Business Growth

Ain’t Nothin’ Easy

/ Duane Christensen

I was going through some old marketing notes… and found something that I had written down and tore out of a journal-type notebook. Jagged edges, scribbles on it, but nothing written about WHY I wrote it or WHERE it came from. But I’m going to share it with you in a moment.

Things are a little uncertain right now with the Covid-19 virus… but there are some businesses out there who are innovating and putting their thinking caps on. There are categories that are seeing an increase in business. BUT a lot of local businesses are either way down, barely breaking even, or losing money. Those business owners aren’t sleeping well. They’re wondering if they can pay their employees or even keep their doors open. They’re concerned for their families. Their future.

The anxiety is high in this group of small business owners. It’s taking its toll on them. If you know someone like this, just reach out to them and ask, “How are you?” Don’t be afraid of the answer, just get them talking. You CARE about them, so, don’t go silent when they need someone to listen and help them get a few things off their chest. They’ll appreciate you so much!

Ok, so here’s the chicken scratches I found in a pile of marketing notes the other day…….

Ain’t Nothin’ Easy when it comes to good marketing these days.

Sure it’s EASY to spend money.

It’s EASY to place an Ad buy.

It’s EASY to try out the newest social media marketing.

It’s EASY to buy some ads on the new radio station, or the new billboard, the new bus bench, the new magazine, the new TV show, and on and on.

But it’s HARD to make advertising work. It’s hard and time-consuming to figure out what to say to consumers that will change perceptions and move them closer to buying from YOU and not from your competition.

Seth Godin said, “You’re going to need to go uphill in order to go downhill. The hard work is digging deeper than usual on the uphills – that’s the best chance you have to earn a downhill later.”

Making your marketing WORK… requires YOU to dig deeper.

Making your marketing WORK… requires YOUR MARKETING PERSON to dig deeper.

AND AT TIMES LIKE THIS… digging deeper is critical. It could possibly be life or death for your business.

At 9 Yards Marketing, we don’t specialize in selling you radio, we specialize in making your radio advertising work. And keep working. And keeping your business growing. That’s what we do. Whether you need us NOW… or a few months from now, we’re ready to dig deep.

In the meantime, I would recommend that you find a few people to chat with about your situation. People who might not even always agree with you… but you appreciate their different perspective, ideas, creativity, opinions, etc. People who aren’t afraid to challenge you and make you DIG DEEPER…

…….

…….

……..

…….

Cuz the future could quite possibly be brighter than we could have ever imagined….

Duane Christensen

9 Yards Marketing

Sioux Falls, SD

duane@9yards-marketing.com

Local Marketing When You Have Ample Competition

/ Duane Christensen / 1 Comment

advertising and marketing sioux falls

It’s the week that two more Sioux Falls restaurants are closing.  It’s possibly some evidence that they could have used a good radio advertising campaign, eh?  I never heard one from either of them.  Actually, they needed a good marketing consultant.  Someone who could be trusted to give them the honest truth – good or bad.  The truth that their customer service or their menus needed a bit of improving.  They needed someone to consistently be their 2nd set of eyes.  Every business needs that. 

First of all, there are about 17 billion restaurants in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  You almost need an act of God to make it last.  But I don’t want this blog post to be specifically about restaurants.  It’s about those who have a pack of wild dog competitors… all fighting over the same pie.  

ANY BUSINESS with ample competition, could benefit greatly from a long-term, consistent radio campaign.

I think of the dentist that I’m working with to eventually get them advertising on the Radio.  (There are almost as many dentists as restaurants, I think.)  As I was gathering some information and doing my research, I noticed this dentist had about 10 Google reviews.  4 of those reviews were terrible. Like BAD BAD.  I brought it up to them.  I advised that they fixed whatever issue was going on, and start burying those bad reviews with good reviews before they started their radio advertising.  I didn’t want people who heard the radio ads to then find their phone number and location on Google, and have their poor “review star average” sabotage the radio campaign right from the start. 

When you have a lot of competition, everything needs to be pumping on all cylinders, otherwise you’ll fall hard and fast.  If we had started their radio ads too soon, it would have only brought more eyeballs to their bad reviews, helping them to eventually go out of business.

Let’s pretend you have all your ducks in a row, and are ready to get going with a better marketing plan…

The easy part is to set your budget annually for your radio campaign.  Radio’s superpower is unleashed when you schedule your ads 36 to 52 weeks per year.  We’re BRANDING here.  We want to stamp your business name onto the brains of consumers.  When they need what you sell… we want them to think of YOU.

I can make this work for you.  Period.  If you’ll give me the time to do some digging and get to the bottom of what you do best, how you do it best, and how your best customers feel about you… I can help you make the next year and beyond… better than you’ve ever experienced.  Especially, if you’re frustrated with marketing and advertising.  There are so many choices out there!  And they all try to make you believe that you MUST buy advertising on their medium.  It’s not true.  You can’t do it all.  You can’t afford it.  Especially, when most of it doesn’t work.

When you focus your advertising efforts on just a couple of things (instead of dozens), then you give yourself a chance to succeed.  When you run a business that sells products or services to the masses… then, mass media is where you should put the big part of your budget.  And when Radio reaches 90%+ of people, doesn’t that sound like a great place to start?

I mentioned the easy part was setting your ad budget annually, and starting a 36 to 52-week radio campaign (depending on the competitive landscape).  The harder part of your “advertising success equation” is the creation of Ads that actually work.  It’s the harder part because it’s the most important part.

Your ads can’t sound like every other ad.  Your ads can’t sound like a newspaper ad read into a microphone.  There are a bunch of ways to do advertising the wrong way, but only a few ways to do it the RIGHT WAY.  Radio is for entertainment.  So, your ads need to have an “entertainment factor” included in them.  They also need to hit the emotional hot buttons of your potential new customers.  If you remember that your ads are NOT ABOUT YOU, but about your customers… that’s one of the most valuable lessons you can learn about marketing.

Whether you’re a restaurant, a plumber, a mattress store, an auto dealer, a roofer, a medical center, etc., you need to talk to the needs of your potential new customer.  Make them feel something.  Make them feel comfortable with you before they even meet you.  Increase their trust in you.  Decrease their risk of doing business with you.  Make them feel at ease.  Cause them to LIKE you.  Cause their eyebrows to raise a bit by something you share with them.  All you’re trying to do is make friends with new people.  And one of the best ways to do that in your radio ads, is to tell them stories, be vulnerable, be transparent, be funny, be honest, and talk to them about the things they care about.  Most importantly, be human.  Don’t be an annoying salesperson in your ads.

Because when your ads sound like “ads”… people ignore them.  They don’t even know they’re doing it.  Our brains do it for us.  Automatically.  

Another way to break down some barriers and increase the “trust factor” is to have someone from your business be the “voice” in your ads.  Either the business owner or manager, preferably.  Let me explain something first about how our brains interact with “ads”.  Your brain filters out things that you don’t need.  It scans your environment for relevant items.  It tells you to ignore irrelevant ones.  And advertising is usually in the irrelevant category.  But your advertising can sidestep a brain’s “gatekeeper” by not sounding like typical advertising. 

By voicing parts of your own radio ads, it provides a built-in level of trust that will speed up your radio advertising success.  Wouldn’t you agree?  Who would a consumer potentially trust more?  A “radio voiceover person” who has nothing to do with your business and is just reading the script that they were given… or someone from your business?

Are you thinking… who the heck is going to write my radio ads?!

I am.  It’s what I’m trained to do here at Results Radio. 

We’re constantly learning and training on how to make your advertising work.  And the #1 “making it work” factor is the writing of your radio scripts.  It’s what I love to do.  Once we have the strategy figured out… and the direction you’d like to go… then we grease up the wheels and hit the Start button.

It’s exciting.  And then, it’s not.  Because you want your advertising to be like a switch you flip On and Off.  But remember… you’re branding.  Radio’s superpower is getting people to remember you first when they need what you sell.  And getting your business name (and what you stand for) stamped onto consumers’ brains… takes some time.

You need to give your radio advertising campaign at least 3 to 6 months for the ball to start rolling a little easier (Depending on the purchase cycle time for your product or service).  Not that you won’t get some people acting right away because of the ads that they heard… but the majority of your new customers will come later.  Building trust takes time.  Making new friends takes some time.  You’re planting seeds.  And that seed needs a time to mature.  And then, once harvest time comes… it gets exciting again. 

When you do this right, your competition will know something is happening.  You’ll be taking a bigger slice of the pie.  Their slice.  And that’s good… because you’ll be treating your new customers better than anyone else could.  Right?  Right.  And when that happens, you’ll be on your way to some pretty eye-opening growth.  Growth that you’ve been seeking, but couldn’t find.  Until you discovered the power of sound in your advertising.  The power of good radio.

Ready?    

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls, SD

605-940-7984

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

Record Month!

/ Duane Christensen / 1 Comment

Radio Advertising Success

No… not me.

Even better… it’s one of my clients who had a record month!

And the best part, they give credit to the Radio advertising they do with me.

But it wasn’t that way in the beginning.  I remember weekly conversations.  One week radio rocks.  The next week it sucks donkey.  Cancel.  No, double my schedule.

And all through their growing pains, I kept preaching, “This is going to take a little time. You’re on the right track, but be patient.  You’re in a long-term purchase cycle industry.  We just have to keep saying it better than your competitors do.  You’ll start earning trust with more and more people in time.  We need to let your strategy sink into people’s brains. Patience, grasshopper.  Give this ball a chance to start gaining momentum.”

This client also isn’t afraid to put a few dollars out there.  They had to.  They have a massive amount of competition in Sioux Falls.

Uff Da.  There were a lot of times it was stressful and frustrating for me.  They would threaten to cancel or reduce their radio schedules every other week.  But I had faith.  Faith in our radio stations and faith in the strategy and ads that we were sharing with a whole bunch of people every single day.  I knew it was just a matter of time until there was a tipping point.

So, how does this happen?  What kind of ads work?  Why radio?  How much should someone spend on advertising?

The owner was courageous.  He wanted to “say it different” in the ads.  He wanted to be bold and shock people a little bit.  Those are the best kinds of business owners when it comes to creating a radio campaign.  Too many want to “water down” their message and make sure it doesn’t offend anyone and make it sound just like every other ad.

The radio ads were sincere.  The owner voiced most of the ads.  Or parts of them.  The ads had headlines that make people stop what they’re doing… and listen.  This was retail, and we knew their business had a better product to offer consumers.  All we had to do was gain their trust.  But it took time because the industry was full of big national brands pushing their fluff all over every media outlet… for decades.

My client started focusing ad dollars where they knew it was making an impact.  Radio was at the top of the list.  So, now, instead of spreading marketing dollars across dozens of media choices, they put their dollars into what they knew was working.  And then, they weren’t overspending either.  Now, they just needed to be patient and let their ad message start sinking into more people’s brains.

The ads never say anything like, “for all your ________ needs.”  They never say anything cliché that goes in one ear and out the other.  Each line in their ads has the power to make people reconsider where they were going to make their next purchase.  There is no wasted ad time.  No fluff or filler, just to make sure the ad timed out correctly.  Stories were told, testimonials were included intermittently, and the same overall strategy was kept throughout the campaign.  And guess what… there’s no phone number or website address given in the ads.  Ever.

Because of deep competition, my client needed to have enough “share of voice” in the market.  Meaning, they had to have enough ads on each radio station, so they weren’t drowned out by their competition.  They couldn’t just trickle a few ads here and there to the radio audiences.  They needed to start “owning” mindshare.  And they needed to be in people’s ears frequently and consistently.

A 52-weeks per year radio schedule was crucial to making this record month come to fruition.  We needed enough radio ads getting attention and making a positive impact with people each and every week.  And we needed to keep the radio ads fresh.  The longest any ad has ever aired was 3 weeks.  Sometimes, an ad would run for a week and we’d get a better idea and freshen it up.  Sometimes an ad would be so impactful, we knew it wouldn’t have to run as long or would “burn out” with people fast.  If we let it run longer, it would start annoying listeners.  So, we switch it out with a different ad that came at listeners from a different angle of some sort.  We had to keep telling their story in different ways because not everyone responds the same way to every ad.

This is highly competitive retail.  So, the ad spend was upwards of 20% of revenues when they were spending the most.  But once they “dialed in” that Radio was the best generator of new customers, they scaled back spending to between 10 and 12% of revenues.

They have a lot of market share to continue to gain, so, I’m predicting many more record months coming for them over the next couple of years.  It’s going to be exciting to watch it all unfold.

If you want your advertising to make an impact, you have to be passionate about it.  You can’t just throw some dollars to the media wind, and hope something sticks.  You need to be active in your marketing efforts.  I know you wish you could just insert your ad dollars into a vending machine and automatically get a decent return on that investment.  Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.  And if you think it should… you’ll have a really frustrating and unfruitful journey in regards to trying to attract new customers.

If you’d like to discuss how this works in further detail, just give me a shout.  I love helping good, local businesses who love their customers!

Thank you.

Duane Christensen

Results Radio | Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

605-940-7984

Radio Sales

 

 

Are Objections Getting in the Way of your Sale?

/ Duane Christensen / 1 Comment

Sales Objections

Image courtesy of “phanlop88” / freedigitalphotos.net

Overcoming Objections.

Is that the goal?  Are you sure?

I’m writing about this because I’m in Sales. I’m also in Advertising and Marketing – which is more Sales.  You are in sales in some way.  Have you been “taught” things about the science of selling?  Some sales education includes the topic of Objections.  It’s about anticipating objections – and then knowing how to precisely respond to those objections.

What do YOU think about anticipating objections?

I think that kind of thinking is backwards (or sideways?).  I believe that we’re encountered by objections because we’re thinking too much about them. Or thinking about them, period.  “What if they say this…what if they say that?”  Worry, worry, worry.  Why worry about what might happen?  What will happen…will happen.  But YOU control what will happen.

Keeping on the subject of Objections…my solution to overcoming objections is to KNOW as much as you want to know about what you are offering (selling).  When an objection comes up from someone you’re selling – you can either automatically answer the question honestly because of your knowledge of the subject, or you can bumble and attempt to lie your way through an answer, or you could honestly say you don’t know but you’ll find out, or you can agree with them that maybe your solution isn’t their solution.  It is what it is.

Why force a sale?  Just be a potential solution…or don’t be.  It doesn’t matter if you’re not someone’s specific solution to their troubles.  All you do then is find someone else who might be.  And then, maybe their objections are answered easily and clearly, and you’ve just become someone’s solution to their problem, and all is well, and you’ve made a sale.  You’ll make more harmonious sales when you just be what you are.  And if you’re honestly NOT a very good solution to your prospects’ problems…then there’s a “cross in the wires” and you’ll never have a fulfilling or successful career in what you’re doing.

I handle objections by being completely honest.  Could someone maybe “wow” a potential new customer better than me in a certain situation?  You bet.  But I’m not worried about wowing a prospect like they were hit with a beam of light from the heavens.  All I want to do is be a good person and allow them to see and feel that I have their best interests at heart.

Don’t stress about sales.  If sales will come they will come.  You just have to be set up properly to allow for it.  Are you helping people?  Are you passionate about it?  Do you want to help more people?  Then you will.  If you want something for nothing…sorry, you’re screwed.  If you want to know the precise response to every objection to your sales attempt, then all you need to do, is know as much as possible (or as much as you want) about what you sell and how it helps people create a better life for themselves.  But don’t ever want a precisely measured and memorized response to an objection.  Your response will be a little different every time.  But the meaning and the idea of your response will be the same.  The more you know, the more you won’t have to even give a second thought to objections and potential objections.

I’ve gone through massive amounts of stress due to my sales and marketing career.  I’ve been up, down, and all around.  I’ve learned that laziness will bring you exactly what you fear it will bring you.  I’ve learned that going after something in which I’m not “all in” will produce no fruit (or very little).  I’ve learned there are not cheats to getting what I ultimately want.  I’ve learned that sales does not have to be stressful.  I’ve learned that money and “things” doesn’t create a happy life.  Whoa…I may have got off track…

So, I don’t even THINK about what a potential new customer might object to.  I either know everything I need to know about what I’m offering…or I don’t.

You may say a salesperson should have a “sales bible” or scripts or a list of questions, objections, and responses.  I will always disagree with you.  And I’ll be a happier salesperson.  Neener neener neener.

But don’t sell for someone else.  Sell for YOU because it helps people live a better life or it takes away some kind of distress in their life.  If you WANT to help more people with your “solutions”…you will.

**** Know your craft.  Know what problems you solve.  And stop worrying.  Just be. ****

I have no idea why I wrote this – except for maybe I feel that one budding salesperson could read it and be inspired. Or maybe a struggling salesperson will read it and decide that Sales isn’t for him or her… and move on to a more fitting profession that will ultimately make them happier.  Isn’t that all we want?  To be happy?

Have a groovy day.  : )

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog

Duane Christensen

(Assistant bacon manager at Results Radio Townsquare Media)

Radio Advertising’s Superpower: What Can It Do For You?

/ Duane Christensen / 1 Comment

radio advertising

Image courtesy of “vectorolie” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Radio advertising’s superpower is long-term branding for a business. When a local Sioux Falls business wants to build a brand, be remembered, and reach a lot of people, there is nothing better than a good, consistent radio advertising campaign. Warning: You can’t release just any kind of radio ads out into the world…it has to be well-thought-out and strategic (which is our specialty). So, what can a consistent radio advertising plan do for you? Let’s get right to it. You like lists, right?

1) Awareness of your business. You become a choice to those who didn’t know about you.

2) Change perceptions about your business, service, or product…where perceptions need to be changed. Which will allow you to attract more customers and increase your sales. Duh, right?

3) Cause people to remember certain words or phrases when they need what you sell. And we anchor those words or phrases to your business name…so they contact YOU instead of a competitor.

4) Cause people to “FEEL” and “SEE” what it would be like if they were your customer. Get them to like you before they have ever bought from you.

5) Brand your business. When people think about, hear, or see your name, they KNOW WHAT YOU STAND FOR (or against)…and they feel good about that. Which immensely increases the chance YOU will be the business they choose to BUY from.

With all of the above 5 things cranking, you then get…

6) Consistent business growth. By consistently saying the right things to a whole bunch of people, you’ll keep attracting new faces. So, if you treat people right, and keep most of your current customers…your sales will continue to grow. You won’t have to wonder “how are we going to make some extra sales this month?” You won’t have to discount your services or slash prices of your products to get new business. You’ll be attracting the profitable people – not the wishy-washy ones who have to get everything on sale.

This stuff works. I have clients who’d love to tell you about it.

Let me know if you’d like to talk with me about marketing your business in the Sioux Falls area.

Radio advertising has received a bad rap by a lot of business owners. But only because they didn’t do it right. They didn’t understand radio’s superpower. And the advertising people they talked to in the past…didn’t understand how to unleash radio advertising’s superpower.

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls  SD

605-940-7984

duanechristensen.townsquareinteractive.com

Cost of Radio Advertising

/ Duane Christensen / 1 Comment

Cost of radio advertising.

That’s a search engine term that gets typed into Google or other search engines quite a bit when someone is curious about radio advertising. When I talk to people, they usually just want a ballpark figure. I can answer that question for them. But I like to talk about a few other things with them first.

My Dad had some great crops this year. And I know what he invested to prepare the soil for a good return. The fertilizer, the field work, the expensive tiling in the wet fields, etc. It adds up to a big number. But all of that is paying him back far more than if he didn't make those investments on his farm. Photo by Duane Christensen

My Dad had some great crops this year. And I know what he invested to prepare the soil for a good return. The fertilizer, the field work, the expensive tiling in the wet fields, etc. It adds up to a big number. But all of that is paying him back far more than if he didn’t make those investments on his farm. He’s learned over the years…that it matters.
Are you investing in YOUR growth?
Photo by Duane Christensen

Would you like your advertising to work?

Duh, right? But we need to address HOW that can happen before you get too jittery about what advertising costs. Because when advertising doesn’t work…isn’t that the most expensive?

The HOW…put simply…is say something that’s worth listening to in your radio advertising. That might not be easy to do for you. But I know someone who loves to do that – who does it for a living. Wink wink.

So, back to the cost. You might be hesitant. You may be really nervous to part with your hard-earned money for advertising. I understand that. You’d be considered careless if you didn’t worry about that. But investing in growth is important for your survival. There are always going to be competitors who want YOUR customers – who want those new customers just as bad as you do. They’re scratching and clawing to get ahead.

You may be thinking ahead to next year. “What if my business doesn’t grow next year? How will I pay my employees? How will I make a profit? How will I pay my overhead?” Please don’t compare your Sioux Falls business to the national scene. We’re in pretty good shape in Sioux Falls. Big things are happening. People continue to move into town. It’s just a great place to be right now!

Investing in your business growth is the best thing you can decide to do. And I can help you do that. You’re saying, “WHAT…with radio? Why should I?” Yes…with radio. But the “radio” isn’t the magic that gives you your return on investment. Well, not all of it anyway. Yes, Radio is still listened to by over 90% of the population. Pandora, online, satellite, etc. hasn’t had much effect on the number of “real radio” listeners. Especially, at the Results Radio Townsquare Media radio stations (8 of them). More live DJs, great music, fun promotions, and local news keeps our listeners pretty dang happy.

The magic of your advertising results comes from what we say to your potential new customers in your radio ads. Yes, the magic is in “what we SAY” in your ads. You may buy the cheapest radio, magazine ad, TV spots, online ads, etc., but if you’re not connecting with your prospects and helping them choose YOU, then those cheap ads are the most expensive ads you could buy.

I don’t ask you to buy first…and THEN hopefully come up with some good ideas and ads for you. I want to show you my ideas and strategies for you FIRST. And then, when we’ve decided that we’re on the right track and that it will WORK…then you can buy your ads. But only before you’re happy with what I come up with and never before you trust me and have confidence in me.

When you’re ready to invest in your growth and your future, I’d love to talk with you about it. There are smart ways to advertise…and there are haphazard, “shoot from the hip” ways to advertise. Which would you prefer?

Call or email. Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media rep

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

605-940-7984

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

I write this blog on behalf of my sales and marketing career at Results Radio Townsquare Media. My goal: Help more local business owners get more for their advertising buck…and be thrilled with the results.

Better Ads = More Buying Power

/ Duane Christensen

You want to advertise, but you also want to invest WISELY.

Let me help you spend your money. Just kidding. Let’s help you get MORE for your advertising investment, eh?

Here’s how this works.

Let’s say you were going to hire an AVERAGE or below average advertising person. They’ll gladly take your money…and then sloppily put together some ad with no idea about whether that ad might work or not. OR they’ll tell you that you have to air 42 ads a week regardless of your type of business or your local competitive situation. You’ll end up spending more money…and getting less in return if you go with this option.

What’s the other way to go? You can have better ads (or commercials – whatever you want to call them) When you have better ads and a better overall strategy fueling your ads, then you don’t have to BUY as many ads to air each week. Seriously. I’m not makin’ this crap up!

When you’re actual advertising message “hits the mark” with your targeted prospects better…then they have more impact. Here’s a totally made up scenario…

You’re told that you have to buy a lot of ads to make it work. So, you buy 45 ads a week. The ad itself is nothing special. But you’re “getting your name out there”, right? You’re disappointed with the results.

Then, you decide to do it better. You call me. We talk. You understand how advertising works a lot more just because we had a 20-minute conversation. You’re a bit more optimistic, hopeful, or maybe even excited now. I put a plan together for you. Instead of 45 ads a week on the radio per radio station, I suggest 24 to 30. Then, I come up with a better ad. Or series of ads. And then those ads start working. They’ll start working when a lot of thought is put into the plan in the beginning. There’s a foundation at the heart of it that will allow everything to work better, faster, and just plain WORK!

So, I’m not only going to be able to save you money initially, but you should be MAKING more because the advertising you’re doing with me and Results Radio will be pulling in more profitable customers to you. Then, all you have to do is make those customers happy and tell a few people about you…and Boom things start really crankin’ for you. Life is good!

With the money you’re saving initially on fewer ads each week…you could probably advertise on a 2nd radio station for the same money that the “average” ad person would have proposed!

Image courtesy of "stockimages" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “stockimages” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
MORE BUYING POWER!

Do you understand now that BETTER ADS WILL GIVE YOU MORE BUYING POWER?

BUT…none of that has a chance to become reality until you call me for an initial 20-minute conversation. Maybe it’s over coffee. Maybe it’s in our cozy little library at Results Radio. Maybe it’s in our top-secret brainstorming room with cushy, colorful chairs.

I’m a nerd about this stuff. I’m YOUR nerd…if you’ll have me. Let’s chat. I’d love to help out! I’d like to help you reach your business goals. What? You don’t have any? You should get some, because then you can get excited when you reach them. What’s your Sioux Falls or surrounding area market potential? Can you double your revenues? Triple them? Set some goals. I want to help you reach them.

Thanks for reading. Have a groovy day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media (8-station radio group)

Sioux Falls

605-940-7984

Let me add a little disclaimer here. Not every situation is the same, but this is a pretty frequent scenario I just talked about. And no, not every ad person will help waste your money faster. But I’ve seen too many who do not have your best interest at heart…or not have the knowledge to make your advertising work for you.

Who’s The Big Dog?

/ Duane Christensen

Who’s The Big Dog?

Image courtesy of "Photokanok" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “Photokanok” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Would you like to take a bite out of the big dog’s market share? If you want to grow…that’s where you’ll most likely have to steal customers.

Are you saying to yourself, “Why would I want to steal customers?”

Well…that’s where your growth comes from. People are already using someone else to get the services or products you provide. But not all of those consumers are happy with who they’re doing business with. That’s where YOU come in.

You need to be more appealing to them. You need to offer something better. You need to treat them better. Ya know? Good customer service? Yeah, it’s important. Putting your employees on auto-pilot and free rein to act however they wish…isn’t a good plan. If you’re going to chop down the “big dog” a little bit…you’re going to have to perform better – in every aspect within your business.

THEN…you need to tell people about it. That’s where your radio advertising comes in. It’s easy to just spend some money on advertising and watch it NOT work. That’s a piece ‘a cake. The hard part is making your advertising WORK. Especially if you have a big dog in your industry who is “top of mind” in Sioux Falls (or wherever you are).

So, if that’s the case, you’ll probably have to run more than 3 radio spots per day. We’ll be looking at possibly 4, 5, or 6 radio ads per day. There’s not one formula that’s going to work best for everyone. You have to take into account your competitive situation – or your “big dog” situation.

And if you’re already one of the bigger dogs, then you have to be aware that you’ll have competitors who want to take a piece of YOUR pie. So, you’ll want to at least protect that share with a good ad strategy. And Radio is one of the best places to do that.

You’ll need to set yourself apart from your competition. You need a strategy that lets people know how you’re DIFFERENT. And how you’re able to make their life better by choosing YOU. It’s more than just “running radio ads”. We’ll help you come up with a differentiating strategy. We’ll help you come up with a series of radio commercials that can start “sticking” into people’s minds. And radio does that best when you insert EMOTION into your radio ads. You will need to connect with potential new customers on more than a logical level. You need to push some of those emotional hot buttons and get people to remember you and feel good about you when they need what you offer.

When you buy any kind of advertising…if you’re not told any of this, then you should be wary. You might be told that just by advertising on their TV station, newspaper, website, or buying a special direct mail list that RESULTS will automatically come to fruition. That’s not the case. You need to SAY something worthy in your advertising. The media you choose isn’t the power, it’s the message you’re spreading around. If you don’t say anything in your advertising that is compelling and if what you say doesn’t move someone closer to doing business with you…then you’re wasting your money.

Did you know that just by sharing a better message (above and beyond a poor or average message) your RETURN ON INVESTMENT can be up to 8x better? Yes. 8 TIMES! So, doesn’t that even make it sillier when you’re worried about getting the lowest ad rates? I can find you some really cheap advertising…but you’ll still be throwing that money down the drain if you’re not saying the right things in your ads.

You wanna go after the big dog? We’re good at helping local Sioux Falls businesses do that. And if there’s not a clear “big dog” in your category right now…we’re good at turning businesses INTO the BIG DOG. What’dya say? Ready to take a look at how we can help? How I can help? Yes, I work alone on most of my clients’ radio strategies and ads…but when it’s needed I also get help from my team at Results Radio. That might entail orchestrating a few brainstorming sessions with my team and your team, or bringing one or two extra people along to meet you and ask a few of their own questions.

Let’s start here though…

What would you like your advertising to accomplish?

What is your 5-year GOAL for your business?

Ideally, how much more would you like to grow in the next 5 years?

Let’s start there. I want to help you hit your big target. Maybe you have a goal of growing your business by 4x. That’s great. Let’s start the discussion on how we could help make that happen. It’s more than just advertising…and we’re here to give any extra advice and resources we can if you need it. We’re way more than just a radio station. We’re business growers. We’re staying on top of everything so our radio stations (and our websites) remain in the homes, cars, phones, and work areas of the majority of the population.

I’d love to help. All you have to do is reach out to me. I’m harmless. : )

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Ad Writing / Ad Strategies / Digital Advertising / Radio Sales

605-940-7984

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

I’m a radio rep for Results Radio Townsquare Media. I write this blog on behalf of myself. Bottom line? I truly enjoy helping businesses get from their Point A to their Point B in an efficient manner. And Radio Advertising is just one of those ways that has worked wonderfully well for my radio clients. We have 8 radio stations within our group to help you reach the people you’re looking for.

What’s Your Reason for Advertising?

/ Duane Christensen

Image courtesy of "Stuart Miles" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “Stuart Miles” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Why do you want to advertise?

  • Because business is slow?
  • Because you now have some cash flow and want to keep growing?
  • Do you need a short-term “fix” or spike in sales?
  • Because you can’t keep customers happy and need to constantly replace them with new ones?
  • You’re a new business?
  • Something else?

I love helping those businesses who want to grow, and who want to continue to grow and take a bigger slice of the market. Or those who have a lot of competition and are fighting to maintain their share or would love to “move up in the ranks” within their local market.

And that can’t be done by quick bursts of advertising like a shotgun at the hip hoping you hit something. A splash here, a splash there, a sprinkling of ads to reach everyone – it just doesn’t work..

You wish that would work. Everyone does. But it doesn’t.

I want to help you and CAN help you, if you answer Yes! to these questions:

  • Are you looking for consistent growth, year after year?
  • Do you want an advertising campaign where you don’t have to discount your prices in order to snag a new customer?
  • Would you like someone to help you manage your ad campaign? (meaning someone who will stay on top of things, write ads, keep ads fresh, give you time to do other things like run your business)
  • Would you like help with what you say in your ads? (ad writing, set you apart from your competition, slogans, etc.)
  • Would you like to work with an advertising person who has your best interest at heart and can advise you on other marketing tactics?

Radio advertising is currently helping hundreds and hundreds of local Sioux Falls businesses. The businesses in which Radio Advertising helps MOST, are those who are being a little “different” in their advertising message. They’re not just using Radio for the sake of using Radio. They’re using it to engage on a deeper level with Radio listeners. They’re branding themselves as one of the top go-to places for Sioux Falls and surrounding area consumers.

Sure, Radio can “get your name out there”. But what good is that if nobody will remember your name when they actually need what you offer? Great radio advertising will brand your business name into the hearts and minds of the large radio listening audience. When you do that, you’re not only advertising to the miniscule slice of people who need your product or service NOW…but you’re branding yourself. That way, when the other 99% (give or take) of your radio audience who need you down the road…will remember you. And then, you’ll be one of the top choices they contact, or possibly the FIRST businesses they choose to contact.

Can you imagine how something like that could immensely improve your situation and bottom line?!

Radio is mass media. Which means it reaches a ton of people. Don’t get overly worked up about your “target”. People are people. And they listen to all different kinds of Radio. There is not one kind of person who listens to one kind of Radio. Radio reaches the masses. And you’d be surprised at which radio stations people listen to. Don’t use Radio for “targeting”. That’s what Direct Mail is for. Radio is for branding your business into the hearts and minds of massive amounts of people.

If you know the type of person you’re looking for (a profitable customer whom you enjoy serving and doing business with)…your Radio advertising should talk very directly to that person. Talk to their likes and dislikes. Talk to their heart. Befriend them with your Radio ads before they ever do a lick of business with you. Earn their trust. Help them feel confident they’ll be treated right if they decide to visit you. Make them feel like you’re “the one” to help solve their problem or improve their life.

What’s YOUR reason for advertising? Is because you’re dabbling with entrepreneurship? Or is because you want to take the bull by the horns and make something happen? Business growth and success does not happen automatically or magically. Successful local businesses went after it. They knew there were obstacles and possibly even a lot of competition in their field. They knew they had to advertise, commit to a plan, and do it differently than everyone else spinning their wheels and sprinkling their ad budget around hoping something sticks.

This isn’t a “DO THIS or you will fail” message. I just want to be one of the first people you contact when you have advertising and marketing questions. I’d like to help you understand what works and what doesn’t when you decide to invest in a successful advertising plan. I want to help. I love to see good businesses (who are good to their customers) succeed and prosper. I want to introduce you to MORE people who would appreciate the products or services you offer.

A good Radio plan can work wonders. And it doesn’t have to be overly complicated. I’ll explain how it all works – just give me a call and we’ll talk. No annoying pie charts and statistics about how Radio is the biggest, baddest thing since sliced bread. Just honest advice on how you attract more profitable customers and grow. Radio is helping my clients do that. Let’s help you do the same.

Have a great day! Hope to talk to you soon.

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls

605-940-7984

My work website: http://duanechristensen.townsquareinteractive.com/

If you have questions about the cost of radio advertising, which radio stations would be a good fit, or how to get started attracting more customers, don’t be afraid to ask. I like to help good businesses take a bigger slice of the Sioux Falls market.

I’m a 39-year-old ad writer, radio marketing guy, and business helper. I’ve been learning and growing at Results Radio since 1998. I’d like the chance to show you what we can do for you.

Radio Advertising: How To Find Success and Results

/ Duane Christensen

How many successes in your life can you account for…in which you didn’t have to put forth the time, effort, and work to get it?

…

Success in your marriage?

Time and effort.

Success in parenting?

Time and effort.

Success in school?

Time and effort.

Success in business?

Time and effort.

Success in Cheesecake making?

Time and effort.

Success in advertising though? Well, that should happen immediately! And there should be a 1-size-fits-all formula to make it virtually effortless!

Something smells wrong here.

Image courtesy of "Naypong" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “Naypong” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve made the occasional mistake of letting a business owner advertise “the wrong way”. I gave a recommendation, but they rejected it, and put forth his own terms. Even though every other ounce of advertising he’d done in the past could have been considered less than successful, he wanted to keep doing it the same way.

There is actually a rough formula for advertising success…but two important factors in that formula are time and effort. And this is so important in Radio advertising (but also most advertising). Don’t you plan on being in business for longer than 2 weeks? Then, why do you keep searching for short-term, magical advertising successes?

Can you tell a child to “Be good” just ONE time…and that child grows up to be a generous, caring, benefit to society? We wish.

All lasting, good things that we acquire throughout our lives require time and effort. Of course, you can add in other ingredients to the recipe, like discipline, patience, nurturing, intellect, etc. But I need you to understand that advertising success isn’t automatic. Just because you’re “on TV” means nothing. Just because you’re “on the radio”, “in the newspaper”, or “on the Internet”… means nothing.

When you want to “do” advertising in Sioux Falls (or anywhere) the right way, call me and let’s get to work.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls

605-940-7984

I write ads, prepare radio schedules, create strategies for your ads (so you can stand out from your competition), give online and other marketing advice, and will keep your advertising fresh and new. I hear a lot of ads that air for 6 months or more before they’re changed out. That’s way way too long…and it’s not doing you any good. You have a lot of things you can share with the public that will help you become a trusted resource to them. Then they BUY. Let’s do that!

My Results Radio Townsquare Media website: http://duanechristensen.townsquareinteractive.com/