Your radio station probably has enough listeners to be a market leader and perhaps #1. You would, of course, like more. More is better. But most stations have enough cume to be more successful by tapping into the power of Super Listeners.
What Are Super Listeners?
The question isn’t whether there are enough listeners (cume), but whether there are enough passionate fans. And no, fans and P1s are not the same. You probably have heard that 80% of a company’s revenue comes from 20% of customers.
The 80/20 rule is powerful and generally applies to most industries, but the trend is shifting to an even greater dependence on a smaller, loyal core. Super consumers now represent 10% of a category’s customers and account for up to 75% of sales and an even higher share of profits.
It’s even more dramatic for radio. Radio ratings analysis shows that about 90% of the typical station’s quarter-hours come from just 15% of the cume. The core of your audience is that 10-15% that make up your core.
And here’s the good news: Convincing existing fans to spend more time (or more occasions) is far easier than finding and recruiting new fans, partly because it is easier to reach and influence them.
Instead of trying to find new listeners through mass marketing or activate secondary listeners, your greatest ratings lift will come from a narrower slice of the existing customer base.
You probably know where to find them. They should be in the station database.
The Database Contains Super Listeners
Direct (and digital) marketing is more effective with Super Listeners because they are likely to be heavier radio users and more likely to be rating participants.
Here’s proof from a study by NuVooDoo Media. These responses compare those who say they would participate in a ratings survey vs. those who would not:
So follow the logic:
An active station database is loaded with Super Listeners, who comprise a disproportionate number of ratings participants.
Doesn’t it make sense to love on those folks and promote more aggressively? A smart database combined with frequent, valuable messaging through email is the most powerful and efficient form of marketing available to radio stations.
Marketing to Super Listeners
There are only three ways to grow any business or increase ratings:
New Cume: Getting new customers is problematic because it’s hard to do…and expensive.
Supersize It: Convince existing customers to buy more, but it’s hard to get radio listeners to listen longer because they may not be available.
Return Visits: Get existing customers to return more often, or in our case, increase listening occasions.
Even a slight increase in the efficiency of promotional marketing (including advertising, promotion, and marketing) delivers dramatic ratings results when targeted to Super Listeners. This is particularly true for older, established stations.
But what messages should you send?
According to New Media and Marketing, established fans can be recruited to discover new uses for familiar brands and are faster to accept new offerings from companies they trust:
(Fans) are a subset of heavy users who are highly engaged with a category and a brand. They are especially interested in innovative uses for the product, and new variations of it. Super-consumers tend to have more occasions and “jobs” for a product.
For example, a Cheese Shop that provides recipes could increase consumption by showing the best customers new ways to use the product they already love. Similarly, Super Listeners can be activated by giving specific, new reasons to use the station. They already like you. Give them reasons to tune in.
That could be promoting a feature or a new contest. Or maybe it’s launching a series of special events on the weekend. Some stations simply rest a popular feature or promotion just to bring it back with a big announcement and celebration, the way McDonald’s promotes the mysterious McRib sandwich.
Think about your station benefits and features creatively, and you’ll discover many new opportunities.
Conclusion
The key is to excite fans so they will reward you with more time spent listening and, in the process, recruit more passionate fans and the most efficient way to start is with a direct, one-to-one relationship through a smart database.
Pic designed by AI for Freepik.com.
Tracy Johnson is a talent coach and programming consultant. He’s the President/CEO of Tracy Johnson Media Group. His book Morning Radio has been described as The Bible of Personality Radio and has been used by personalities worldwide.