Twenty Radios

“You guys are those radio people.”

No.

We’re the owner-operated company people.

We’re the long time horizon people.

We’re the diet-and-exercise-of-marketing people.

We’re strategists, advisors and consultants.

Monday – just Monday – our little company discussed or worked on the following tactics with our clients:

1. Cable Television
2. A New Website
3. New Web Copy for old websites
4. Email Marketing
5. Google Places
6. Google Adwords
7. Google Reviews
8. Yahoo Reviews
9. Door Hangers
10. Mailers
11. Blog Posts
12. An eBook
13. Broadcast TV
14. Online Video
15. Radio
16. Twitter
17. Bounceback Coupons
18. Partnering with a Not-For-Profit
19. Giving Presentations
20. A Secret, Tingly, Way-Cool Customer Experience Thingie

That was just Monday. Tuesday will look different.

Once you settle on a strategy, you use whatever tactics constitute the highest and best use of a client’s money.

We do use radio advertising with more than a dozen of our clients. However, we use it very differently than most people.

You buy radio like farmers plant crops … not like trust-fund junkies hit ATM machines.

You buy radio because it helps us reach a whole lot of people for each dollar.

You buy radio because it allows you to harness the power of words and mental images.

You buy radio because your brain is listening even when you don’t think it is.

You buy radio because, right now, you can probably hear the melody to Somewhere Over The Rainbow in your head.

You buy radio because, on it, I can tell you that your grandmother is riding a giraffe through your mall, and you can see it in your mind.

You buy other stuff for other reasons.

We don’t get paid a commission on our ad buys. We give all that money back to you.

We only make more money if our client makes more money. Isn’t that how every great partnership works?

Therefore, we only use what works.

Among the twenty things we used Monday, one was radio. It works.

If it didn’t work for you, did you ever consider maybe it wasn’t radio’s fault?

My partner, Roy H. Williams, is famous for saying: “I’ve never seen a business fail for reaching the wrong people, but I’ve seen dozens fail for saying the wrong thing.”

Want to succeed?

1. Be just crazy good at what you do.
2. Delight your customers.
3. Uncover your core message.
4. Proudly pound your unwavering principles.
5. Answer questions people are asking.
6. Figure out how much you can invest in marketing.
7. Realize there are twenty radios. Pick the one that’s the best investment for you. Maybe it’s radio radio.
8. Lather.
9. Rinse.
10. Repeat.

That was true on Monday. It will be true on Tuesday, too.