(By Buzz Knight) It is well documented how passionate fans of Country Music can become fans of Country Radio stations. Certainly, there are music cycles that ebb and flow in popularity, but the genre has rabid fans.
Are you taking full advantage of maximizing those moments of passion to fully benefit your brand? Here are some considerations to help you surprise and delight to make you more bulletproof to external forces.
BRANDING
When considering your brand point of differentiation is that message unique, sustainable, and meaningful to the audience? Is the value proposition truly something that makes you better or is it just idle verbiage being spewed?
If you listen like a consumer and not a radio geek you will take your branding seriously and admit that most stations borrow from each other and sound the same. Factor in a typical hour on a music station and 70 to 75% is music, 20% to 25% is spots and the remainder is branding.
Make those moments of branding truly stand out.
APPEAL TO YOUR BASE
Take a step back and consider where your audience is coming from. You have all heard the 80/20 rule but actually think about it in practical terms. Every listener matters including your light/fringe audience but your success is driven by the heavy users of your brand.
In political campaign terms this is the equivalent to the base. How does your base consume your product? In practical terms analyze how frequently they turn your station on?
A typical heavy radio user probably turns you on 30 to 35 times a week. If they are giving you roughly 15 hours of time spent listening, they turn you on about 5 times a day.
When you break it down in those terms and consider music and non-music content the stakes are high.
Ignite your base every time.
The station wins the battle when the listener chooses you first and most frequently.
Your audience has a life other than listening with captive ears to your every move (95% of the time they have other activities). Do not waste their time with anything extraneous.
FIGURE OUT HOW TO SURPRISE AND DELIGHT YOUR BASE
The closer you get to your audience the better shot you have of keeping them. This is where your feedback loop with your audience becomes a critical asset to tap. You will not succeed by just being their favorite station for music. Continually learn everything that is their point of passion. Do they view your station as part of the community?
As fans of your brand to they feel it is a community unto itself.
What are their other loves…food, sports, pets?
Understand their heart and you can unlock the keys to brand happiness.
Do you have enough brand levers to pull or are you in need of something new to freshen the act? Is your brand something they trust and if so, how can you be the recommendation engine? Listeners have more choices than ever, and winning mindshare is a battle. Sharpen up the attack and make your brand more bulletproof than ever.
Buzz Knight is the CEO of Buzz Knight Media and can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]
