Five Ways To Make Radio Easy To Buy

By Walter Sabo

You and the RAB have actually done an excellent job of maintaining the desirability of radio as an ad medium. The challenge, at street level, is making radio easy to buy. Let me share a unique perspective. I’ve been a radio C Suite manager, management consultant, and a buyer. I buy radio for clients who appreciate our perspective of the value of radio air time beyond the numbers. The best radio buys do not factor ratings, just a personality’s ability to engage with the listener.

About the buys. The buys we placed were dream buys. They were for personality radio stations, live reads in morning drive. The clients were famous book publishers—in business for 100+ years. I told the stations to charge whatever was necessary per spot to make sure the spot had good placement and attention from the talent. New national spot bought locally!

Radio is hard to buy. I’m not referring to the complexities at the media buyer’s computer. It’s just hard to buy for local retailers who represent a majority of revenue. Here’s how to make it easier:

1. Look at your website. Way down at the bottom of the page in the smallest font are the words “Advertise” or “Advertise with us.” Look hard. It’s probably listed underneath “Compliance” or “Contest rules.” That’s not a warm welcome for retail advertisers. Instead, put GROW YOUR BUSINESS NOW at the top of the home page. When a retailer gets to the advertising page they should see a phone number, not a fill-it-out reply form. The phone number should take them directly to a skilled human seller. Imagine a retailer has product to move this weekend. They get to your advertising page and see only a form, they have no idea when they will get a response. The retailer has to make a buy now, a form says “see ya later.” The phone number must never take the retailer to a phone tree or VM box. With phone tech today, that number can go directly to a seller’s cell phone. The same tech can rotate the numbers it goes to so each of your sellers has the opportunity to close new business. On the website, build samples of happy local retailers. Show stores, owners, results. I have never seen a station website with an ADVERTISER RESULTS page. Then show 1-2-3 how easy it is to buy radio and create radio. Today there are production packages that would let the advertiser create her own spot on your page. A strong, simple interactive page for the advertiser would make new advertisers comfortable with radio. For all of the gnashing of teeth about radio revenue and “the need to do a better job selling,” please consider that your website can provide much stronger tools for your sales department. Today, the website is the first entry to your station for most potential advertisers. What do they see?
2. No, I don’t want to talk to an assistant. When I placed a buy on a major station in San Francisco, I never got to a sales person. Ever. I got an assistant. This particular buy was for LIVE READS IN MORNING DRIVE. Never got to a sales person. Finally, after many days, I had to call the CEO of the corporation, a friend, and ask what was going on. The hardware store owner won’t take the time to call around, they will just go to the next station, or newspaper. Audit what happens when a cold call hits your switchboard. You will be surprised.
3. Media Credit? You’re kidding. One campaign I placed said the client needed to establish “media credit.” As the former EVP of the NBC-owned stations and the VP/GM of the ABC Radio networks, I had never heard of media credit. But this shouldn’t be a problem because the client was a media company in existence for over 100 years. But we wasted days on the media credit app and clearance. Hard to buy. Since 2008 no one has any credit, and your company has a whopping debt, so let’s drop that nonsense and just run the campaign. If a local business is shaky, you know.
4. Berated by the GM. On one Chicago station, I got a call from the GM. I figured he would be thanking me for the buy or just having a pleasant chat. Instead, he berated me. “What makes you think our audience wants to buy a book?” It was a romance novel, not a tech manual. Everyone enjoys a good romance. But this GM was very angry with me. An odd, odd response to new business, new revenue. The only GM who knew what to do with new business was Matt Mills (now retired from KISS 108 in Boston). He called me. Thanked me for the business. Sent air checks and made sure I was happy. No other GMs paid attention.
5. Tangible. In addition to sending the retailer new business, the key to a happy retail client is tangible contact with the station. That includes: A letter of thanks from your morning host. Logo’d swag, very important. MP3 files of the spots on the air, a digital tear sheet. The newspaper gives it to the retailer, radio really needs to take this step.

Walter Sabo can be reached at [email protected]