If you have walked through the sales area in your radio building, you have probably seen “The Sales Funnel” posted on the wall in a black-rimmed picture frame.
It’s a nice reminder for our Account Executives to continue searching for new clients. But what about us in Programming? What is our Listener Funnel? Realize this: we must always meet the expectations of our mission.
AWARENESS: Frequently, this is the most mentioned concern from air personalities. Any Market Manager or Program Director has heard the complaint: “My ratings would be better if the station had an advertising campaign on billboards or TV.”
Just because people are aware of you doesn’t mean they will consume your product. Awareness does not mean potential listeners will like you. Awareness is nice, but it will not create ratings and revenue.
INTEREST: Are potential listeners interested in your station or show? This may be a humbling thing to consider, but a lot of people are not interested in you or your interests.
Should everyone be? Well, yes… but that is not reality. In today’s media landscape, where you have millions of choices, you must appeal to those who are genuinely interested in the ideas expressed on your show and station.
CONSIDERATION: If there is a big story, are you considered the first source of information? This is about meeting expectations.
Back when radio news departments were central to ratings and revenue, there was a great radio war in Atlanta. WSB was, and still is, the radio news station in Atlanta. This is a reputation that the brand has never squandered. WGST attempted to knock off WSB. WGST’s news strategy was to always be first on the biggest stories. They often were, with live on-air reports when major local stories broke. But even if WSB was five minutes behind, it didn’t really matter. The people of Atlanta trusted WSB, and the station never abused that trust.
Are you meeting the expectations of those who may not be daily or consistent listeners? If your station is being considered during a tornado warning and you are not actively covering it, you are falling short. What does that mean for future consideration? If your city council is meeting tonight to raise property taxes and you are not discussing it, will you be considered in the future when something important happens?
DEVOTED LISTENERS: These are what we call the P1s. They are daily listeners who love your show or station. These people are totally devoted to your brand. It is called the “Halo Effect.” A frequent mantra in the industry is to super-serve the P1 listener.
This is a losing strategy. You can only lose devoted listeners. Over time, the station’s CUME will continue to fall as time spent listening seemingly grows because fewer people are enjoying your station.
You must always be refilling your listener funnel. It is healthier for your show and your station. It is called meeting expectations. Just as a Classic Rock station only plays the hits of that format, you must play the hits—the biggest stories of the moment. It is not about hoping listeners should be interested in the topics, observations, and opinions. It is about what people are interested in. I think a lot of hosts can fall into being aspirational instead of reflecting actual realities. I have mentioned this before, but it is worth writing again. And I often ask hosts about their competition.
If the listener’s expectations are not met the moment they tune in, where are they going? You will get a wide variety of answers. I have heard more wrong answers than correct ones. I had a host focused on country music. He loves it, which is great. He was convinced his show’s biggest competition was the country stations in the market. I had to walk him through Nielsen data on where the station’s listeners were coming from and where they were going when they turned our station off. He was shocked.
I want us to always be refilling the Listener Funnel with new people. There are strategies you must follow for growth. Make it easy for new listeners to quickly understand what your station is about. You must be focused on Topic A. Most days there is not a huge story. There are a few to choose from, but on days like when the government is shutting down, you must be totally focused on it. PPM data shows listeners are with you for about 14 minutes per listening occasion.
This is a big tell. If flights are canceled at your airport because of the shutdown, you need to be on it. If a casual listener’s expectations are not met, you are losing a major opportunity. And if you are interviewing the dope from a think tank or chatting with your producer about the weekend, you are failing. I cannot stress enough the importance of the reset. Reintroducing yourself, your station, and the guest or topic is about welcoming new listeners.
There is a war for people’s attention. It’s a huge battle. It starts with making sure your station or show is focused on the right things. Are you focused on the station’s target demographic like a laser? Are you always leading with Topic A? Can you be certain you are consistently inviting more people to the party by introducing yourself to those giving their precious time to you?
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Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He currently serves as News/Talk Format Captain for Zimmer Communications. Prior to joining Zimmer, Peter held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Des Moines, 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.
