Month: August 2022

Content from BPRA lot of radio station tactics are “hit & miss”. When tactics deliver a result there is general celebration. When they are not successful there is a tendency to look for excuses to rationalise why the tactic didn’t work.  The reality is that the issue is rarely the idea. It’s usually about the execution and/or who the intended target was thought to be.  If there is not sufficient definition of who you are targeting and what their motivational triggers might be, then programming tactics become an exercise in throwing an idea against the wall and hoping it sticks.Mood, motivation and brand affinity are much more accurate ways to describe the various “tribes” that listen to your radio station at various times for various reasons.  The key issue is sorting the wheat from the chaff so tactics can be focussed on those people who offer a tangible opportunity of conversion and/or greater usage of your radio station.  The fact is not all P1’s are the same and not all P2’s are the same.Within the cume audience of a radio station there are 6 primary tribes:

P1 Disciples.  These people love several things about your radio station and these things are critical to maintaining your differentiation and listener loyalty.  What these people love about your radio station must be preserved above all else.  These are the people most likely to talk about you and share things about your station with their friends.P1 Cool.  These people represent a tribe with either relatively low attachment to radio itself or in some form of transition with your station, either newly arrived and discovering you or slipping from you because you are doing something which is starting to annoy them.  Your image trends with this tribe provides an early warning of where you are falling short of expectations.P1 Brittle.  These people are on the brink of changing their listening preference to another radio station.  Something you are doing has specifically disenfranchised them or they were never particularly loyal to begin with.P2 Fans.   These people love a particular thing about your radio station, generally it will be your music.  The reason they are not P1’s of your radio station tells you pretty much all you need to know about where your primary point of competitive stress is.P2 Interested.  As with P1 Cools, P2’s Interested are generally in transition.  They can be a very important tribe to understand if they represent a big chunk of your cume.  P2 Interested are often using your station on weekends and offer additional TSL opportunity if you have the right message for them.P2 Ambivalent.  These people have a very low attachment to your station and are likely sampling you for one particular thing like a contest, a late-night program or a weekend feature program – at best.  There is generally very little to be gained by throwing resources at this tribe.The needs, motivation and behaviour of your 6 cume tribes can be surprisingly different which explains why tactics targeting a broad P1 or P2 assumption can sometimes be ineffective, particularly in highly competitive markets.By Wayne Clouten, BPR […]

How do we safeguard the “orphan” accounts?Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonIf your stations are similar to the ones I deal with, from time to time we need to move accounts from one salesperson to another. Sometimes that occurs when a tenured salesperson retires. Sometimes a salesperson leaves for “greener pastures”. Many times, the person who is leaving hasn’t done a good job and is asked to leave. In any of these scenarios, we are left with “orphan accounts”: accounts who have had their relationship with our sellers disrupted. What do we need to do to make sure the transition is a smooth one and we don’t lose business?Scenario one: A tenured salesperson retires or leaves.

Chances are, these people have had good relationships with their clients. They have worked with the clients long enough to know the trends of those businesses. They may have become close with the decision-makers. They have lived through good and bad times with those clients. Now, the client is faced with reestablishing a relationship with a new person. They may be thinking, “Now I’ve got to train another one.” The good news is, this client probably has experienced good results from our stations. This may transcend the break in relationship. We know that one of the things our clients value most is a long-lasting relationship. Here are some steps to begin establishing a new relationship without damaging the business:1. Immediately call the client, introduce yourself, and set an appointment to come see them. (It’s even better if the outgoing salesperson will personally introduce the new AE)2. Research their account. Pull billing figures from your traffic system. Go back several years if necessary. Look at production orders. How and what are they advertising?3. Talk to others in the station who might know the history of this account.4. Do some research on the category of business if you have not handled accounts in that category before.5. Now you go to the appointment. “I’ve done some research on your account but I’m sure there are many other things I need to know to make sure I take great care of your business. Might we talk about those?” Now you do what we call a “mini-CNA” where you delve into biggest concerns the client is having now, where they are, where they want to be in the next 6 months. You probe for needs and goals. Talk about the business of the business. Begin to establish a relationship with them.6. Set parameters on how they wish to work with you. “Mr. Client, I want to see you at least once a month, but that might not be often enough. How do YOU define “exceptional service”? Do you want to see me once a week, twice a month? How is the best way to communicate with you? Do you like to text, use email, phone?” Then make sure to plot these contact dates on your calendar. It will be important that you over service this client in the first 3 or 4 months.In our next newsletter we’ll investigate what needs to happen when an underperforming salesperson leaves to safeguard business or, as I’ve found in many cases, to pick up the pieces and move forward.Happy selling! […]