We often think that our radio show or radio station is at the center of the existence of our listeners. It’s not. You are a choice for your audience. We must understand the lives that people navigate on a day-to-day basis. These events are very likely more important than you. So, here is my semi-exhaustive list of issues and interests that your audience encounters:
Traffic: The drive to the office and back home is a real pain in the butt. Your listener has an 8 o’clock meeting. It’s 7:45 and there was an accident on a major artery in your city. Are you discussing this outside of the traffic report? I think that you should be taking calls from the poor people stuck in this. Is your show nimble?
Work Issues: Even in the best of employment situations, there are deadlines, challenges, and aggravations. Understand the real-life circumstances of your listeners. Is the project completed? Did Sales miss their quarterly goal? Are co-worker frictions creating unnecessary drama in the office? The boss is demanding a report that you have never heard of. You asked about how to do the report and she suggests that you google it and have it completed by Thursday. Eight to ten hours a day in the office. This is a huge part of their existence. How often are you addressing this?
Romantic Issues: Perhaps your listener has a spouse that makes that honey-do list total hell. Maybe there is some angry texting going on. Focusing on the workday is now complicated. If you are having a conflict with your spouse or partner, your productivity at the office is likely impacted and not for the good.
Home: The water heater is out. The AC stopped working and it is 95 degrees. Your listener is worried about this, and it will interrupt her/his day. Did the lawn service show up? If your listener is a do it yourself type, how does that person schedule this chore?
The Kids: Parent must take the kids to school, camp or other activities. How are the kiddo’s grades? The kid was caught with weed, booze or cigarettes. The kid had an incident with a classmate, neighbor or instructor. What problems are kids having? In a busy world, how do parents make time to spend with the kids? Seemingly, parents are driving kids to activities but not spending a lot of quality personal time with their children. This is a concern that every parent has. When is the last time that the family had dinner together with no screens or interruptions?
Costs and Budgets: The price of everything has gone up dramatically in the past few years. Salaries have not kept up with costs. Your listeners are being squeezed. In many states, it is becoming difficult to get insurance. I have a friend who has lived in his home for over a decade, his home insurer just dropped him. Interest rates are stifling your listeners. There are people in your audience who need a larger or smaller home. The interest rates are a hindrance to buying a different home. Just think, downsizing a home could be more expensive than staying put because of interest rates.
For the middle class, this year’s vacation plans are likely scaled back. They are enjoying staycations with day trips. The people that are traveling are either well-heeled or adding to personal debt. The average American household has over $8,400 in credit card debt. If you include vehicle loans, it is over $22,000 per household. Gen X has the most credit card debt. Those are your listeners. I have been in credit card debt; it is a vicious cycle that is very tough to get out of. According to Google, 60% of Americans have used their personal credit card to purchase groceries. Many of these credit card lenders are predatory. How often are you discussing this? 60% of your audience has charged groceries. Think that through.
Hobbies: Your listeners have more interests than just politics. Your community may be different. Check the data. Opening of fishing, how many people get fishing licenses? Hunting? Camping, how big is that for your listeners? Gaming, playing video games is not just for the kids. Adults are spending a large amount of time gaming. Radio has really missed the boat on this. A new Madden will sell over 5 million copies. I have a friend who is constantly being nagged by the wife over how much time he is spending on gaming (he is 50). Going to local events, is this a big deal for your people? I have lived all over the USA in my nomadic radio life. Every community is different. Your job is to know what your audience is doing.
A temptation for all of us is confirmation bias. If I do this, everyone else does it. Here is a common, real-life example of confirmation bias: do you notice how many people are driving the make and model of the vehicle you drive? This is very common. We psychologically need affirmation that we have made a good and popular choice. You must dive into the data.
How many people per household? What is the average age of a human in your community? What percentage of people have a college degree? What is the average household income in your community? How long is the average commute? How many times a week do people go out to eat? Do you listeners drink Bourbon, Beer, Wine or something else? In the coming months, we will be tempted to focus on the play by play of national and local elections. Often those discussions become inside baseball. You must strive for a Listener-Focused Experience every day. It’s never about you.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He recently served as program director for WHO/KXNO in Des Moines, IA. Prior to that role he held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
