I have realized that I have done you a disservice. I keep bandying about the term “Listener-Focused Experience.” What the heck do I mean? Whatever your job entails at the old radio station, you must meet this phrase.
The first key is to meet the needs of your station’s target listener. If you are a programmer and cannot define this, you need to do so immediately. The target listener is not just a political ideology or a local sports fan if you work in that format. It is the life that your audience lives.
Do you know your community’s census data? How many people live in the average household? What is the age of the average resident of your metro area? This is insanely important. How long is the average commute in your metro area?
I am a data-driven programmer. I don’t believe in just my gut feeling. While my experience and knowledge of the community in which I reside is important, it is only about the listeners. So, who is your station’s target listener? How old are they? Is it a man or a woman? What are the activities that your listeners participate in? Is your listener married or single? Be careful with marital status. Census Data says that about 40% of people in every age group are single. Is that a shocker?
We often are drawn to confirmation bias. We naturally believe that people have the same psychographics in which we reside. Don’t believe that. It may not be true.
Many talk show hosts in the news/talk radio format believe that it starts and ends with political ideology. That is great to believe, but that is not necessarily saleable. The average Fox News viewer is 68 years old. If you speak with your station’s Market President or Sales Manager, I can assure you that agency buyers could give a rat’s behind of the 68-year-old crew.
If your community’s average resident is 37, what are you to do? We must be focused on our target listener. It is not the average age of a resident in your community. It is probably someone 10-12 years older than your community’s average age. Is your community known for something cool? What is your target listener driving? What is the education of that individual? You must be focused on the lifestyle of your station’s target listener.
Are you providing a Listener-Focused Experience on your radio show or station? If you are in the sales department, it is sometimes an easier answer. Our heroes in the sales department are meeting with business owners, agencies, and other purchasers of commercials. Selling news/talk or sports talk radio is a tougher putt in many ways. Good hosts will ruffle some feathers from time to time. Yes, this is a good thing. If a client gets a complaint, it is manna from heaven. It is proof to the client that people are listening to the station.
I had a host that caused a kerfuffle a while ago. The business owner was so excited that he doubled his spending! Account Executives hate any type of brain damage from clients. These heroes are focused on adding billing, not worrying about a client with their underwear in a bundle because the morning guy said something that was edgy.
At my first programming job, the owner had a line: If someone came up to him and said that he loved or hated a host, the owner was thrilled. If someone said that a host was ok, this particular station owner was worried. If a client complains, here is what you say: “Thanks for letting me know. I will let the Program Director know. The host is such a great person. Have you ever met that host? I can bring the host to meet you. They would love to meet you.”
I guarantee you that the business owner or the agency will be completely disarmed. Bring the host by and have the host produce an Instagram, X, or Facebook video on the station’s social media site with that decision maker. I promise that you will get a better customer.
A Listener-Focused Experience is a holistic approach. If everything on your station is dedicated to the same thing, it creates a symphony of success. I love the NFL. If the offense of your favorite team is following the same play, you have a greater chance of success. If every show, AE, News Anchor are doing their own thing, you will fail. PERIOD. It is a unified process to provide a Listener-Focused Experience.
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.
