Every so often, when a Tampa Bay small business owner advertises on a local radio station, it isn't successful.
There can be no debate, though, when implemented correctly, advertising on Tampa radio works, and works well.
"Last year," says Jon Polizzi, "our business grew 67%. The only thing we did differently was to add radio advertising into our marketing mix. I attribute most of our growth to what we have done on the radio."
Mr. Polizzi along with his brother have owned Electric Today, LLC since 2004. The company provides residential electrical and air conditioning repairs to customers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Manatee counties.
"We advertise on Tampa radio every week with very high repetition. Our return on investment (ROI) has been really good," say Mr. Polizzi. "I know if I can beat my name into someone's head enough times, they will know us when they need electrical or air conditioning repairs."
So, why doesn't every Tampa Bay radio advertising campaign produce results similar to Mr. Pollizi's? There are several reasons including station selection, level of investment, or commercial content.
The number one reason, though, advertising on Tampa radio might fail, is the lack of a well-articulated marketing objective. According to the Small Business Guide For Successful Advertising, this can be critical for the success of any campaign.
Exposure Is Not Enough
Some local business owners might mistakenly identify their marketing objective as "getting my name out there," "creating a buzz," or "increasing foot-traffic". But, achieving any of those goals will not necessarily ensure success.
Sometimes the business owner might simply think they need "exposure". Exposure did not end well for the Donner party or Pee Wee Herman. And, if "exposure" is an advertiser's marketing objective, then their campaign will probably end just as badly.
An effective advertising campaign on Tampa radio needs a specific marketing objective. It should correspond with an advertiser’s key challenges or opportunities. The objective will influence which radio stations to purchase, the length of the campaign, the timing of the advertising, as well as the length and the content of the commercials.
It is possible that over time, a business could have many different marketing objectives, but it is a proven, best practice for each campaign to focus on one. The objective selected should be both crucial to the continued success of the business.
Marketing objectives fall into one-of-categories:
Branding objectives focus on convincing consumers to believe something about a product or business. For instance, a financial planner in St. Petersburg might want adults approaching retirement to regard her firm’s annuity plans as the safest way to ensure worry-free living.
Promotional objectives are used when a business owner’s goal is to encourage the target consumers to take a specific action, quickly. They are usually time-sensitive with a specific call-to-action. For example, a Pizza Restaurant in Brandon might want working moms to order take-out dinner on their way home from work taking advantage of a two-for-one promotion.
Age and Gender Targeting Are Not Enough
A marketing objective should distinctly identify the target customer. Age and gender alone do not provide enough insight to determine radio station selection or commercial content. Examples of a well-defined target might be:
- Wine enthusiasts
- Working Moms
- Under-employed college graduates
- Do-It-Yourself-Self Home Depot shoppers
- Heavy internet users
- Men planning to propose
- Pickup truck owners
A business owner may have several different target consumers. For instance, a local bank might need to target homebuyers for mortgage products; entrepreneurs for commercial loan products; smartphone users for mobile banking products; and retirees for certificates of deposit.
Although each of these targets is a viable prospect for the bank, they are likely to have little in common including their choice of radio stations due to different lifestyles and stage of life.
With a well-defined marketing objective, a business owner can be certain every element of an advertising campaign on Tampa radio is designed to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.
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