Any one doing tv or radio commercials ????

[yard_smart]

He just signed a contract for 3 months for radio spots .... ThoughtS?

[Az Gardener]

Last week I was at a marketing seminar put on by a company that tracks your leads to let you know if your marketing is effective and how much each lead costs you etc.

They had a couple of green industry clients and they briefly showed us some graphs with results to show us what they do. Radio was clearly getting the best results per $ spent. Now they wouldn't tell us what services they provided ( I would suspect tree trimming services) or what stations they advertise on or how much you know all the details. But that is the direction I am looking into.

Tell us about your deal costs etc. And please keep us informed on how it goes.

[bohiaa]

I did some last year... a customer I had worked for a local rodio station...

they sounded GREAT. didn't get one call off it

[yard_smart]

Monday Wednesday Friday

-- 5 spots a day
-- July Aug. Sept.

30 sec comm.

20 weekend spots

and 2 live interviews

$175/ month

[Az Gardener]

Monday Wednesday Friday

-- 5 spots a day
-- July Aug. Sept.

30 sec comm.

20 weekend spots

and 2 live interviews

$175/ month

That sounds like a great deal what kind of station is it talk, music did they give you audience size demographic etc. Bohiaa can you give us some more info on your experience besides no results?

[yard_smart]

That sounds like a great deal what kind of station is it talk, music did they give you audience size demographic etc. Bohiaa can you give us some more info on your experience besides no results?

Country station ... pretty much the only one older people listen to around here

[willretire@40]

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[bohiaa]

WOW 2 live interviews ?

that is a GREAT deal.

Best of luck with that.

let us kno how it goes

[RodSpots]

The radio package in question is a steal, all other factors being equal.

The trick is not to squander the opportunity by settling for a cliché-ridden, fill-in-the-blank commercial whose message could apply to anyone else in your business as well.

Typically advertisers love to hear glowing things about themselves in a radio ad. We call those "chest thumpers." They're easy to sell to an advertiser; they do nothing for the advertiser's customer.

Advertising Truth #1: The best advertising isn't about the advertiser. It's about the advertiser's customer. Speak to the customer, about the customer, in the language of the customer, whose main concern is, "What's in it for me?"

Advertising Truth #2: Don't worry so much about choosing the "right" station, the "right" audience, or the "right" schedule. Put your time and effort into saying the Right Thing! It's amazing how many prospects suddenly appear on your radar screen when you're saying the right things to them.

Advertising Truth #3: Uncover the story that is uniquely yours and then tell it, relentlessly, to anyone who'll listen. "Truth is better than creativity."

Best of success to you.

[Az Gardener]

The radio package in question is a steal, all other factors being equal.

The trick is not to squander the opportunity by settling for a cliché-ridden, fill-in-the-blank commercial whose message could apply to anyone else in your business as well.

Typically advertisers love to hear glowing things about themselves in a radio ad. We call those "chest thumpers." They're easy to sell to an advertiser; they do nothing for the advertiser's customer.

Advertising Truth #1: The best advertising isn't about the advertiser. It's about the advertiser's customer. Speak to the customer, about the customer, in the language of the customer, whose main concern is, "What's in it for me?"

Advertising Truth #2: Don't worry so much about choosing the "right" station, the "right" audience, or the "right" schedule. Put your time and effort into saying the Right Thing! It's amazing how many prospects suddenly appear on your radar screen when you're saying the right things to them.

Advertising Truth #3: Uncover the story that is uniquely yours and then tell it, relentlessly, to anyone who'll listen. "Truth is better than creativity."

Best of success to you.

Could you please elaborate on #1 and #3 ? I appreciate your expertise.

[RodSpots]

I'll try to elaborate as best I can within the constraints of this forum.

#1: The best advertising is not about you, but about your customer. What do you know for sure about your customer's felt need/concern/desire as it relates to your business? Does the customer really care about how many years you've been in business, or what kind of equipment you use, what awards or certifications you've acquired, etc.? Probably not. They're more interested in what problems will be solved by hiring you. They want an attractive, healthy, green, weed-free lawn that looks great all season long. Some may want their neighbors, friends and passersby to stop and admire their impeccable landscaping and lush flower beds that look like they're maintained by a full-time groundskeeper. Others may simply want the convenience of having their grass mowed once a week without breaking the bank. Talk to your customers and prospects in terms of their wants and needs, show that you understand them. Don't make unsubstantiated claims. Talk specifics. Back your promises with a performance or satisfaction guarantee. Don't promise everything you plan to deliver. Leave some room for a pleasant surprise.

Remember that the nature of listening to radio is intimate and personal. Don't shout at a crowd. Speak conversationally, as to one person. (Use the second person singular whenever possible. Avoid mentioning the name of your business more often than you would in normal conversation. You don't want your ad to sound like an ad.)

#3. Uncover the story that is uniquely yours. What makes you different from your competitors? (Here's where advertisers typically load up on the clichés and "adspeak" to hype their businesses, and it's a huge mistake! Guess what? EVERYBODY offers "the best service" or "service second to none" by their "friendly, professional staff" or "trained and certified professionals." "Combined 40 years' experience." "Conveniently located." "For all your lawn and landscaping needs." Blah-blah-blah. You get the idea. Don't fill an ad with stuff nobody but you cares about!)

"Creativity" tries to make this drivel palatable. Uncovery is entirely different. It seeks to identify what makes you YOU. How is your operation different from your competitors'? What do you do that they don't? What do you offer your customers that your competitors can't...or won't?

I would be happy to recommend some accessible marketing/advertising books and/or videos, if you like. There's a lot of good information available. The trick is to use it!

Want to increase your response a bit? Create a white paper or booklet of tips and tricks for homeowners and offer to email it (or drop it off) free to anyone who requests it. Partner with non-competing businesses on special offers...like a free Espresso card with any estimate (no obligation to buy). Whatever you offer, make sure it's something worth having from the customer's point of view.

Cordially,

Rod Schwartz
Pullman, WA

[Meistermower]

I got lucky and trade work for getting 3-4 spots pr day 7 days a week on my local radio station, WMVY. It doesnt bring in a lot of work but is great for name recogition. I dont get calls saying "hey i heard you on the radio" but people do say "i saw your name in the phone book or magazine and remebered hearing you on the radio too". Dont pay too much for it though since it will never bring in as much business as phone book or magazine ads.

[RodSpots]

I got lucky and trade work for getting 3-4 spots pr day 7 days a week on my local radio station, WMVY. It doesnt bring in a lot of work but is great for name recogition. I dont get calls saying "hey i heard you on the radio" but people do say "i saw your name in the phone book or magazine and remebered hearing you on the radio too". Dont pay too much for it though since it will never bring in as much business as phone book or magazine ads.

Radio stations are often amenable to trading advertising for anything that would otherwise require them to spend cash.

But just because you're able to parlay your time/effort/expertise into advertising, without having to write the station a check every month, doesn't mean you shouldn't be getting every dime's worth you can from the advertising investment.

If you're not getting measurable results or consistent feedback commensurate with the value of the ad schedule, then your commercial message is probably weak. (See my earlier posts re: message development.)

As long as the station is using your services:

1) Are they endorsing you in your commercial? A simple line at the end of the commercial: "WMVY trusts their lawn care to __________. You should, too." might be in order.

2) Are you using real estate type signage to identify your work? "Lawn care by -----" with your phone number and, if applicable, website, prominently displayed in an area that gets good traffic.

3) Start offering lawn care tips in your commercials, a new one weekly. Position yourself as the local expert. Even if you're helping DIYers by doing so, you're also staking out a valuable position in the minds of your prospects. When everyone's saying, "This guy knows his business." your credibility is high.

4) With regard to #3, you might also invite listeners to submit their toughest problem (dealing with a certain kind of weed or bug, removing grass from a flower bed, etc.) with a view toward you answering the question on the air. Any question that you answer on the air gets a free mowing. If it's already a paying customer, super! ...you've surprised and delighted them, reinforcing the strength of your relationship. If it's a new customer, super...you have a chance to open a new relationship. Either way, you win. All for the cost of a mowing.

Don't settle for a mediocre message, unless you're happy with mediocre results.

Eventually the Yellow Pages will be history, as more and more consumers turn first to Google or Bing to look up a number or address. Print advertising is passive, whereas Radio advertising is intrusive (someone once said that God's gift to Radio was that He created human beings without earlids). This is especially true on Talk/News-Talk stations, which engage listeners much more comprehensively. In fact, the average Talk listener is worth 3.2 Music listeners, from an advertising standpoint (study conducted annually by the American Association of Advertising Agencies and Talkers Magazine).

Go get 'em! :>)

Rod Schwartz
Pullman, WA

[Az Gardener]

Thank you for the valuable input. I will try and put it to good use.