Month: February 2013

What Are You Saying in Your Sioux Falls Radio Advertising?

/ Duane Christensen

I live, work, and play in Sioux Falls. Usually, I listen to the radio for the music, the sports talk, or the news talk. Mostly the music. But once in a while I scan all the radio stations I can tune in… and listen to the radio ads. Because I’m a geek, I know. But you gotta know what’s out there, right?

Radio Advertising What You Say

Image courtesy of “stockimages” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Anyway, I realized that there are a lot of businesses being under-served. They need help. They’re being sold “radio” instead of being offered a way to grow their business – a way for their advertising to actually work. Can you imagine if you KNEW that your radio advertising was working for you? Instead of just thinking of it as a necessary evil. Wouldn’t that be nice.

The way to make it work is to FIRST take what you “think” radio advertising should sound like… crumple that up into a ball… throw it on the ground… and grind that into oblivion. Then burn it. There is a lot of radio advertising out there where I can pretty much guarantee that it’s a big waste of money. All because you’re not saying the right things in your ads. You’re not saying anything worth listening too.

People aren’t listening to radio ads like I do. Remember, I’m the geek that purposefully listens intensely to advertising – nobody else does that. You need to say something that inspires, is creative, tells a story, shares new valuable information in an understandable way, is authentic, or makes people smile… or all of the above.

When you say something worthy in your radio advertising in and around Sioux Falls… you’ll be shocked at what it can do. I’d name off all of the things I hear in ads that is utter nonsense and completely snooze inducing, but the list is too long.

How would your best customer sell someone on your products, services, your employees, or your company as a whole? Start there. Or call me. I’d love to talk about your local advertising woes… and help you out.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog

Results Radio Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls

https://siouxfallsradioadvertising.com/

Need more small business advertising advice? You could try this: Small Business Advertising Kapow

Take A Bigger Slice, Local Advertising: You’re Doing It Wrong (Amazon book reviews)

/ Duane Christensen

Here’s the latest review on “Take a Bigger Slice”. Very niiiicccce. Thanks a bunch! …

“…BUT…if you want a CHEAP guide to not only breathing new life into your small business, but watching it thrive…buy Duane’s book NOW! Don’t misunderstand me though…’cheap’ only refers to the small price you pay for this book. The contents inside are anything but. Honestly, you could spend 50 times what Duane is asking on other so-called “small business marketing” books. Or you can just buy this one book and start making waves with your business NOW. Duane doesn’t use bloated industry jargon to try to sound like some larger-than-life guru. He’s not out to impress. He’s out to help you grow your small business. You can tell he loves what he does…and he loves helping people. Don’t hesitate to get this book. It may just end up being the best money you’ve ever spent on your business.”

Here’s a link to see some others if you’re still not convinced that 4.99 is a pretty sweet deal for this 100+ page e-book…

Take A Bigger Slice, Local Advertising: You’re Doing It Wrong book reviews

Duane Christensen

http://smallbusinessadvertisingkapow.com/

Small Business Advertising: Butts in Seats

/ Duane Christensen / 1 Comment

What’s the purpose of local advertising?

To put “butts in seats”.

Like David Ogilvy said, “If it doesn’t sell, it’s not creative.”

Photo courtesy of "Sura Nualpradid" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Photo courtesy of “Sura Nualpradid” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So, the point here today is that you can be as funny or creative as you want in advertising…but if it doesn’t move the needle for your business…why bother? Being creative in advertising is important because you find new angles to use in advertising your company. You make people think differently about you and help them come to the conclusion that you’d be a trusted choice when they need what you sell.

But you need to make sure your creativity is helping to drive your main point home. Don’t be creative for the sake of being creative… be creative to help prospects understand how you’re different. You take a point of difference (how you’re different from your competition) and you exaggerate the hell out of that difference.

You don’t have a lot of ad dollars to waste, right? So, make sure the message of your radio ads (or any ads) are “putting butts in seats”. Make sure your ads have the ability to make an impact. Will they be remembered when your prospect needs you 3 to 6 months from now? And figure out HOW you want people to think of you…when they see or hear the name of your business. When you know what you’d like to be branded as… then take the steps to make that happen. It’ll help you put “butts in seats” consistently and for the long haul. Not just for your next 2-Day Mega Sale.

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls, SD

Home

…

Your Customers Don’t Care About You

/ Duane Christensen

An excerpt from my book, “Take a Bigger Slice – Local Advertising: You’re Doing It Wrong”

People don’t care about you or your business. They care about their own well-being long before yours. They care about how your product or service can HELP them.

You might say, “I have customers who are LOYAL to me!” But dogs are loyal too, until you start abusing them.

Image courtesy of "Felixco, Inc." / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “Felixco, Inc.” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It’s really not loyalty; you just have customers who are currently happy with you. CURRENTLY. As soon as your service or product starts lacking, they’ll find somewhere else to go. Or as soon as they find a company who treats them better or gives them more value (or perceived value), they’ll switch. Your customers only care about solving a problem THEY have, or improving the quality of THEIR life. But you always have to make them feel like they received a good value – that their money was well spent.

Your marketing and advertising success depends upon loving your customers.

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls, SD

Home

Will You Be Missed?

/ Duane Christensen

I had a great meeting with the lead pastor of a local Sioux Falls church recently.

One thing he said will stick with me for a long time. He said…

“We asked ourselves, if our church was gone tomorrow, would we be missed? Would anybody in the community notice?” 

Image courtesy of "Michelle Meiklejohn" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “Michelle Meiklejohn” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Whoa. That’s powerful. What a great question to ask yourself.

He was asking me about radio advertising. I feel that we hit it off. I’m going to enjoy working with these people.

He said six years ago they decided to change what they were about. They wanted to make a difference in our community. They wanted to help the children and people of Sioux Falls to make this a better place. So, now they ask, “What do you need?” And then, they put their thinking caps on to see how they can fill that need. It was an inspirational meeting for me. These are good people. People who want to make a difference.

Do YOU want to make a difference? It doesn’t have to be something colossal. Start small. Volunteer. Mentor. Help a friend. If we all did one small thing to help our community on a consistent basis, imagine what that would look like.

I love working with businesses, business owners, and non-profits who want to help people and provide products and services that will improve their customers’ lives…or take away their customers’ pain. In fact, I seek out those good people. It’s not about the money. It’s about making a difference. If I can help good, honest people help more people (their customers), then I’m a happy man.

This church is doing so many wonderful things in our community. If they were gone tomorrow…they WOULD be missed.

I also have current radio clients who help the community. They sponsor worthy charities. They do a little something extra. They have good hearts. They take extra time out of their lives to help others. I know we feel like there’s not enough time in the day sometimes…but we have to make time. It’s worth it.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Workin’ for: Results Radio Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls

605-940-7984

https://siouxfallsradioadvertising.com/

 

…

I’m a passionate radio and marketing guy at Results Radio Townsquare Media in Sioux Falls. If there’s anything I can help you with, just give me a shout. 🙂

The Cheapest Advertising

/ Duane Christensen
Cheap Advertising

Image courtesy of “Stuart Miles” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The cheapest advertising…is still a waste of money if you don’t get any benefits from it. The cheapest radio advertising…is still a waste of money if it doesn’t work.

I’ve had plenty of business owners want to meet with me…and they say, “What kind of deals do you have?” They’ve been trained by advertising executives and salespeople to ask that question. And that’s because most ad people have nothing else to offer except, “deals”, “packages”, rankings, etc. Nobody asks the tough question. “How will we make this work?”

The local advertising playing field is filled with “joes” and “janes” who think that what they sell is their advertising medium. They’re thinking about getting that next sale for themselves and keeping their Sales Manager happy. They fail to focus on creating ads that will actually work…hence making the customer happy…and buying from them again and again and again.

Why not do it right the first time? Hey Ad Sales people… Why not figure out how to best help your advertising client attract new, profitable customers. They’ll love you for it!

And for you business owners… start thinking RESULTS… not how cheap or flashy an advertising package might be. Yes, there are people out there who know what I’m talking about. And if you can’t find anyone in your area…give me a shout. I’d love to help out or point you in the right direction.

I think it was Brian Tracy who said, “You can always find something cheaper…if you’re willing to take that risk.”

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls, SD

Home

A Story About Tracking Your Marketing Efforts

/ Duane Christensen

I whipped my phone out and searched for All Tune & Lube in Sioux Falls (because they’re my “go-to” people for anything car repair-related). I needed to set up an appointment for new tires. And I didn’t have their phone number in my phone…and I couldn’t remember the number even though I’d called it many times before. Getting old I guess. The info I needed came up on Google after I typed in “All Tune & Lube Sioux Falls”.

But the phone number didn’t seem familiar. I called. All Tune & Lube answered. I said, “Did you guys change your phone number?” They said No.

I’m assuming that they were doing some kind of tracking with that different phone number. Tracking their online calls.

Image courtesy of "Paul" / FreeDigitalPhotos.netMeasuring your return on your marketing isn't always as easy as you wish it would be.

Image courtesy of “Paul” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Measuring your return on your marketing isn’t always as easy as you wish it would be.

So, what’s going to happen here? They might “count me” as a customer who found them online. And then, they’ll think “online” is where they should put all of their marketing and advertising efforts??? Or maybe there’s an Internet marketing company who sold them an SEO package of some sort with a different phone number??? That’s great as long as they realize that their past customers who love them… may find that number online (like me). And that their past branding efforts have glued “All Tune & Lube” into their audience’s brain – so those people already know who they want to call.

Those people they had reached effectively with their radio campaign don’t have to type in “auto repair” into Google…they type “All Tune & Lube”. So, was it the past radio ad campaign that should get the credit? Or the expert service and above average customer service they received in the past? Or the word-of-mouth? Who knows. It should all work together when you’re marketing correctly. As long as they’re reading those online metrics properly…and my phone call isn’t being categorized as one more new “online prospect snagged”…I’m totally cool with it.

Maybe they are tracking the number of online calls versus Yellow page calls. Great. They’ll soon realize they should shift all or most of their Yellow budget into their SEO plan or something else.

If I owned my own local business… I wouldn’t care HOW people found me… just as long as they do. My tracking would be with my sales revenues. Or number of customers daily/weekly/quarterly. Or whatever best illustrated that I was attracting more new, smiling faces. But it would be over a matter of many months or even a year. Of course, since I know Radio Advertising can work wonders, I’d put most of my budget into radio. You may think I’m biased, but I’ve seen how it works. I’ve heard the feedback. I’ve seen the growth numbers. Shiny and new marketing efforts aren’t a substitute for tried and true.

Are there BAD radio advertising campaigns out there? Absolutely. Even a lot of the national radio ads I hear are completely missing the mark. That’s why you might want to work with yours truly. “Creative” is no substitute for “Selling”. I believe what David Ogilvy said, “It’s not creative if it doesn’t sell.” Your ads need to WORK…not just be something cutesy, funny, bizarre, or creative. But when Radio is done right…with the right message and strategy in place…prepare to be delighted with the results.

Radio is one of the only mass media advertising mediums where the audience is holding strong. Are some of those listeners also listening to Pandora and their iPods? You bet. But they’re also still listening to Radio. Around 90% of the population tune into their local radio stations consistently. And when you find a radio group who’s progressive, keeps enough live and local DJs in the booth, and constantly wonders how they can make a radio listener’s experience better…it’s a good group to go with. Hey…like us! I’m happy to be with a company who knows we have to stay relevant and change when we need to change.

Just be careful with your tracking and measuring. Don’t give something credit if it’s not deserving of the credit. I know you want to know absolutely, 100%, which advertising and marketing dollars are giving you the best return. But it’s not a simple thing to do. You could start by NOT dividing and spreading your ad budget around to so many different mediums. Then, you’ll never know which works well and which ones are just money thrown in the garbage. Start with one or two. Don’t sprinkle. “Own” the advertising medium you choose. Be there. Be there in force.

If you want to have an honest talk about local advertising, let me know. We won’t just talk about Radio…but how local advertising really works. And how we can make your local advertising efforts pay you back many times over. We’ll also talk about how you’ll plan to MEASURE your RESULTS.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog

Radio Marketing / Ad Writing / Sales

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls

605-940-7984