.

These things all appear common sense, yet anyone working in radio very long has been a part of an event in which some or all of these things weren’t considered.  In part three, I’ll share details of a few events I’ve been a part of--some that went well and others that didn’t.

Persistence

by Kellie Lalal

You know the old saying “persistence pays off”.  How many times do we question ourselves on whether we should continue to bug, bother or poke at someone for something that we want really bad?  We all know thou, that before we can get our own way, we must prepare the way to be successful.  In Jeffrey Gitomer’s “Little Green Book of Getting Your Way” he tells us to look to your kids or your cat for persistence clues.  When you look at either one of their actions, you will see that neither one gives up, ever!  A child will pull on your sleeve, ask the other parent, beg, pout and perhaps throw a temper tantrum to get what they want.  If an adult in business did any one of these we might question their maturity level (even thou we have all seen so called ‘adults’ act this way).  Now looking at your cat, they will jump on tables, rub your leg, meow loudly and scratch you till blood is drawn to get fed.  They don’t give up when they are ready to be fed!  All of these clues tell us that if we provide a compelling enough reason to the person we are asking, they will see our way and provide us the prize we desire. 

Persistence is a positive trait to have both in business and in your personal life.  My motto is “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”.  Think about it and have a great Z day!    Here is the website for Jeffrey Gitomer.

B-I-N-G-O and Bingo Was His Name-O!

by Jill Dennis

I'm always amazed how strong my 5 year old son's memory is.  He's in Kindergarten now and his teacher has been teaching his class how to spell colors.  She writes short songs that include the spelling of a certain color of the day and puts those lyrics to the tune of a song that the children will know.  Right now he is singing a song about the color BROWN to the tune of B-I-N-G-O.  Singing those "color" songs has helped him to recognize the letters and words when he sees them on paper.  Your memory doesn't have to work as hard when you can hear something repeatedly. 

According to Roy H. Williams in his book The Wizard of Ads, there are only two kinds of ads:  echoic (sound) and iconic (sight).  Echoic ads are far more intrusive than iconic ads.  Hearing a commercial on the radio works along this same premise....hearing it is far more intrusive and the more often you hear the commercial the more likely you'll remember it.

The following quote from Roy H. Williams in The Wizard of Ads drives this point home.

"You hear even when you're not listening, but you don't see unless you're watching.  This is why you can sing hundreds of songs you never intended to learn , but you can't name the color of the car that sits in the driveway just five houses down the street from your home, even though you drive past it several times a week."

BEFORE You Advertise

By Julie Hein

I heard a story that really baffled me. A friend of a friend (FoF) went shopping for furniture after work. He was talking on his mobile phone when he entered the store. A salesperson approached him, and FoF shooed him away. FoF continued his conversation, while wandering the store. It’s a big place—thousands of square feet, just so you know that it wasn’t some tiny boutique-ish place.

When FoF finished his call, the salesperson proceeded to tell him that speaking on the phone is not proper behavior for a customer. After a brief conversation, FoF was invited to leave. TO LEAVE! He’s not a mouthy guy. Just busy. And he’s building a house, so he needs oodles of furniture.

So, before you advertise, be sure your house is in order. Make certain that your salespeople understand that the customer sets the tone for the interaction. A little patience could have gotten FoF’s salesperson a big commission check. And worse than that, he told the story to other people who told the story and so on. Tales of abject stupidity spread quickly.

Check in with your customers to see what you could do better. Have a friend act as a secret shopper. Have them call your number during business hours and see how the treatment is. Have them come to your business and look/listen everywhere, including the parking lot and the restroom. Find out what could prevent someone from spending with you and fix it.

Ask smart questions, they think you're smart. Ask dumb......

By Kim Peterson

Sales Truth:  Salespeople become known by the questions they ask.

Looking for a few Power Question lead-ins?

According to Jeffrey Gitomer's “Little Red Book of Selling”, try these…..

·         “What do you look for…?”

·         “What have you found…?”

·         “How do you propose…?”

·         “What has been your experience…?”

·         “How have you successfully used….?”

·         “How do you determine…?”

·         “Why is that a deciding factor…?”

·         “What makes you choose…?”

·         “What do you like about it…?”

·         “What is one thing you would improve about….?”

·         “What would you change about….?”

(Do you say, “What don’t you like about….?”

·         “Are there other factors…?”

·         “What does your competitor do about…?”

·         “How do your customers react to…?”

To use questions successfully, they must be thought out and written down in advance.  Develop a list of 15-25 questions that uncover needs, problems, pain, concerns, and objections.

Start practicing and by asking the right questions you’ll begin to see the real rewards!!

Next time I will uncover:  “The dumbest questions salespeople ask-and why they’re dumb”.