Ask The Right Questions

Ask The Right Questions

by | Oct 27, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

9 months is the usual length of time it takes a baby to develop from conception to being born.

During those 9 months, the new parents are preparing for the future, the changes that will be occurring in their lives, especially if they are first time parents.

While each pregnancy is unique, just as each of us human beings are unique, there are several predictable events and circumstances that will be occurring and we have plenty of wisdom from our family and friends along with healthcare and other experts.

You want to know what to expect when you are expecting?  You ask.  You ask the right questions to get the right answers. It’s pretty straight forward.

I’m going to apply this to the past 9 months or so.  We were a couple months into 2020 when we started hearing about what has become the Covid-19 Corona Virus Pandemic. At first we believed it would have a limited impact on a very small number of people in our country and most of us would live our lives as normal.

By April, multiple states had stay at home orders that closed down parts of the economy, led to panic buying of toilet paper and created something that nearly no one in business had ever lived thru before.  100 years ago was the last pandemic of this magnitude and even if a business has been around since that time, the actual people are no longer here to tell us what to do.

So questions were asked about the virus.  How serious is it?  What are the risk factors?  A great political divide was created over the precautions that we should be taking and all of this in the midst of a dozen other political and social battles.

We were learning as we went along and none of us wanted to deal with a deadly virus pandemic that would upend not just our physical health and well being but also mental health, business health, and the well being of our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors.

We also thought that the impact of the virus would be short-lived.  Weeks, not months.  Hopefully not years.

It all boils down to this.

Ask the right questions.

While we rely on the health care experts to work their butts off to find the answers and solutions to halting the spread of the virus and lessen the impact on individuals health, I challenge you to ask the right questions regarding the future of your business.

This fall as the weather changes in Indiana, local restaurants are closing for two reasons.

They can no longer offer outside dining spaces like they did in the warmer weather, so they have limited capacity for social distanced seating.

They are being impacted by people in the midst, either on staff or patrons who have tested positive for the virus which means everyone needs to get tested, the building is shut down and scrubbed clean and they lose even more money.

Here are some of the questions you need to ask yourself for the future of your business:

If the business environment with strict lock-down restrictions were to return and stay in place for all of 2021, how would you adapt the way you operate to provide goods and services to customers and be profitable?

What operating procedures have you changed this year that you will continue, even after the pandemic restrictions are eventually lifted?

What can you improve upon to provide goods and services in the months and years to come that benefit you, your customers and your employees?

What can you do to invite people to spend their money with you no matter what the future holds both health wise and politically?

I know, that last question is an advertising and marketing question.  All three questions are extremely important. In the near future I’ll help you with a refresher on timeless advertising and marketing principles. and in the meantime, if you need help evaluating those first two questions, reach out to me.

I started out talking about the 9 months of pregnancy that new parents go through in joyful expectation.  Believe it or not, even though 2020 has not been as predictable as the birth of a new baby, we are all going to be better in the long run, no matter how many months it takes.

 

[wd_hustle id="sound-advice-sign-up" type="embedded"]

Why WOWO is the Best Choice for Advertising (Part One)

Why WOWO is the Best Choice for Advertising (Part One)

by | Aug 18, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Today I’m kicking off an occasional series of Why WOWO Radio in Fort Wayne, Indiana is the Best Choice for Advertising Your Business. I am calling it an occasional series because, every few weeks I’ll add another article interspersed with the other articles I share each week on this website and the Genuine ScLoHo Media & Marketing Podcast.

While just this year I was named the General Sales Manager for WOWO radio, and this is my 7th year working for WOWO, I’ve been writing and publishing these stories and insights for over 15 years.  Pretty soon, I’ll have my 20th anniversary of returning to the media and marketing world in Fort Wayne after having worked in radio in Detroit and other places too.

Recently Marketing Charts.com published a story on the “Graying of America” that caught my attention. I’m a young Baby Boomer and for most of my life, I was part of the most sought after demographic for advertisers.  I was part of the Pepsi Generation.  Until I turned 55 that is.

See, in my work in advertising, the desired demographic was either the 18 to 34 year olds when the Baby Boomers were that age, and then more recently 25 to 54 year olds were the hot target market.

When the advertising guru’s followed the Boomers in to middle life with that initial switch, many of them forgot what they were chasing.  As the Boomers got older, the advertising people stayed with the 25-54 year olds which was foolish.

Why?

Because the age 55 and older people in America are not the same as their grandparents were when they were in their 60’s.  We didn’t turn into a bunch of grumpy old men and women sitting around playing checkers and reminiscing about the good old days.  We blew that stereotype sky-high.

Boomers have more money, more free time, more overall freedom and they’re not sitting around waiting to die.

Coupled with the misconception of what Boomer are doing, the advertising people ignored the fact that the younger generations are smaller.  That’s what this story from Marketing Charts dot com points out.

Over the past 10 years, since 2010 the number of pre-teens has been going down, so has the teenage population and college crowd.  There has been 11 percent growth in the 25 to 34 year olds, but less than 2% growth in the 35 to 44 age group.  45 to 54 year old population had a big loss of over 9% in the past decade. So if you are targeting your advertising to 25 to 54 year olds today, there are statistically fewer of them.  That mean less people to buy your stuff than a decade or two ago.

When you compare that with the growth of the older population…

55 to 64 year olds grew in size by over 15%; 65 to 74 year old grew by  almost 45%; and even the 75 and older crowd grew by more than 20% in the past decade.

Clearly the Baby Boomer population is still alive and kicking, and not just dying off.  Some Boomers parents are very active in their 80’s and 90’s.

WOWO Radio has been the most listened to radio station for adults age 25 and older for years and admittedly the biggest chunk of our listenership was age 50 and older.  But we’re not our grandparents.  We’re upgrading our lifestyles, socking it away for retirement one day and living longer, healthier lives than previous 50, 60, and 70 year olds were.

One more statistic I noticed this summer from our most recent ratings survey was that the WOWO Radio audience is becoming more diverse.  We are also getting younger listeners, those between the age of 25 and 50 have grown in the past year.  Another trend is the ratio of men and women listening to WOWO Radio.  We used to be 60% guys and 40% women 10 years ago.  Today it’s nearly 50/50.

Let’s wrap this up with a few more facts and figures from the Marketing Charts report.  Baby Boomers have more than 54% of the nations wealth, and if you add it the money from the next older generation, that’s where 75% of the buying power is in America.  These people are also the least affected by the fall out of COVID-19.   And these are the WOWO Radio listeners.

There you have it, Part One of Why WOWO is the Best Choice for Advertising.  Contact me to get started with a campaign to marketing your business.

 

[wd_hustle id="sound-advice-sign-up" type="embedded"]

Reboot Your Business

Reboot Your Business

by | Jun 23, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Do you remember at the end of 2019 how we thought it would be really cool to hear Barbara Walters welcome in the new year by saying,
“This is 2020”, the way she did for 25 years.

Little did we know what kind of year 2020 would be, not just in our own little worlds but the entire world.  I’ve seen friends ask if we can go back 6 months and do this over again, but the answer is no, we just need to ReBoot 2020 and your business given the circumstance we have now.

There are some big changes that have occurred in the way businesses operate and yet there are some things that haven’t really changed.

Some call it the differences between tactics and strategies. Wikipedia says:

The terms tactic and strategy are often confused: tactics are the actual means used to gain an objective, while strategy is the overall campaign plan.

In terms of rebooting your business, there are certain tactics that have changed, such as social distancing, or offering curbside pickup for your customers.  Meetings with clients now include video which was a bit on the controversial side 6 months ago or at least cutting edge.

What about the advertising and marketing?  Some of the patterns we saw 6 months ago are continuing while others are completely different.

Broadcasting, the world I work in has seen television’s model having to make some drastic changes while my radio world has been pretty stable for the listeners at least.

On the TV side, they halted production of the network shows and jumped to reruns or come up with a broadcast from home version of many shows which isn’t the same as before.  I don’t know if or when my favorite shows are returning to production.  Meanwhile at my radio station, WOWO in Fort Wayne, we implemented a couple of changes to accommodate our afternoon talk show host who has a weakened immune system due to the anti-rejection meds he is on after having kidney transplant surgery a few years ago.  Pat Miller broadcasts his show from his home every afternoon for the foreseeable future. The host of Fort Wayne’s Morning News on WOWO also did her show from home for 10 weeks since was pregnant with her firstborn.  Kayla did her show live every morning up until her water broke live while she was on the air.  We lined up 8 weeks of fill-in hosts while she is out, but everything on our station sounds normal.

As WOWO radio has experienced a big uptick in online listening as people were now listening from home on their smart speakers and looking at the stats, those numbers are still up there as the travel restrictions are being lifted.

The tactics of listening to WOWO shifted to more devices than just the traditional radio, but the strategy never changed.  We didn’t change our programming or anything like that.  Let’s see how we can apply that to your business moving forward.

Are you going to still provide the same basic services and products as you were before?  That’s the strategy.

Are you offering different or additional ways for consumers to receive your products and services?  That’s the tactics.

Also remember the timeless principles like honesty, fairness, under promise but over deliver. Keep your word and never stop inviting people to do business with you with advertising and marketing.

That’s how you can successfully ReBoot Your Business for the rest of 2020 and beyond.

[wd_hustle id="sound-advice-sign-up" type="embedded"]

More Than Price

More Than Price

by | Jun 2, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Breaking the Tie

Being different is sometimes all that is needed to break the tie.

In a retail world that’s changing faster than the speed of sound, it continues to be more difficult to stand out among the crowd. Regardless if you own a retail store or you have a business in a service or professional category, it’s imperative that you have a clear and compelling reason for consumers to choose you over your competitors. 

At this very moment, people have a need or a want to buy the products or services you sell. Their next decision is the all-important one. Where will they choose to buy and why?

First, let’s be honest.  For a certain percentage of people, price is all that matters, and you may or may not even be in the conversation.  But when price isn’t the only criteria, that’s when you have a shot.  Will it come down to a relationship, an emotional connection created from strong advertising, or a past experience, good or bad?

If you can’t compete on price, what platform or strategy can you compete on?

The key is getting people to know you and your business and know about your business BEFORE they need the products or services you sell.

Developing your tiebreaker, a consistent business strategy you can use to differentiate your business in your advertising and marketing, can be a challenging task but well worth the effort. 

Once you’ve clearly established your competitive difference (strategy), your challenge is to develop a unique and memorable way to consistently highlight that competitive tiebreaker.

If you would like help in creating your unique difference, click here to receive Ten Tiebreaking Strategies as thought-starters for this important exercise. If you would like additional help, contact me. 

What I just shared with you is from my Sound Advice Business and Marketing Tips newsletter that you can receive free in your email in-box nearly every Wednesday.  Just fill out the Sound Advice box below.

 

[wd_hustle id="sound-advice-sign-up" type="embedded"]
Are You The Come-Back Kid?

Are You The Come-Back Kid?

by | May 27, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

When I Googled Comeback Kid, I discovered that 40 years ago there was a movie staring Jon Ritter from the TV show Three’s Company and Susan Dey from the Partridge Family.  It was not what I was looking for.

The Comeback Kid is a label that is simply used to refer to someone who has overcome a pretty big obstacle.  Nearly everyone of us are in that situation right now. The obstacle part at least with the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down businesses or at least changing the way they operate. This summer is the beginning of the comeback.

For 2 or 3 months most of us have changed our routines and habits. My family has gotten used to doing our grocery shopping online and then pulling into the parking lot, popping open the trunk and driving home with a week or two’s worth of food.  We’ve gone from self scan checkouts and bagging our stuff to not having to touch it until we haul the bags from our cars and restock the frig.  Sure there are plenty of people who still shop in-person the way all of us did before the pandemic, but this new shopping experience has been a game changer.

And it’s not just food, but other stuff I have bought, the shopping experience is different.  I bought a new phone online and it was delivered to my home the next day.  Needed a cover for the phone so I placed my order online and they had curbside pick-up available for me in less than an hour.

Some of my advertising partners that have retail locations offered contact less shopping services and will continue to offer that along with the traditional shopping experiences.

So my friends, what is it going to take to make sure your business is a “comeback kid”?

You should have in place a way to accommodate both your customers and your employees.  This includes many of the ideas that have been offered during the shut-down such as remote working options.  One of my co-workers has become the Queen of Zoom.  She has become extremely productive because instead of driving back and forth to a 10am meeting with a potential client, she works from her home office.  Those meetings are also more focused she says and I’ve seen the results that she has had.  Are you offering some similar flexibility for your team if possible?

I urge you to do some bottom-up brainstorming, not just top-down rule setting.  Get the input of those people doing the work on how they can do their jobs better than before.

For the rest of 2020 and perhaps beyond, you cannot return to “business as usual” without losing some of your regular customers. I know there are people who think all the social distancing and wearing of masks is hogwash and others who will not set foot into your place unless they see that others are practicing safe shopping.  A friend of mine has taken a leave of absence from her coffee shop job because she also cares for an elderly family member and does not want to accidentally be a carrier of the virus.

Not everyone is going to have a comeback.  Some companies were on shaky ground before the shutdown and they will stay closed unless they reinvent themselves.

Actually reinventing yourself is one of the keys to becoming a successful comeback kid.

And it requires more than luck.  It takes wisdom, guidance and planning.

You also need to make sure your past, current and future potential customers are aware of your business and why they should spend their money with you.  That’s where I come in.  Wisdom, guidance and planning of your advertising and marketing is not something you want to turn over to just anyone.  Consider this an invitation to connect with me and my team will help you become the comeback kid everyone is talking about.  Who knows, they might make a movie about it one day.

[wd_hustle id="sound-advice-sign-up" type="embedded"]