Mid-Missouri Marketing Resource Blog

So you want to run a radio ad. Wonderful! Which station do you choose? When do you want your ad to air? Do you choose the station YOU like, or is there a better plan of attack. How do you get started and what is it important for you to know? Here is information on both the art and science behind radio advertising. Information that will help you make smart decisions when buying it for your business.

As a business owner, you cannot avoid, or ignore, branding. Branding is just as important, if not more important, than most of the day-to-day aspects of your business. In fact, branding encompasses everything your business is and how customers think about you and what you can provide them.

Did you know it costs five times more to recruit a new customer than it does to keep an existing one? That’s right, and what’s more, it can cost as much as 30 times as much, depending on the industry! However, many companies simply fail to quantify the impact of customer retention. They do not focus enough on current customers or consider how to retain them. Instead, they focus their marketing efforts on garnering new customers, much like a toddler who tosses an old beloved toy aside in preference to a shiny new toy. To place customer retention in the place of prominence it deserves, answer the following questions:

1. How can I re-sell to the customer?
2. Is there an opportunity to cross sell?
3. Are there additional products or services to up-sell?

Keep in mind, all the new customers you can hope to obtain are not worth as much as the customers you already have.

“Call 1-800 steemer… Stanley Steemer gets carpet cleaner!”

“Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that... Kitkat bar!”

“Like a good neighbor… State Farm is there!” 

(We are willing to bet you just sang those catchy jingles while reading them…)

Some may say that nothing can drive an advertising message like a catchy jingle. We like to think of jingles as an important part of your “audio signature.” Whether your listeners love it or hate it, a good jingle will relate your brand name with a concept, idea, or promotion. While many people believe that jingles are outdated, we disagree. In fact, one recent study found that 89 percent of participants believed jingles to be an effective method of advertising.

So, does your business need a jingle? Here are three reasons why your answer should be yes:

You see it every day. Advertising by the biggest brands out there. If big brands that already have significant market share are advertising, why aren’t you? Obviously, there is a great deal of value in advertising, or these huge brands would not be deploying millions of dollars across a variety of advertising channels. It’s important to take a look at not only why the biggest brands are advertising, but how and where they’re doing it, and how frequency in marketing helps to build and maintain brand-loyal customers.

So… what DO they really care about?  The short answer is themselves.  For elaboration on this blunt, over-simplified assertion, please read further:

 The political season of an election cycle means the market is inundated with ads. This sometimes causes businesses to reduce their advertising efforts, assuming the market is just too saturated with content to make a splash. We believe this tendency to reduce ads during a political year is a mistake, overall. In fact, not only can you survive in the advertising market within an election year, you can actually thrive…if you use the right strategies.

At Zimmer Radio & Marketing Group, we are passionate about helping businesses establish (and maintain) an immediately recognizable, and therefore, exceedingly successful brand.

You've probably heard the phrase "print is dead." Given the surge in increased digital usage, current trends in print readership seem to support that statement. However, while magazine is a printed medium, it is not considered "print" in the journalistic sense of the word. The word "print" refers to the world of newspapers, while magazine is a different beast. There are those who prophesied the decline of magazine in the face of its digital counterparts, however, recent data reveals that prediction to have been false. Magazine readership continues to grow.  Online readership has served to enhance, not replace, our favorite magazines. There's absolutely no indication that magazine readership is doing anything but increasing. In fact, many newspapers created magazines as a last-ditch effort to bring in additional revenue. Magazines remain to be a powerful branding strategy and a lucrative form of advertising…if utilized correctly. Here’s how to build your brand using magazine advertising:

Systems offer stability. They provide your business with a set of actions and goals that are both understandable and attainable. Attempting to successfully market a business without a well-outlined system in place is a recipe for disaster. That's why, at Zimmer, we highly recommend a marketing method that is proven to produce results time and time again: The BrandsKamp System.