by Scott Howard | Aug 10, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo
First, the back story of this article is from an exchange last week with friends on Twitter that began when I retweeted a link about profanity being good for you.
I will not use the F word online. It’s also one of the words that broadcasters are not supposed to utter over the public airwaves (broadcast radio and television).
The standards have loosened over the decades. The Wall Street Journal announced that they are now going to print words that were forbidden previously.
But what about your advertising? No, you don’t need to adult language to capture the attention of potential customers.
You may capture their attention, but will it convert them to becoming a paying customer? Usually not.
Forget about the idea that Sex Sells. It may get out attention, but sell? Nope not unless there is a real tie-in between the product/service and the sexuality in the ad.
There are oodles of ways to capture attention and perhaps shock potential customers but you don’t have to reduce yourself by lowering your standards.
Want help? Ask me.
by Scott Howard | Aug 8, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Word of Mouth Advertising with a Bigger Mouth.
That’s the way I’ve described effective radio ads for decades that are taking advantage of the power of the influence of a radio station and the station personalities as a trust conduit.
On my station, WOWO radio in Fort Wayne, Charly and Pat do live endorsement ads for some of our advertising partners and it is very effective.
Why?
Charly and Pat have earned the trust of their listeners and when they speak highly of the companies they endorse, it simple becomes Word of Mouth Advertising with a Bigger Mouth.
That trust factor applies to our live embedded news sponsorship messages too because WOWO radio has been around longer than most of our listeners, (over 90 years and 20 as a news talk station.)
The trust factor between WOWO and our listeners actually goes beyond our listeners because of this same Word of Mouth influence.
If my friend who does not listen to WOWO asks me for a recommendation for fixing ______ or buying _________ and I’ve heard about a business that advertises on WOWO, I’m going to pass along that business even if I never used them myself because of the Word of Mouth Trust Factor.
This goes beyond any measurable Return On Investment that a business can keep track of. Your advertising with me on WOWO is an investment in results today and influence tomorrow.
Want to know more? Let’s talk.
by Scott Howard | Aug 4, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo Sales Tips, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo
I just finished reading an article on Medium about Influencer Marketing that claims, For Every $1 Spent on Influencer Marketing, A Brand Makes $6.50.
But they are wrong.
I’m not doubting the facts and figures they present, but I doubt that the return is what they say it is.
It’s too low.
But it’s impossible to accurately measure despite the rise in data collection and technology that links our lives and behaviors, there is still a missing link and that missing link is the human factor which makes it impossible to accurately tell us which piece of the marketing puzzle was the final one that inspired us to buy.
Truth be told, there are countless influences on each individual buying choice we make.
So instead of telling you which is the best form of advertising and marketing, I’m going to challenge you in a different direction with the purpose of converting $1 into $10 with your marketing.
It boils down to what you do with a potential customer after they’ve heard/seen your ad. 
It’s about making the right connection with the follow through.
I’ll use an advertising partner of mine who will remain nameless today, but they are aware of what I’m going to share and I’m going to help them fix the problem.
This service oriented business was getting several phone calls from people that could have become customers but didn’t.
(I have access to some of their incoming phone calls and listened to a couple dozen of them recently.)
The service manager talked to a potential customer for 5 minutes without offering to schedule a service call to send a tech to diagnose the problem. Instead he gave the person calling advice on what the problem could be and left it hanging…
Another call from a potential customer who was ready to book a service call but the scheduler led her down a different. complex path and again it was a lost sale.
That’s just two calls that I heard where the professionals in the business had potential customers call them and the result was not good.
It wasn’t good for the people who called because when they hung up the phone there was no plan to fix the problem they called about.
It wasn’t good for my advertising partner because they spent time on the phone and lost money (for the time) instead of earning money (by converting the call into a customer.)
This is not an isolated incident.
I dropped my insurance agent a few years ago, because he didn’t offer a solution to a problem.
Even the fast food minimum wagers are trained to ask if you want to make that burger a full meal.
Your job as a business is to offer a solution to people who are asking for help.
Most people will pay you for that solution.
You spend money to invite those folks to contact you.
Now you need to follow through and with those people who walk in your store, call your office or connect online. Solve their problem, and they will pay you. They will also tell others about how well you took care of them.
You’ve already spent the money to get them to connect. Earn that money back and you can start seeing a 10 to 1 return on your advertising and marketing.
by Scott Howard | Jul 28, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo
In my couple of decades of helping business owners with their advertising and marketing, when you boil it all down there is only one thing that business owners need and want.
What is that one thing?
Customers.
Yep, that’s it. Customers, people who will reward them by spending money with them.
Why is this important?
Money.
Everyone needs money to pay for the basics in life.
And we need money to pay for the extras too.
Advertising and marketing needs to always be thought of in terms of the bottom line, but money is not the bottom line.
That sounds like a contradiction but hold on a moment.
I spend money every week at a local coffee shop that I’ve been visiting since my wife first introduced me to this place 16 years ago. I might look like another $3 cup of coffee to some folks, but that’s only when you look at me as a simple money transaction. Some days I am a $10 food and drink guy.
But when you look at me as a customer, my value changes. Using the same price points I just mentioned, I spend at this one coffee shop $50 bucks a month or more. That’s $600 a year. Make that $6000 over ten years. My guess is I’ve given this one coffee shop $10,000 or more so far.
Plus the countless meetings I’ve had where I introduced others to this coffee shop and they spend money too.
It’s not just the money, because we can’t really count the exact dollars. Those numbers are guesstimates based on what I saw when I checked my bank statement a few moments ago.
It’s the extra value I bring as a loyal customer that has brought others to become customers too and they pay for food and drinks too.
Customers are where it’s at. No customers and you have no business.
The advertising and marketing efforts need to be appropriate for what you are needing to attract and retain customers and to help those customers tell others about you in a positive manner.
Instead of trying to figure out if you need to be on Instagram, Pinterest, HGTV, the local 11 o’clock newscast or advertising with Rush Limbaugh, take a step back and understand that you simply need customers.
It’s my job to help you weave your way through the multitude of marketing and advertising options. Want help? Let’s talk.
by Scott Howard | Jul 26, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
Another great article from Mediapost about the value of the Baby Boomer generation. The biggest demographic of listeners to my radio station, News/Talk 1190 WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana are the Baby Boomers.
Here’s some more information to help you understand WOWO Radio’s Baby Boomer Listeners:
…The fact is, adults aged 55 to 64 outspend the average consumer in nearly every category, every year, per the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey, despite the fact that marketers obsess over the younger, Millennial segment. According to a 2015 survey by the AARP’s Influent50 in conjunction with ORC International, 40% of boomers agreed that companies aren’t adequately addressing what’s important to people their age…
Here’s additional highlights that apply to WOWO Radio listeners:
Boomers Value Comfortable Living
Today’s aging population aren’t leaving their lifelong homes for retirement communities; they’re leaving them for nicer homes. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate found that 57% of homeowners aged 49 to 67 planned to move out of their current home. Seventy percent of that group want their new home to be the best in which they have ever lived. They’re looking for new construction, amenities and communities in which they can pursue active lifestyles.
Boomers Prioritize Retaining their Youth
(Boomers) came of age with consumerism, and perhaps more than other age groups, have come to measure self-worth according to external factors. Much of the demographic’s … spending is on products that will help them maintain their youth and energy.
Cosmetics, exercise equipment, vitamins and diet soda are all products in high demand by boomers. Still, when you think of how those products are marketed, the boomer target doesn’t immediately come to mind. For products that do consider boomers in their marketing plans, many do so based on inaccurate stereotypes — a mistake that can backfire, driving customers away from your product to one that doesn’t seem to condescend.
While Nielsen has referred to boomers as “The Most Valuable Generation for Marketers,” holding 70% of the disposable income in the U.S., only 10% of marketing dollars are devoted to reaching the segment.
What we have found at WOWO Radio that if we invite our Baby Boomer listeners to do business with local businesses that have what Boomers want, everyone wins. As a member of this generation, I know that my wife and I are spending money on 8 (soon to be 9) grandkids, doing home improvements on the house we bought 2 years ago, buying cars, electronics, dining out, vacationing regularly, taking up new hobbies and enjoying life.
Want to invite some Baby Boomers to spend their money with your business? Talk to me.
by Scott Howard | Jul 22, 2016 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard
All of us are biased in our thoughts, opinions and actions. The word bias is not a polite way of saying prejudiced. I’m using it to share with you my professional biases relating to advertising.
As an advertising and marketing professional I have preferences of certain media and marketing platforms. Anyone and everyone who sells stuff is biased but some won’t admit it.
from http://bit.ly/29MOua4
I used to offer an unbiased opinion, but that’s word-play. Any opinion is based on someones bias, right?
Instead I offer an objective opinion based on my bias.
What is my bias?
It leans toward the marketing solutions I sell, advertising on and with WOWO Radio and some of the Digital Solutions I offer too.
This is important:
I had these biases before I worked for this company, because I had personal experience with them. I also decided to work for this company because of my biases.
I’ve been in radio since I was 16 and I saw the power of radio personalities when I was one myself for 10 years.
When I was 26 a couple of things happened:
- I was bored with music radio and started listening to news and talk shows when I was working in Detroit. I’ve been a news/talk radio listener ever since.
- I also started learning the dynamics of human relationship oriented advertising and how easy it was for businesses to be successful on the radio if these principles are followed.
Fast forward 20 years and I was discovering the dynamics of the web as a two-way communication tool with social media. I was advising my radio clients the benefits of content marketing and sharing my own personal success stories.
Now I have success stories to both traditional media with news/talk 1190 WOWO radio and using some of the Federated Media Digital Solutions my company offers. It’s due to both my personal habits and professional successes working with advertising partners that I am biased. I believe in what I offer because I know it works.
Here’s how I also offer an objective opinion. I study and learn about the other options you have to advertise and market your services and products. I spent several years on the Board of Directors for the American Advertising Federation and more recently I have cultivated relationships with others that sell other advertising media to be able to make recommendations beyond what I can offer.
Here’s a homework assignment for you the next time someone wants to sell you something…
Ask them why they are biased towards the product/service they want you to buy. Do they have a good reason for that bias or is it just a paycheck?
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