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Tune-Up
Your Marketing
by
Kim Peek
It
is Spring 2001 and cable’s ratings are hotter than ever. Are your sales on
fire? Or, are you still considered a second-class medium in your market?
With yearly ratings increases that continue to put the broadcasters to
shame, cable is long past its infancy. We are a legitimate medium delivering
sound results for major players in every market in the county.
If you’re not considered a “must buy,” your marketing efforts
may be to blame.
Maybe
you’re pushing online advertising this year; maybe you have the slickest
four-color sales pieces in town; maybe you’ve even managed to be the first
to introduce advertisers to some innovative sales tactics. Maybe you’re
wondering why, despite your best efforts, the competition gets the meaty
buys while you get the scraps.
It
takes more than big ideas and flashy materials to become the predominant
sales force in the market. It
is impossible to speak intelligently about your market and earn the
confidence of buyers if your marketing and research materials are not up to
par. Market leaders take the
time to make sure that all sales computers have been updated with the
current data disks from every research vendor used. Then, they mine the data
for nuggets of information that will convince advertisers that cable is a
wise investment. They commit significant market facts to memory and can
effortlessly recite cable’s key selling points relative to the
competition.
If
this doesn’t describe the scene in your office, it might be time for a
marketing tune-up. As you evaluate your marketing effectiveness, consider
the following:
- Sales
Sheets. Do you have
a supply of sales sheets that are updated regularly with current
national or local Nielsen numbers? These should be standard pro-cable
sales stories that AEs can incorporate into sales presentations.
- Market
Intelligence. Has
anyone in your market checked out the competition lately? Are AEs aware
of the top programs, ratings and rates for all major competitors, and do
they know how the cable product compares?
- Market
Presentations. Do you have one or two standard market presentations
highlighting cable’s selling points—using either national or local
research? This type of presentation should be used for speaking
engagements or when you need to provide a cable overview. You can also
add its components to a client-specific presentation.
- Category-Specific
Presentations. Have you developed generic presentations for
your top five retail categories? These presentations should be
customized with data specific to your individual client’s needs, but
creating a generic presentation to use as a starting point helps put
focus on the category.
- Competitive
Selling Pieces. Have you developed stand-alone sales pieces that
provide clients with important statistics about radio, newspaper and
broadcast in your market? There’s one thing you can count on: the
competition isn’t going to advertise the fact that their ratings and
readership are declining! It’s up to you.
- Network
Updates. Do you have current programming grids and logos for all
networks? Have you book marked the network affiliate websites and do you
know the name and phone number of your representative at each network?
- Promotional
Calendar. Do you supply AEs with a calendar listing local and
network promotions at least six months out? This, combined with a sports
rate card, will help you pre-sell important events.
- A
Client Database. Do you have a database of all your clients and
prospects that is updated at least quarterly and contains current
contact information for each client, including e-mail addresses?
- An
External Marketing Presence. What about a marketing presence via
direct mail and on-air promotional announcements? The focus should be on
information that is important to your customers and prospects and could
include: the competitive situation in your market, new MSO ownership,
penetration, ratings or quotes from the trades.
- Research
Proficiency. Are all AEs able to confidently explain the sales
materials provided, and are they comfortable answering questions
surrounding the methodology?
- Computer
Skills. Can AEs who are armed with laptops quickly set up their
machines and access files in front of a client without getting
flustered? Most managers would be astounded by the lack of computer
skills demonstrated in the field.
Many
markets are experiencing lower-than-projected first quarter sales and have
pointed to a slowing economy as the culprit. It’s always convenient to
have the economy to blame for less than stellar sales, but that doesn’t
change the fact that your job is to increase client spending on cable.
While you may not be able to influence the global economy, you can
impact cable’s share of existing budgets. If you haven’t conducted a
marketing tune-up in your system in the past 90 days, you could be handing
money you deserve to the competition. You may find it’s just what you
needed to turn your year around.
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