Selling Advertising vs Marketing Partnerships
The world of media continues to change exponentially each year, choosing the best approach for promoting businesses becomes even more challenging. How our industry sells our own services has also gone through great change. For generations, many radio AEs have been able to sell advertising by being armed with data and a plethora of packages available from which to choose. Every salesperson has two tactics they can use to try and engage with clients. They can focus on selling advertising, which has worked for generations, or they can offer a strategic marketing partnership. These approaches cater to different needs of both the client and the seller.
Marketing Partner: A Collaborative Approach
Being a marketing partner requires a somewhat deeper relationship between you and the customer. When I worked for AMFM, Inc. I remember meeting with CEO Jimmy de Castro, who talked about creating “Deep Footprints in the Sand.” This was obviously a metaphor for deepening relationships that are resistant to being washed away. The concept of a marketing partnership is built less around a traditional advertising transaction, using a collaborative effort targeting the customer’s own long-term goals. Transactional selling is more about an arsenal of advertising that a salesperson has available which may include a variety of packages that are made available.
Selling today leverages experience and understanding through conducting a Customer Needs Analysis (CNA). It requires tapping into the customer’s goals. The art of the CNA can transform a more traditional approach into a marketing specialist and partner. It moves a seller from simple transactional relationships to solution and consultative sales. Most importantly, marketing partnerships foster trust and long-term relationships. They are built on collaborative efforts, which lead to the most effective and authentic marketing.
Chris Forgy, President/CEO at Saga Communications built a wonderful strategy on Solution Marketing when he was previously Saga’s Market Manager in Columbus, OH. He referred to his Columbus Operation as “The Solution Store.” His clients came to him and his marketing specialists for marketing solutions that helped the clients grow.
Selling Advertising: A Transactional Model
Selling advertising, on the other hand, is a more transactional approach. In this model, a company sells inventory to those looking to advertise. The focus here is on delivering a product—time and/or space—rather than building a partnership.
Some find advantages to simply selling advertising –it is certainly simplistic in nature. That is not to say that it’s easy, but it is a straightforward process: advertisers simply pay for whatever is provided. There is no real need for collaboration, and it works well for those looking to generate immediate revenue from available inventory. It also takes less time to build a long-term, relationship and a partnership requires minimal engagement between a salesperson and advertiser. They simply have a budget and base their buy on ratings or goals predetermined by the client.
Comparing the Two Approaches
While both models work, they do cater to different needs and goals. Marketing partnerships are ideal for those people looking for collaborative opportunities. Companies working on building brand equity, expanding their market reach, and engaging in opportunities that offer more than just advertising space experience the best results from a specialist willing to build a partnership.
In reality, there is a time for both methods of selling, and knowing when to use each is key. I am not suggesting that building relationships is not important in any type of sales, including transactional sales.
Imagine you have car trouble while you’re taking a trip, and you end up going to a mechanic you don’t know in the area to have your problem repaired. He treats you well and lets you know the problem and what it will cost, and ends up doing a good job. You still have your preferred auto mechanic, who you have taken your vehicles to for years because you trust him, and he’s always been fair and honest. The former did a good job, but you haven’t built a long-lasting relationship with him, so you continue to go to your trusted mechanic. Why? Because he simply set deeper footprints in the sand.
I have learned over the years that selling advertising often forces a sale based on price over value. Deep relationship marketing enables you to sell on trust and value.
Bob Lawrence serves as a Market Manager for Seven Mountains Media, overseeing the company’s Parkersburg, WV/Marietta, OH cluster. He has held virtually every position in the business over his 40+ year career, from being on-air in Philadelphia, San Diego, and San Francisco as well as programming legendary stations including KHTR St. Louis, KITS Hot Hits and KIOI (K101) San Francisco.
Bob also honed his research skills over ten years as Senior VP of Operations at Broadcast Architecture, eventually launching his own research company and serving as President/CEO of Pinnacle Media Worldwide for 15 years. Bob spent five years as VP of Programming for Saga Communications before joining New South Radio in Jackson, Mississippi as GM/Market Manager. Prior to joining Seven Mountains Media, Bob served as General Manager for the Radio Advertising Bureau, overseeing its “National Radio Talent System”.
