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ENS on SalesENS on Sales is Wayne's weekly media sales tip. You can signup below to get your free copy in your email every week, and you are welcome to view our archives. To request more information please complete the following form:**All requests are submitted only to Angela and Wayne of ENS Media Inc.**
United We StandUnited We Stand This is urgent and requires your attention today!
It’s time to quit thinking of your fellow broadcasters as competitors and to band together in a united front to serve your best clients and prospects in the best possible manner during this economic decline. We scan more than 40 trade newsletters and journals every day to keep abreast of marketing trends and to write our SoundADvice e-marketing system for our clients. The ‘experts’ in these newsletters and magazines are encouraging advertisers to, “take advantage of this downturn and put the heat on their media suppliers.” And advertisers are doing it. This is part of an actual email many of you received recently. We’ve withheld the advertiser’s name. As any other business in the rest of the world, (Name Client) has been affected by the current economic recession to the point of going back and reassess their current media strategy for 2009. They want to make sure their money is being invested in the right medium where they can both, reach their marketing objectives and receive the most value for their investment.
Right now “Print” is the only medium that has provided (Name Client) added value translated not only in discounted rates, but also in form of marketing efforts such as PR, advertorials, free full pages, amongst other. Our client is concerned that although they have consistently made Radio an important player in their marketing strategy, they are not getting the most return for their investments. In this regard, they need the radio industry to really step up and show that (Name) business is important, appreciated and that they want to keep doing business with (Name Client). We need to know what added value (Name) would receive if they decide to continue with radio for 2009. A couple of examples: more bonusing, remotes, mobile/email advertising or any other creative added value that could be provided. I think this situation should be taken as the opportunity to prove (Name) that radio is still an important player in their marketing plans, and that it acknowledges and appreciates their business. This is in your hands at this point. Most of you have received emails or requests similar to this, and you will be receiving many more. Ironically, this particular client happens to spend ten times as much in print as on radio. I don’t know why they claim “radio is an important player”.
As this note points out clearly, it is other media, (in this case print), not your radio brothers and sisters, who you are competing with. But in a frenzy created by thinking of other stations as your competitors, we can all end up hurting our businesses’ short-term and long-term viability. Cutting into our margins will inevitably lead to cutting the service we can provide to our advertisers and our audiences, making us irrelevant to both in the long haul. This economic cycle may be the tipping point to the long term viability of our industry. I implore you to call all of your market stations together to establish a united approach to these requests. I’m not talking about price fixing. I’m talking about a unified approach to maintaining fair prices and offering uniform value-added, directly proportionate to the advertiser’s investment. Your approach should; 1.) Position radio as empathetic to advertisers’ plights and willing to go the extra mile to help them through this economy. 2.) Ensure that ‘extra mile’ does not become a bidding war with some stations offering an extra ten miles! 3.) Be proactive and recognize your best advertisers. Offer your new, united value proposition to them BEFORE they ask. 4.) Never let a small squeaky wheel get more grease than your most radio-friendly clients. 5.) Preserve the long-term integrity and value of your products. 6.) Be frank and honest when explaining to heavy users of other media that they don’t carry as big of a hammer with you as they would if they invested a larger share with you. 7.) Clearly position the intrusive power of broadcast in the media mix. Make the call. Call all of those sales managers you don’t trust, and give them the benefit of the doubt. Let’s show advertisers we are there to help them through this economy, but that we won’t cut each other’s throats, or rates. And as self-serving as this may sound, consider working together to split the costs of presenting our ‘Winning in the Silver Lining Economy’ seminar to your clients and prospects. The last market we conducted this seminar in attracted 18 new accounts and saved or increased several existing accounts. This advertiser seminar for local-direct accounts might be all the ‘value-added’ you need to deliver in this economy! |
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