Happy Friday, everyone!
This week’s poll question was prompted by Victor Caneva’s reply to a poll question we posed earlier regarding the biggest challenge you’re currently facing in your job. Victor wrote in part:
I am in South Florida (The Treasure Coast, to be specific) and we lose a large percentage of our residents during the summer, as they are all snowbirds who only live here during the winter. Because of this, many local business experience a noticeable drop in customers. If I had a dollar for every, "Come talk to me again during the season," I hear, I would be able to own these stations.
I try to explain that since their potential customer base shrinks, it is that much more important to woo the listeners who live here year round. That way, they can insulate themselves against the drop in population by having a local, year round client base. They just stare at me blankly and say, "I don't have the budget. Come back in October."
If anyone has any ideas on how to overcome [this] issue . . . I would love to hear them.
So here is this week's poll question:
If you’re in a tourist destination or other area where a significant percentage of residents stay for only part of the year, how do you compensate for seasonal changes in business and combat advertising drop-off?
Looking forward to reading your replies!
I have always sold in tourist markets. If you have have a snowbird population, ask the client to offer specials in their ads (not a mention you heard). Ask the client what brings in customers this time of year. Offer a discount on the slow time of year if they do a long term deal. mention any locals and winter visitor specials. Ask them what they do bring in customers, and tell them they need to put the word out.
I'd like to expand the question. College towns have this same problem. Their population shrinks when school is out.
I just transferred from Victorville, CA to Yuma, AZ. Same company, different market. Yuma more than doubles in population during "snowbird" season. I have been here for a week and a half and I have encountered the same issue, "we don't advertise during the summer", or "advertising is wasted out of season". So I too am curious how others have handled this situation.
Sounds like I need to move to Victorville!!!
Easily. Different companies publish different census-driven reports in the USA and Canada that identify sales in a market by industry category, further broken out by product and service type.
You can show your clients these figures, showing "Here's what your competition is doing, how much of that do you want?". If many advertisers in a category are saying "wait til the season", that means your client's share of voice will rise by taking advantage of his/her competition's retreat from advertising, and will thus capture more business now - and in the future.
At the same time, one can enlarge those figures by segmenting "either/or" discretionary-driven, purchase categories. For example, a jeweler does not just compete with other jewelers, he is competing with other discretionary-driven businesses such as travel companies.
If someone is planning an anniversary gift, it could be a diamond ring or a vacation away. What are the either/or choices that your client's prospects have? What are the total dollars being spent in those combined categories at any time?
As only 2-3-4% of consumers are "Now" buyers ("in the market" for any product or service at any given time), the gold is in capturing the contact information, and grooming the "Future" buyers that can be concurrently cultivated by an ongoing campaign that hits both the Now and Future buyers' hot buttons, AND gives a no risk/low risk, no cost/low cost offer of otherwise unavailable, decision facilitating information or a decision-facilitating experience to capture both types of prospects' contact information.
Then, the client can do a drip campaign, and those leads generated by your radio station will respond when they're ready to buy - the Now buyers buying now, and the Future buyers will respond - either when they're ready on their own timeline or when the advertiser creates conditions to shorten the buying cycle (AVOID HAVING ADVERTISERS DISCOUNT - have them address greater, high consumer hot-button value in their sales proposition - minus platitudes, generalities and unbelievable superlatives).
The most successful companies lead the market by taking action, not by following the crowd and retreating. Your client can stand at the front of the line and gain the most, or get lost in the retreat with the rest of the lemmings.
One other way is ask how much business the client wants, and deliver him a campaign that will drive results they can measure to the penny.
**Slow clap**
You sir, have hit it out of the park with that response!
Damn! I feel energized to go out and sell EVERYTHING now!
If you ever get out of sales, please do me a favor and go coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I could use a Super Bowl win, and I don't see how you couldn't take them there.
Pat, good point. In our market (Pullman, WA/Moscow, ID) there are two land-grant universities 8 miles apart. From mid-May to mid-August, the populations drop by nearly two-thirds. It's an interesting dynamic, to be sure.
The "I don't advertise in the off season" is pure BS. Oh I am not saying we dont get it, but when businesses pull back (in the summer here) and say that no one is buying it just means we need to figure out what they are selling, who is buying NOW and what their motivation is. Spot peddlers get blow out in off season. The reps who are coming up with ideas for copy that works are still getting the business.
SOME people won't get the money in the off months. The people with ideas do.
I look them dead in the eye and say...."Do you know about the 6 reasons why your NOT successfully advertising during off Season"
1) YOU THINK PEOPLE DON'T CARE about your product or service...(example) motorcycles. They do, they want to know what your doing others don't or won't
2) GROW YOUR DATABASE....who are your customers? Now is the time to grow your knowledge of your audience!
3) GATHER CUSTOMER REVIEWS....Work your Yelp and social Media for next Season- radio can Help!
4) CREATE OFF SEASON MARKETING TWIST...Sell Snowmobiles in July, JUST CAUSE YOU CAN~
5) STAY TOP OF THE MIND WITH THE COMMUNITY-SPONSOR SHIPS, BLINK ADS, BE THEE MARKET EXPERT.
6) MAKE A LOCAL OFFER- OUTTA SEASON NO ONE WOULD CAN TURN DOWN.
I am already selling OCT (Holidays) as of today~you should be too!
Scary, huh......BOO-!
The Chris Rolando mantra still holds true in radio - Ideas, not Spots.
Excellent reply. Specific, concise, organized and very useful. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with us.
