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Radio as a Lead Generator: The Best-Kept Secret in Marketing
By Larry Levis,
Target + Response, and
Rich Hagle, Racom Communications
Summary points:
- Radio listeners are loyal to their
favorite stations and are influenced by messages that are presented
to them, especially when presented by station talent and personalities.
- Respondents to a direct response radio
ad are oftentimes higher converting prospects than those originating
from other media.
- Many radio listeners will seek out
an advertiser’s web site, even when the URL isn’t promoted
in the commercial.
- You can lift the responsiveness of
your direct response radio ads by following the suggestions and tips
listed below.
Aside from “Coffee is for closers,” the other famous refrain
in the classic movie/play “Glengarry Glen Ross”—“I
need more leads. Where are the good leads?”—reflects the constant
concern of every DMer and, indeed, every executive. Leads are the lifeblood
of every business, and lead generation is the heart and soul of every
successful enterprise.
Ask most people how to generate leads, and the responses will be “direct
mail,” or “DRTV” or promotional incentives such as sweepstakes
and the like. One tool you are less likely to hear mentioned is “radio.”
And that could be missing a good bet.
It might be helpful to first describe the relative characteristics of
main lead-generating vehicles. Television enables the marketer to produce
a live sales presentation that shows all of the product’s features
and benefits in action and concludes with the call to action. TV also
can produce enormous volume—in the hundreds of thousands with the
right buys.
Similarly for direct mail and other print direct response vehicles: you
can tell as complete a story as you wish in a print piece or package.
You have the opportunity to pique a reader’s interest in your opening
and give a reasonably complete presentation—in words and pictures—to
a prospect. In addition, even in a test market, direct mail can be targeted
better than any other medium. And, of course, it can produce very high
response rates and productivity.
Radio, on the other hand, is not as powerful as TV and print in these
respects. It doesn’t have the listenership to match TV viewer numbers.
Also, it’s more difficult to respond to a radio ad. The most common
use of radio is as a companion medium: People listen to it while they
are doing something else. It’s less likely that they will concentrate
on a sales message with the same degree of intensity as other media. However,
radio does have the ability to stimulate the listener’s curiosity
by painting imaginary pictures (á la the old “I Saw It on
the Radio” commercials).
If things are so bad, how can radio be good for lead generation? Simply
put, radio’s greatest weaknesses are also the source of its greatest
strengths. Radio listeners are extremely loyal to the stations they listen
to. Radio is a big part of people’s lives, with the average person
listening 20 to 25 hours per week. And, more important, despite the 40
or so stations available in a single market, most people settle on two
or, maybe, three favorites as their primary source(s) of news, entertainment
and information. A bond develops between the radio station and its listeners,
so that the station exerts sway with its listeners’ choices and
preferences. Thus, when a listener hears something on the radio, it’s
like hearing from their own handpicked friend.
The result is that radio provides much higher quality leads than TV—clients
report 25 to 50% better. While it’s more difficult to respond to
radio because you’re usually doing something else while listening,
people calling from a radio ad are really committed, and this is reflected
in the higher conversion rate.
Radio’s greater intimacy with its audience is a similar advantage
relative to direct mail. While direct mail is better than radio for a
direct sale, radio is an ideal lead generator because of the bond it creates
with its listeners. This is especially true if the stations’ talent
and personalities read your commercial copy, because the prospect will
be more influenced by their radio “friend.” This implied endorsement
from the talent helps create the strongest customer bond possible, making
radio a powerful permission-marketing vehicle.
In these days of integrated marketing communications programs, radio’s
special strength—its ability to generate high-quality leads—really
comes to the fore. For example, an increasing number of leads are going
directly to a company’s Web site, even when the ads don’t
necessarily feature a URL. After hearing a radio spot, people are going
to search engines to find the company’s or product’s Web site
and order directly. It’s not possible to quantify the percentage
shift yet, but it is definitely occurring. The benefits to the client
in terms of lower fulfillment cost and general operating efficiencies
(due to lower processing and handling costs) are considerable. Radio’s
ability to produce high quality leads plays to this new development and
makes it an ideal component of virtually any multi-component program.
And, of course, there’s the magic question: How do you lift response?
And of course there are no magic answers, but here are a few suggestions:
- Use 60-second commercials to make your appeal; 30s are often too short
to really sell.
- Provide the phone number (or URL) at least 3-4 times in the commercial.
- Say the name of your product or service at least 4-6 times.
- The problem-solution approach works well to bring out your benefits.
- Minimize legal disclaimers as much as possible.
- Avoid spots that jam too much copy into the amount of time you have.
Keep it conversational.
Incorporating radio into a marketing program, especially as a lead generator,
can give you that secret competitive edge over the competition. And then,
you’ll be able to sit back and relax, at least for a few minutes,
and have that extra cup of coffee.
Larry Levis is President
of Target + Response Inc., a direct response agency specializing in radio
and Internet lead generation advertising.
Rick Hagle is Editor and Publisher of Racom Communications, publisher
of marketing and communication books, and is a member of the adMarks editorial
committee.
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