Reintroducing ScLoHo

Reintroducing ScLoHo

Last week, when I was recording the podcast version of my weekly update I mentioned briefly what a ScLoHo is. Today, that is the focus of both this article and podcast episode.

If this is the very first time you’ve listened to the Scott Howard Genuine ScLoHo Media and Marketing Podcast, welcome aboard.  If it’s the first time you’ve read an article I’ve published on this website, come on in.

Today I’m reintroducing myself, Scott Howard also known as ScLoHo.

I’ve been podcasting nearly every week since March 2017, so this is the beginning of my eighth year hosting a podcast.

I also checked my blogging history and I launched my first blog in 2004, 20 years ago.

The ScLoHo nickname began even before that as an email address because there are many Scott Howard’s out there and I needed something unique.

ScLoHo is a mash-up using the first two letters of my first name, Scott, first two letters of my middle name, Louis, and first two letters of my last name, Howard.

When you take those 6 letters and try and pronounce them, it becomes two syllables because there are only two vowels. Sclo (Sclow)- Ho (Hoe).

In 2004, I launched a couple of blogs, one was a personal blog, the other a media and marketing blog using Google’s old Blogger.com platform and eventually launched a few more blogs, all of them under the ScLoHo online persona.  At one point, for a couple of years, I was posting over 30 times a week on all of these blogs and this was not my fulltime job.  I was working for a group of radio stations from 2003 thru 2011 and blogging was just an unpaid side passion.

However, the ScLoHo name became pretty well known both locally and online.  I have used ScLoHo as a Twitter or X handle, along with nearly all my other social media profiles.  My personal email is @ScLoHo.net; I own the ScLoHo.com and .net domains and basically it use to be if you Googled ScLoHo, you’d find me.

Interestingly there were some people who knew me as ScLoHo and others who only knew me as Scott.  In the  summer of 2010, I was walking at the Tincaps baseball game, taking a lab around the stadium, when a group of friends from an advertising agency saw me and shouted my name.  Except, some yelled ScLoHo, and the others shouted Scott.

In 2011, I left radio for 10 months and worked for a website development company where a friend of my challenged me to merge the two and launched the ScottHoward.me website.  The dot me domain was not due to my ego, it’s because both the dot com and dot net domains were taken by other Scott Howard’s.

I imported over a thousand stories to this website from my blogs and eventually scaled down my updates from several a day to one a day to once a week.  The only time I’ve done less than a weekly update was a few months in 2022 and 2023 when my duties at the radio stations as a sales manager overseeing 4 stations and 8 salespeople needed my attention more than this. At the time, I also figured after 300 podcasts and over 1500 articles, I pretty much had shared everything there was to know and media and marketing.  I did monthly updates.  My focus was to help my team grow and to take the spotlight off me and on them.

However at the end of last summer, things changed.  I decided to step back from management and rehire myself as a member of the WOWO radio sales team.  With that change, I decided to return to weekly updates and to get back out in the community again instead of behind the scenes like I had been doing for nearly 4 years as a manager.

What’s my backstory?  Well first of all I never wanted to do sales.

In high school, my first venture into radio was on the air.  After graduation, I was on the air at radio stations full time in Marion and Kokomo Indiana and then returned to my hometown of Fort Wayne and was on the air at WMEE.  WMEE has always been owned by Federated Media and in the 1980’s WOWO was our competition, owned by another company.  WOWO was the big dog, the radio station that had the highest ratings and most listeners for decades.  However in the early 80’s I was part of the WMEE air team that finally beat WOWO and became the most listened to radio station according to the ratings.

Next stop was back to Kokomo and Indianapolis before taking my growing family to Detroit.  Up until I moved to Michigan at the ripe old age of 26 with 10 years of on-air experience, I had only voiced radio commercials, but never wrote and produced advertising campaigns.  The company I joined in Detroit was different and awakened a curiosity in me to figure out how to communicate and motivate people with a radio commercial to spend their money with a particular business.  I learned how to create ad campaigns that were distinct and unique, and most importantly, created top of mind awareness of a business so that consumers would eventually need them, those businesses were already Top Of Mind.

While in Detroit at Crawford Broadcasting and station WMUZ, I grew our production department, did a stint as fill-in host and eventually hosted the morning show for awhile and also took my first advertising sales position.

In my mid-30’s, we moved my family back to Indiana, I returned to working on the radio at WFWI in Fort Wayne and then took a hiatus and worked outside of media.  Finally in 2003, it was back to radio full-time for good, all most.  Eight and a half successful years with a group of Ft. Wayne radio stations, followed by full time at a website development company, another radio station and as the Social Media Guru for a multimillion dollar eCommerce company and then back to Federated Media in 2013.

Nearly 30 years between my first time with Fed Med as a WMEE Disc Jockey to my current position on the WOWO Sales Team.  I also spent close to 4 years as the General Sales Manager of WOWO and a year on an interim basis as sales manager of 3 other stations.

I’ve been a guest speaker with Huntington University a couple of times, Ivy Tech Fort Wayne, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and this year will be making my second appearance speaking at Trine University.

I’ve worked with over a hundred companies and organizations and consulted around a thousand in both formal and casual settings to help them become better with their media, marketing, public relations and internal sales and marketing.  Just in my 10+ years with WOWO have won a few achievement awards, called Feddies for Federated Media and even my own website won a best of contest by a competing media outlet.  Awards are nice, but what really motivates me is to have the opportunity to help others and share the wisdom and knowledge I’ve picked up over the last few decades and I’m continuing to learn as a life-long student.

Teaching, Training, Motivating and Encouraging has been a lot of what I do.  Helping people make wise spending decisions with their advertising and marketing is my bread and butter.  Being a dad, husband and grandparent keeps me grounded as well as my Christian faith.

There’s a philosophy about marketing and advertising that I call using Human Relationship Principles that I’ll review in the near future, but for now, you now know a lot more about this Scott Howard aka ScLoHo then you did 10 minutes ago.

 

Lure Them In

Lure Them In

The dictionary defines the word lure when used as a verb as, “tempt (a person or animal) to do something or to go somewhere, especially by offering some form of reward”.

Lure can be a negative word, but whether it’s fishing, hunting, selling, or advertising, setting the bait is key to alluring or attracting what you are trying to capture.  

In advertising, we are attempting to attract and allure a specific audience.

Since the beginning of time, it’s been known that you only have one opportunity to make a good first impression and regardless of if it’s a fish, wild game, or humans, you don’t have very long to capture their attention. Equally, it doesn’t take much to scare them off.

Your advertising message faces the same challenge. What your ads say, how they sound, and how they are delivered in the first few seconds, dictates whether your potential prospects will tune in or tune out to your message, or continue to read the message. 

Reporters and authors have long known that the headline and the first sentence are what dictate whether the reader tunes in and continues with the rest of the story, or tunes out. In an effort to develop the all-important “creative hook” at the top of your ads on websites, many headlines end up with more “creative” than “hook”.  

In order to get the maximum effect out of your ads, we recommend you carefully consider the first few seconds of every ad, blog, text, email, or post that you create. 

Here’s a bonus tip.  Often, you will find that the best line of any ad or letter, or the best words/sentence, is in the middle.  When you find it, move it to the first line, or use it as the headline.  

To read the 8 power openings you can use to capture more attention for your marketing efforts, click here.

3 Ways To Grow Your Business

3 Ways To Grow Your Business

Last week subscribers to my SoundADvice email newsletter learned we the advantages of knowing your competitors and finding ways or areas where you can exploit your competitors’ weaknesses and find areas where you can grow your business.

As owners or managers of a business, it’s our responsibility to not only figure out how to keep our business functioning properly and effectively but also how to GROW our business.  Staying even or going backward are not options.  Growth is vital!

Growing a business is not nearly as easy as it may appear and it’s certainly more complicated than just increasing sales.  Understanding that there are only three ways to grow a business is a great place to start.

Regardless of what type of business you have, there are only three ways to grow. They are…

  1. Sell more of what you are currently selling.
  2. Sell what you are currently selling for more money.
  3. Add additional product(s) or service(s) to what you are currently selling.

Regardless of how you slice it, nearly everything you can come up with to grow a business will fall under one of these three headings.

We suggest that you look at each area and identify within your business how you might increase your sales.

  1. Selling more this year than you did last year isn’t as easy as it sounds and simply opening up your doors and hanging a “We’re Open” sign isn’t the answer. What can you do to get the same people, or new people, to buy more of your products or services?
  2. Can you increase prices? If not on every product or service, can you increase the pricing on some of them? Which ones? Identify them!
  3. Adding products or services gets tricky. Think within your business category and then think outside of it. Are there products or services that you can add that won’t distract from or replace your current offerings?

Attracting a customer and getting them to open their wallets can be a difficult and costly process.  But once they’re in your showroom and have their wallets open, an accompanying up-sell is relatively easy.  Once the customer has chosen a new outfit, getting them to consider adding a pair of shoes or belt is relatively easy and it can be a big step towards growing your business.

The formula works regardless of whether your business is retail, service, medical, or professional.

If you would like to see a simple worksheet that can help you start the process of utilizing the three ways to grow your business, click here.

Also if you want to start receiving these Sound ADvice emails free every week in your inbox, let me know.

QR Code Mania

QR Code Mania

Sometimes technology comes before it’s needed and then there is a triggering event that propels that emerging technology towards mainstream use.

This is the story of QR codes.

Do you use them in your business?

They’ve been around for quite awhile and some of the early uses left people wondering “Why?”

The triggering event that propelled them into the mainstream consumer world happened in 2020 and 2021.

You recall a mere 4 years ago when this coronavirus with the name Covid-19 created a huge upheaval in our world.

Initially at the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020 we were told it’s no big deal, just a few isolated cases in the world and if it came to America, we could isolate it.  But a few weeks later a different strategy was urged. First we were told to stay home and shelter in place for a few weeks. Different government agencies and groups were giving conflicting advice and the whole thing turned political instead of just a health issue.

It was up to states and local governments to create and enforce rules, while solutions were being fast-tracked that led to millions getting vaccine jabs and others saying it was a hoax, or at least not as big of a deal as the media was portraying it to be.

A lot of confusion and upheaval but also a few changes in the way businesses operated.

One shift was the move back to one-time use items instead of reusable.  For years, climate change advocates were moving us away from plastics and even some paper to old fashioned alternatives.  In my life, the local Taco Bell that I would stop at for my breakfast burrito used to give me my food on a tray.  When the pandemic hit they were drive-thru only but when they reopened the dining room, it was no more trays, here’s your food in a paper bag.

I’ve seen other restaurants switch from glassware and silverware to disposable in order to eliminate potential cross contamination.

And we’ve finally seen the rise of QR code use.

Useful QR Code use, not the silly QR code use from a decade ago.

Many restaurants and drinking establishments switched from having printed menus that would get touched by 100’s of people and were big germ spreaders to placing QR codes on the table so we can scan and view the menu on our phones.  Some establishments also have a set up where i can pay my bill with QR code technology.

Let me be clear that in case you are unaware of what these QR codes do, they are simply a way for a consumer to get to a place online by scanning a QR code.  This makes it possible for you and I to visit a website without typing in a URL or doing a Google Search or any of that.

A QR code is a tool that the camera on your smartphone or tablet can read and interpret as a hyperlink to something online. That’s all it is.

From a business standpoint QR codes can be a money saver too because instead of printing hundreds of menu’s and then tossing them when they have changes or simply are worn out, the business can update the online page.  Someplaces update it weekly to reflect their specials.  This was prohibitively expense when all we had was ink and paper.

QR codes can by a shortcut to trackable hyperlinks too which helps businesses but doesn’t look scary to the consumer.

In 2012, I wrote an article about Idiotic QR Codes that I’ve linked here.  The Air Force Reserve was running a traditional billboard campaign that you would see as you’re driving and expected people to have their phones handy to be able to scan a giant QR code while speeding down the road.  Talk about the dangers of multi-tasking distracted driving!

I’ve written other articles about QR codes in years past that you can find here.

A big challenge in advertising and marketing is the ability to track results. and while the use of QR codes is not a solution for everyone, everywhere, I discovered a marketing success story from URL shortening service Bit.ly that was used by cat food company Smalls in New York City.

Smalls recently launched an advertising campaign throughout the New York City subway system that scratched just the right itch for cat parents in the Big Apple. These adorable ads had the power to make even the most dogged commuter pause and purr with delight. according to the article.

Signage on the subway system included QR codes.

Knowing that this campaign marked their grand entrance into the world of big-city advertising, Smalls wanted to get the most out of their efforts by leveraging QR Codes to drive viewers to their website across every ad placement.

And what were the results?

By putting the spotlight on these irresistibly photogenic cats and pairing them with concise, compelling messaging, Smalls managed to not only create brand awareness but also guide people toward their ultimate goal—interacting with the brand on their website. With smartphones in hand, subway riders could easily scan the Bitly QR Code and enter the Smalls universe.

As a result, Smalls reached up to 3.6 million subway riders and 500,000 New York City cat parents, building more brand awareness and driving new traffic to their website.

I’ve used the free Bit.ly services for years along with Google’s URL shortening service.  Both offer free and paid versions of QR Code generation.  A couple years ago when I was looking to add people to my team, I created cards that I handed out at career fairs with a QR code that potential candidates could scan to go online and see our openings.  We’ve also used them at a fund-raising event to make it easy to receive online donations.

Need help deciding if you should include QR codes in your business?  Reach out and let’s talk.  I’d also like to hear from those of you who are already implementing QR codes and how you’ve incorporated them.

 

 

Your Customers ALWAYS Have A Choice

Your Customers ALWAYS Have A Choice

Only fools believe their business has no competition.

There are multiple ways to think about who your competition is, however, I’m going to define it in the simplest terms for businesses and that is customer money.

If I have a need and you could supply that need for a price, but I choose to satisfy that need by spending my money with someone else, that someone else is your competition.

This weeks Sound ADvice newsletter talks about competition and  I’ll share that with you in a second but first I want to broaden your idea of competition.

Today, I ate breakfast.

I had the choice of eating something I already spent money on and was in my kitchen…

Or I could leave my house and spend money somewhere else.

Often, business owners only look at their direct competition.  Today I spent a couple of bucks for a breakfast burrito and a diet Mt. Dew. Yesterday I spent 6 times that for a breakfast sandwich and white mocha from my favorite coffee shop. Tomorrow, I’ll have a bowl of cereal.

See, sometimes the competition isn’t direct, but an alternative, however they all are ways that involve my money and my desire for breakfast.

Now let’s look at the SoundADvice I’m sending out in my weekly newsletter this week. (and if you want a free copy emailed to you every week, just let me know).

Have you ever heard someone say, “We don’t worry about our competitors, we just focus on what we do”?

Sure you have! It sounds nice, but the truth is that most successful business owners have a very keen eye on their competitors and know as much about them as possible. If not, there is no way to know which cards you can or should play or when to play them.

More than likely you know “who” your competitors are, but “how much” do you know about them? It’s not so much about knowing them so you can be like them, but, the more you know them, the more you can make sure you differentiate your business from theirs.

Motivational and self-help speaker Jim Rohn was known for his witty one-liners. One of his best was directed at people and businesses and it encouraged them to be different.

“Walk away from the 97%. Don’t talk like they talk,
don’t act like they act,
don’t go where they go, don’t do what they do,
don’t specialize in what they specialize in”.

In other words, Jim is saying, be yourself, make your own mark. Make sure you and your business are clearly different than your competitors.

Why is it so important to know your competitors?

In any given market, large, medium, or small, there is only so much business. Capturing your fair share and growing your share is the path to success. Only when you know what their strengths and weaknesses are can we know how you can best position your business to compete with them and grow your share of the market.

When we are armed with this knowledge, we can communicate our true value to consumers, adapt our brand and communications strategy accordingly, and win market share.

“If you know thy enemy and know thyself,
you need not fear the result of a thousand battles”.
– Sun Tzu

Identifying what differentiates your brand, product, or service from other players in the industry is only one of the benefits of analyzing your competitors. It’s crucial to increasing sales with your current customers, building customer loyalty, and attracting new customers. It will also help you identify the following:

  • Understanding industry standards so that you can meet and exceed them.
  • Discovering untapped niche markets.
  • Fulfilling customers’ desires and solving their problems better than competitors.
  • Distinguishing your brand.
  • Standing out in your marketing.

In today’s multifaceted world, competitions come in many forms. Direct competitors are easy to identify. Indirect competitors are sometimes harder to uncover and can come from anywhere. Grocery stores had no idea they would be competing against Amazon. Tire stores and hearing centers didn’t imagine they would be competing with Costco and Sam’s.

While the process of evaluating and knowing your competition can be taxing, the benefits of knowing can open an array of opportunities for your business.

If you would like to see nine ways to help you understand your competition, click here.