“I can testify,” says Carolyn Barbour, “our radio advertising has created lifetime customers for our company.”
Ms. Barbour and her husband Tommy own Budget Rooter, a Fayetteville based plumbing company with a long list of commercial, residential, and industrial customers. “We’ve tried other forms of advertising,” continues Ms. Barbour, “but they have all failed us.”
Since 2007, Budget Rooter has not missed a single month of advertising on Fayetteville radio. “Our radio ads have been so successful,” says Ms. Barbour. “we have increased the number of stations we run commercials on from two to five.”
At a recent Plumbing convention, an industry consultant suggested to the Barbours that radio advertising might not be the most effective way to advertise. “No, no, no,” Ms. Barbour told him. “For us, radio is tried and true. When people in Fayetteville have an urgent plumbing problem, because of our radio advertising, we are the only name they know.”
So, why doesn't every radio advertising campaign produce results similar to the Barbours?. There are several reasons including station selection, level of investment, or commercial content.
The number one reason, though, advertising on Fayetteville radio might fail, is the lack of a well-articulated marketing objective. According to the Small Business Guide For Successful Advertising, this can be critical for the success of any campaign.
Some local business owners might mistakenly identify their marketing objective as "getting my name out there," "creating a buzz," or "increasing foot-traffic". But, achieving any of those goals will not necessarily ensure success.
An effective advertising campaign on Fayetteville radio needs a specific marketing objective. It should correspond with an advertiser’s key challenges or opportunities. The objective will influence which radio stations to purchase, the length of the campaign, the timing of the advertising, as well as the length and the content of the commercials.
It is possible that over time, a business could have many different marketing objectives, but it is a proven, best practice for each campaign to focus on one. The objective selected should be both crucial to the continued success of the business.
Marketing objectives fall into one-of-categories:
Branding objectives focus on convincing consumers to believe something about a product or business. For instance, a financial planner in Hope Mills might want adults approaching retirement to regard her firm’s annuity plans as the safest way to ensure worry-free living.
Promotional objectives are used when a business owner’s goal is to encourage the target consumers to take a specific action, quickly. They are usually time-sensitive with a specific call-to-action. For example, a Pizza Restaurant in Spring Lake might want working moms to order take-out dinner on their way home from work taking advantage of a two-for-one promotion.
A marketing objective should distinctly identify the target customer. Age and gender alone do not provide enough insight to determine radio station selection or commercial content. Examples of a well-defined target might be:
A business owner may have several different target consumers. For instance, a local bank might need to target homebuyers for mortgage products; entrepreneurs for commercial loan products; smartphone users for mobile banking products; and retirees for certificates of deposit.
Although each of these targets is a viable prospect for the bank, they are likely to have little in common including their choice of radio stations due to different lifestyles and stage of life.
With a well-defined marketing objective, a business owner can be certain every element of an advertising campaign on Fayetteville radio is designed to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.