The Wrong X-Ray

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The Wrong X-Ray

Imagine you broke your leg. Ouch. And now you’re in the emergency room where the doctor shows you X-rays of patients he’s recently worked on with broken hands and fractured hips. You’d probably hobble off to see the next doctor.

Now picture the radio listener who’s a likely candidate to become your next customer. There are dozens of reasons your product or service might deserve their attention, but there’s one reason most likely to stop that listener cold and make them write down your name, visit your website or call your phone number.

It’s radio’s version of The Elevator Pitch. A hundred stories to tell, but there’s only time for one. Which one do you choose?

Your biggest challenge is guessing correctly, without the benefit of two-way conversation to guide you to “the right x-ray.” A good place to start solving this riddle is by asking several dozen actual customers to name the ONE reason they decided to become your customer. Their answers are likely to both confirm your suspicions and surprise you.

A simple two-paragraph script and a day’s worth of phone calls should give you potent and actionable ammunition. Patterns will emerge. Two or three key themes will give you the basis for a sound radio test: A vs. B vs. C.

Then you can structure a six-week media test, giving each of three commercials a two-week run. It’s a prudent, controlled approach to testing, driven by the true triggers that prompted your existing customers to choose your brand.

Alternatives to call-out research include focus groups and benefits testing (a more structured form of focus group information gathering). Let us know if we can help you shorten the learning curve and then leverage the power of Sound Advertising to build your brand.

Mark Lipsky is the President and CEO of The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the email or RSS links above.Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com