Side Step the Confusion

As a business owner, have you ever had someone try and sell you advertising based on ratings?

Since I work in the radio business, we have access to Arbitron and the computer software known as Tapscan.

Television broadcasters use Nielsen and other services, and originally these services were to determine # of viewers, listeners to make Programming decisions. They were not for justifying advertising rates or schedules.

However, that is what they have become and that's too bad. Instead, use some common sense.

Ask for the cume numbers of a station that you are considering advertising with. If they have more listeners than you have customers, it could be a good fit. Because all the advertising is supposed to do is invite the listeners to become your customers, and the ads are like invitations.

Increase the Frequency of the ads and you increase the likelihood that your "invitation" will be noticed, and people will respond.

You don't need to understand the confusion of broadcast sales terms such as Cost Per Point, or Average Quarter Hour, and if that is what the media reps are trying to get you to buy, kick them out.

Side step the Confusion and have them sell you on Your Terms, such as how many customers do you need to generate in order to get a Return On your advertising Investment?