Sounds of Success

Radio has been helping sell products and services since Marconi invented it in 1901. But how can radio help you reach new pest control customers?

As I explain to business owners all over the country, radio and TV are “intrusive” media. That sounds a bit ominous but it’s actually a big advantage to advertisers. Radio “intrudes” on the consumer while they’re doing what they normally do — listening to their favorite station.

Intrusive advertising has a subliminal effect on the listener whether or not they’re in the market for your service. Research has proven that print, Yellow Pages or billboards are totally ineffective unless the consumer is in need of the product or service being advertised. In other words, if you’re reading the paper and come across an ad for a car dealership you rarely even notice that ad unless you’re thinking about buying a car. But if you hear a car commercial on the radio, then that ad will invade your subconscious even if you have no interest in a car at the moment. The reason for this phenomenon has a lot to do with the way your brain processes information.

TOP 10. The following are 10 advantages of radio and an analysis of each.
 
1. TARGETING YOUR DEMO. All businesses have a target demographic. You may not be surprised to hear that women either purchase or influence the purchase of more than 75 percent of the products and services being advertised. As we consult with PCOs we find that their target demographic should be women ages 25 to 54. Radio is an excellent medium to specifically reach women. Every radio station has a certain gender and age group that is most likely to be listening to that station. For example, men are more prone than women to be listening to a sports station. On the other hand, women are more likely to listen to a “light rock” or “mix” format. Obviously, if you’re trying to reach women you should advertise on a station that women listen to.

When you advertise on a billboard or in the newspaper, much of your marketing expenditure is wasted because everyone reads the paper and everyone sees a billboard. The key to being efficient with your advertising dollar is to run your ads with the medium that’s most likely to reach your target audience. You also can target the time of day your prospect is listening and buy advertising during that time period. There’s an additional advantage to radio in that you can target a station geographically. Arbitron, the research organization that measures a radio station’s audience level, also can tell you what ZIP codes are most likely to rank highest with the listener you want to reach.

2. COST OF COMMERCIALS. The cost of advertising on the radio varies with the size of your market, the number of people listening to the station, and the time of day you run your commercials. Major markets, drive time and the stations with the largest audience are the most expensive. At the same time the station with the largest share of your target demo may be less expensive than the other stations in your city.

3. COST OF PRODUCTION. Radio is the absolute least expensive medium when it comes to producing your ad. Most stations will include copywriting and production free as part of the cost of the commercials.

4. CREATIVE. Radio is unique because the ads can be described as “theater of the mind.” When you hear a radio commercial, you make up the images in your mind. An effective copywriter can cause the listener to “see” the images that will influence them the most. What do you think of when you read the following? “You can’t hear them … you can’t see them … but termites could be invading your home right now. They’re causing your wood to rot. They’re eating you out of house and home. Fight back and let XYZ Pest Control get rid of those unwanted house guests.”

Descriptive writing can be a strong benefit and inexpensively create specific images that could cost thousands of dollars to produce on television. If you’re writing your own commercials, make sure you include at least four out the following five rules of an effective radio commercial:
1.  Make an offer to sell something.
2.  Price the offer.
3.  Add urgency with time or quantity limits.
4.  Develop an effective theme or hook.
5. Run the commercial with frequency.

5. MUSICAL IMAGES. Our advertising agency recommends that all of our radio and TV clients have a musical image or jingle. Words set to music are 300 times more memorable than the spoken word. There are many examples. Try completing the following sentence: “Like a good neighbor _________ ________ is there.” How about, “You deserve a ________ today at __________.” Or, “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect ___________.” I’d be willing to bet that 90 percent of you can not only fill in the blanks but can probably even sing the jingle. How long has it been since you heard a State Farm, McDonald’s or Coke ad on the radio? National advertisers use musical images to create memorable commercials. Your pest control company can too. The cost of a musical image campaign is affordable and effective.

6. LAST PLACE YOU ADVERTISE BEFORE A PURCHASE. Research shows the last place an ad has the ability to influence the purchase of a product is on the radio. If a prospect hears your commercial on the radio and then looks up a pest control company in the phone book, they’ll be most likely to call you than your competitors.

7. PERSONALITY ENDORSEMENT. Radio is a fantastic medium with which to have your company be endorsed by a local personality. It adds credibility and familiarity to your commercial and is much cheaper to produce than a TV spot.

8. RECORDING THE COMMERCIALS YOURSELF. Our company often recommends that our clients voice their commercials. Why? No one is more passionate about your company than you are. That passion comes across on the commercial. You also will receive better results when you record your own ad. People who know you will mention that they heard you on the radio. Finally, people want to do business with local companies and local people. They are more likely to call your business when they think it’s possible to talk to the owner if they have a problem.

9. RADIO IS A FREQUENCY MEDIUM. You can afford to run a radio commercial with the frequency necessary to get effective results. By using a scientific scheduling tool called “optimum effective scheduling,” it’s possible to effectively calculate the number of commercials necessary to produce the best results on any radio station. Ask you ad agency or radio salesperson about optimum effective scheduling.

10. RADIO PRODUCES RESULTS. The best reason to use radio is because it works. By targeting your audience, coming up with a creative commercial and running it with enough frequency, radio has been proven to be effective in creating new customers.

The author owns Great American Sales & Marketing, a full-service ad agency in Austin, Texas. Visit www.greatamericansales.com or contact him at twilliams@giemedia.com.