Do You Want Our Money?

Do You Want Our Money?

by | Aug 2, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Today, I’m going to talk to you from my generational perspective and I have one question for you:

Do You Want Our Money?

I am a young Baby Boomer.  I am also a WOWO Radio Listener.

And I work for WOWO in the advertising sales department. That means I am the dude you can talk to about buying advertising for your company on WOWO.  You can email me directly at my work email.  It’s Scott@WOWO.com

But the rest of this piece is about me and my generation, the Baby Boomers.  I just read an article from Mediapost that says that too many businesses are losing out because they are ignoring the Baby Boomer Generation with their advertising.

As a member of that age group and one that also deals with requests from advertising agencies, I totally agree.

First of all, let me set the stage with some facts from the Mediapost article and elsewhere. 

The Boomer markets (those between 53 and 71 years of age) are comprised of approximately 78 million customers.

That is the biggest demographic group (age wise) in this country. It’s also the group that is spending the big bucks that younger generations wish they had to spend.

According to a Pew survey, Boomers are outspending every other affluent category by $1 trillion per year. It was predicted that annual spending would exceed $4.6 trillion per year by 2015, and it has. The aging Boomer customer is today’s target population and, even more so, tomorrow’s.

The Mediapost article talks about the digital disconnect:

Seventy percent of all Baby Boomers surf online. It’s estimated that those 50 and up spend more than $7 billion every year in online purchases. Several media surveys discovered that approximately 17% of all those surveyed in the 45 and over age groups believe that online advertising is intended for them.

Look at those numbers for a second.  70% of all of us Baby Boomers surf online.  That includes the retired ones, by the way.  But less than 20%, the number I quoted is only 17% of Boomers believe online advertising is intended for them. 

This is a wake up call to anyone under the age of 50 who is responsible for advertising and marketing.  I don’t care if you run your own business, your parents business or work for an advertising agency…  you need to pay attention and understand there are a whole helluva lot of people over 50 that can make you successful if you simply invite them to spend money with you instead of ignoring us.

A few more quotes from the Mediapost article:

Be willing to change your frame of reference (paradigm shift). Don’t let “Boomer customer myopia” interfere with an intelligent approach to improving Boomer customer satisfaction.

In other words, the first step is recognizing the opportunity that I’m talking about and be willing to adjust your marketing tactics to invite Baby Boomers to spend their money with you. 

Avoid using the age of target markets as the determining factor… Use your knowledge of life stage changes to determine your approach to service and marketing communications improvement.

I’m going to share with you what they mean regarding Life Stages in a second.  But first a couple of words on how I can help you.

In the digital world, I have been advising companies for the past dozen years on how to improve their ability to be found with some basic Search Engine Optimization practices that remain relevant.  I even stepped away from the radio world a couple of times to work full time in the web and social media worlds.

Today, along with connecting you with Baby Boomers via WOWO radio, I also have some proven digital marketing solutions that I can offer through the Federated Digital Solutions division of Federated Media.  I saw proven because I have the data to show the results and we can talk about how to create a custom digital solution for your company if that is appropriate.

And then there is the mighty 1190 WOWO radio.  Now over 90 years old as an AM radio station with one of the biggest audiences in Northeast Indiana including Fort Wayne, Allen County and surrounding counties for miles and miles, stretching into Ohio and Michigan.

Listeners can also listen to WOWO locally on 107.5 FM and online via their favorite apps or the WOWO.com website.

But here’s what you need to know about connecting your business with Baby Boomers via WOWO radio.

It’s a no-brainer.  Ever since I started with WOWO in 2013, the weekly total local audience according to the ratings service has been over 100,000 listeners.

There are a couple other stations in town that have over 100,000 weekly listeners but they have a significant number of kids that make that total add up to 100,000.

WOWO’s listenership according to the ratings is 99% grown-ups.  Adults  age 25 and older who buy stuff.

Half of those adults are Baby Boomers like me. 

By comparison, 2nd most listened to radio station by Baby Boomers less than half the number of listeners. If you want to know why this is important, take a look or listen to last week’s advertising nugget about reach and frequency.  WOWO actually reaches more Baby Boomers than any other Fort Wayne radio station, by an over 2 to 1 margin.

Just recently I was negotiating with a media buyer that wants to buy advertising that will reach 25 to 54 year olds.  That is a popular sweet spot in a lot of advertising agency mindsets.  And sure that may have been the correct sweet spot to target a couple decades ago when Baby Boomers were that age, it’s very limiting thinking now as I have just demonstrated.

Before I wrap this up, I want to expand on why companies need to consider Lifestyles not just age demographics.

I’m 57.  

A good friend of mine, Kelly is also 57.  His daughter is heading off to her 1st year of college right this very moment.

My wife and I have 5 kids from our previous marriages and 9 grandkids.  While Kelly’s daughter is starting her college days at Indiana University, our oldest grandkid is starting his college days at Purdue University.  Our youngest kid is 29 with three boys.

Yes, Kelley and his wife and me and my wife are all Baby Boomers but with very different lifestyles going on.

I also tend to have a wide spread of ages in my friendship circle.  The oldest is 18 years older than me.  I also hang out with those that are 30 years younger than me.

It’s not just the age, but the lifestyle that you need to pay attention to when planning your advertising.

I’ve done enough talking, I want to hear from you as I ask once again on behalf of myself and the other 78 million Baby Boomers, “Do you want our money?”

 

Is Your Business Homeless?

Is Your Business Homeless?

by | May 4, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Web World, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Today we’re going to talk about your business credibility, or at least a part of it.

Is Your Business Homeless?

Before the internet, most businesses had what are known as brick and mortar locations, a storefront or at least a physical location. There were some exceptions, but for the vast majority of businesses, your physical location was a key component of establishing credibility.

Then the internet came along and has slowly been changing our world. I recall the Windows 95 computer operating system and dial up internet connections that used a hardwired telephone landline to connect to the World Wide Web and it was pretty cool to be visit websites from that big clunky computer at home.

Enough reminiscing, those were not really the good old days of the internet. Although every month I run into business people who are seemingly stuck back in those days.

Your business needs a website.

I’ve been saying that for over a dozen years.

There are some businesses that still don’t have a website.

Your business not having a website is the equivalent of your business being homeless.

If your potential customers cannot find you online with a simple Google search, your business does not exist.  Say you are a plumber. If I ask Siri to find me a plumber and you don’t have a website, according to Siri, you don’t exist, but your competitors do.

Personally my phone is not an iPhone but an Android and I can talk to it and it does the same, maybe better than Siri.

For those of you who are stubbornly resisting getting a website for your business, you might as well sell your business to someone who will bring it up to speed before your business dies a slow agonizing death.

Next, I want to talk to those of you who have not updated your website in the past 5 years.  Your business may not be “homeless” online, but your business presence is most likely obsolete.

You are not alone.  I see dozens of outdated websites every month.  This is hurting you more than you realize.

First off, if I find your business website and it looks dated, you are losing credibility simply because of the first impression your old website presents. Even if you are the very best at what you do, if your website looks like it hasn’t been kept up to date, I don’t know if your business is trustworthy.  This judgement call isn’t even a conscious one we make.

Another way your old website is hurting your business credibility is that Google and the other search engines will penalize your business website if it does not meet the standards that they deem are important.

Google uses two primary criteria to decide which webpages show up when we search and one of those is the technology that powers your website.  Starting in April 2015, if your website was not mobile friendly, Google began rolling out an algorithm that made your site less visible to people searching for what you offer.

Right now Google is in the process of another algorithm update for those of us that use the Chrome browser which is powered by Google.  If your website does not have a security certificate, Google may warn and block users from visiting your business website. This is used as an assurance that any information we give a website is securely managed.

Please, if you have not updated your business website to make it secure and mobile friendly, make that a priority.

Before we wrap this up, I want to address those of you who are attempting a work-around, and avoiding having your own website and instead relying on Social Media accounts like Facebook to be you online business presence.

It’s not legit.  It’s not a real website and it’s not adding to your business credibility. Besides, since you don’t own Facebook, Facebook can basically do what ever they want and change the rules of how you can use their platform.  It’s all in those pesky “terms of service” updates that all of us, me include ignore and blindly agree to when they come our way.

Yes, Social Media including Facebook is recommended for most businesses, but only in conjunction with your own up to date, secure and mobile friendly website.

Want to talk about this or need more details?  Let’s connect.

You can also listen to this as a podcast each week:

Is Your Business Still Operating Like It’s 1999?

by | Mar 2, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Media

It’s hard to believe the first couple of months of 2017 are over.

At the end of 1999, I was working on the air at a local radio station and there’s a recording of me (called an air-check), talking about the Prince song 1999.

When that song came out in 1982, I played in the radio. 17 years later, in 1999 I was still playing it.  Another 17 years (plus a couple more) and I heard Prince’s 1999 on the radio just the other day.

Somethings are timeless.  A great song for example.  But I’m not hear to talk to you about music.

Nope, I’m here to talk to you about marketing.

At the end of 2016 a survey was taken asking, “Which consumer trends do you believe will have the greatest impact on your industry in the next 10 years?” 

The top answer was Mobile. You can see the entire list at MarketingCharts.com but since mobile is the number one answer, my question to you is, Are you ready for Mobile? 

Mobile starts with your online presence and includes your website being mobile friendly. (Another study I read this week mentioned that if it takes longer than 3 seconds for your website to load on a mobile device 53% of visitors will leave.)

Mobile also includes the ability for consumers of all ages to get info on nearly anything or anyone where ever we are.  So now we are talking about reviews, social media chatter and your online reputation.

If you haven’t given thought to all of this, it’s time to start.  Need some help?  Contact me.  Then you can party like it’s 1999.

I got that song stuck in my head now, do you?

Do You Want MORE or BETTER?

by | Feb 20, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Media, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

It’s the old quantity versus quality debate that can apply to any situation.

Dating… do you want lots of girl/boy friends or just one that rises above the rest?

That’s the whole premise of the Bachelor television show.  In fantasy world being surrounded by a lot of good looking women can make a young mans head explode.

But in the end, it’s the heart that is really looking for “the one”.

Food… do you want to stuff yourself at the buffet line for two hours or spend those same two hours enjoying your absolute favorite meal?

Those two examples certainly point to quality as the winner over quantity but here’s an example of situations where the opposite is true:

  1. The doctors office that needs sick people to treat.
  2. The gym that actually has more members than they could ever serve who pay a little each month but only a fraction are in the gym at the same time.
  3. McDonalds and other fast food places because we only eat a few times a day, they need a lot of people to buy their fries, burgers and shakes.

In my world I will do a little of both but my focus is on finding the BETTER advertising partners over finding the MORE advertising partners.

Sure, I will talk with nearly anyone to see what I can offer to help them and their business succeed.  Sometimes it is just a bit of advice, sometimes it’s a connect that I can facilitate.

But the ones that I truly partner with and become their marketing coach are the ones that we build a quality relationship with.

I’m in the process of moving one of my advertising partners into a more quality focused marketing campaign.  They are a unique B to B company that initially wanted to drive more people to their website.  That was easy.

This is the new Custom Audience Targeted Digital Display Ad for Superior Water Conditioners

In the first 10 months the Custom Audience Display Campaign I ran through the Federated Digital Solutions division of my company drove over 5,800 brand new trackable users to their website.  The last couple of months over 700 per month were clicking on the “silly display ads”.  My campaign team was amazed at the response we were generating because, “it isn’t supposed to perform this good.”

I just fine tuned the campaign to zero in on exactly the people we want to reach and eliminate some that we don’t want.  I also added a live radio campaign on WOWO radio to help Superior Water Conditioners build up their top of mind name recognition locally.

If you are a business owner or marketing manager that also believes BETTER is preferred over MORE in terms of customers, you are not alone. According to a recent survey, finding quality leads increased to the top priority in 48% of those surveyed, compared to just 26% last year.

Want help?  Let’s talk.

Technology Doesn’t Matter, Sort of

by | Feb 15, 2017 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Media, ScLoHo's Web World, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Man, am I going to catch some heat on this one.

Unless you read all the way through this piece.

But if you are all about the tech and ignore the rest, you may win for a moment, but not forever.

What am I talking about?

My usual stuff, marketing, media, advertising and wait for it…

Human Relationships.

The question I get asked either directly or it’s implied is, “What is the best way for my business to spend money to get new customers?”

That’s not a bad question, but it’s usually the wrong question when it’s asked.

It’s 2017, the smartphone revolution isn’t going away.  The idea that we would walk around with a phone attached was a crazy idea a years ago.

Fortunately having a phone strapped to your head isn’t really like this,

But now we are a few years into the mobile revolution and the small screens have taken over.  Nearly anything you want to know or do is available with an app on your phone or tablet.

If you were to try and reach new customers by chasing after the latest and greatest technology, you’d likely be losing money and frustrated.

I am going to date myself here, but I remember when my father in law had a dial-up phone connection to get online with his Gateway computer that had less tech power than my last couple of phones.

Recently I was at the Fort Wayne Social Media and Marketing Breakfast and the topic was Snapchat.  How to use it and not abuse it.

As I looked around the room, I saw a whole bunch of business people who were frustrated because now here’s another platform they have to start using to get customers.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

I just told an advertising partner of mine that it was okay to stop tweeting.

You really don’t need to follow the crowd and do everything.

You need to pick and decide what ways you are going to market your business.

Those choices should not be based on the hottest trends.

They should be geared to how is the best way to reach out to your current and potential customers, and how to engage with them both online and offline.  In person and over the phone.

Before you decide to jump on the next new thing, talk to someone who can help you look at the big picture and do some long range planning.  (When I do it, I become your marketing coach.)

Now I’m not saying ignore technology, but you need to have your priorities in order.

Let me leave you with a simple, “starter” technology checklist.

  1. Do you have a professional website that is current?
  2. When I say current, I mean mobile friendly. Is yours?
  3. Finally, here’s a place you can go to see if Google thinks your site is up to snuff: https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com/

If your business doesn’t pass, then forget about anything else, and get on it.  Need help?  Ask me.