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Knowing me, knowing you...
Understanding what your client wants to get out of their adverts means you can deliver much easier and keep your client happy.
Know your client, and do your homework. Look at the advertising they've done in a local paper, or the billboards they use. It's been known for sales people to stalk a shop to find out what kind of clientele use the place and what times of the day are busy. Do most people just stumble across this business (such as a chippie or newsagents), or do they specifically head for it (ie a record shop or a hair-stylist)? If you go in being able to quote this kind of information and how it will affect the advert you produce you are far more likely to convince an advertiser you know what you are talking about.
These are the three important questions you should ask every time you secure a sale:
- Who is the client? How do they want to be portrayed (ie friendly, professional, cutting-edge, trendy, reliable, safe, traditional)
- Who do they want to do talk to? (ie all students or specific groups)
- What do they want the listener to do? (ie is it just brand awareness, attempting a sale or highlighting a specific promotion?)
Be creative with the packages; spot adverts don't just have to be thirty seconds of a music bed with a voice-over on top. Different adverts for different times of the day, or one for boys and one for girls. Very short adverts. Sandwich ads.
Sponsorship is another obvious road to go down. Sponsorship is used for brand awareness (ie Pepsi Chart, Cadbury's Coronation Street) and you can pretty much sponsor anything apart from the news. Insanity in Royal Holloway had their telephone number sponsored, and every-time they read it out they had to mention a local gym.
Equally be creative with the package you sell - a nightclub promoting the Wednesday student night would benefit from having a high-rotation of adverts on Wednesday, whereas a energy drink might want them at weekday breakfast etc. The worst thing you can do is have a fixed-formula and expect the client to fit into it. At the end of the day, you need the sale more than they do.
Always have one person deal with each client. Always write down every-time you phone him or her, what you said, what action you took (we had a A4 folder with a different sheet for each client). Make sure you give them a business card with your contact details (and hand write your mobile number on the back in their presence - it makes them feel special). Make sure your website is up to date, and your Union secretary is briefed on how fabulous the radio station is - professional marketing people will do their homework before parting with their cash.
Finally - make sure all your friends / colleagues / family / relatives go and visit the clients who are buying ad space and make sure they casually mention your radio station. Every radio company does this (including the likes of Capital) and many an ad exec will take the family to a certain restaurant because they advertise with the radio station. You've got to ensure that the client wants to repeat the campaign, and will also tell their business friends. The best thing you can get is a reputation.