Radio Advertising: Measure the Marketing Results

For most businesses today, advertising is a very necessary and worthwhile investment-as long as it's done correctly. Most businesses will want to know which ads "pull" and which don't so they can track where the focus needs to be placed. When advertising works, because it's done correctly, it's not a matter of being a cost. It then becomes part of the investment with a return.

Why Advertise on the radio?

Radio advertising offers many advantages to other media, due largely to the fact that speech is more primal than print. That means that people are hearing and speaking earlier and younger than they're been reading and writing. Also with a well-timed ad, following immediately after a popular song, there's the psychological advantage of the consumer hearing a message while still in an "upbeat mood" from the previous song or maybe a funny joke from the DJ.

Get all the bang for your buck when advertising on the radio.

Due to the investment involved, it's just as important to approach placing an ad on any media with a plan, as it is to approach operating your business itself. However, radio advertising can require an extra step or two integrated within your plan due largely to the fact that there are no coupons or anything tangible put into the listeners hand.

Use a special offer to track your radio advertising campaign results.

"Joe's Sandwich Shoppe" wants to advertise on the radio. Coupons in the newspaper have usually done some good for Joe's, but now the company wants to reach a younger market that's a little looser with their pocket change. Obviously they need an ad on a popular Adult Contemporary station. It seems to be difficult to track the results though, since airtime is not easily printed up into a coupon, and it's not cost-effective to have the announcer read off the entire menu, specials, announcements, and such.

So Joe, being an intelligent and creative fellow (after all he does do the best Reuben in three counties), he comes up with a sandwich named after a popular DJ and advertises it solely on that radio station. So, anytime someone comes in ordering that particular sandwich, he knows that customer was brought in from his ad on the air.

A toll-free number can help track results from radio advertising.

"Mystical Insurance" is looking to break into the auto coverage market. The majority of their business comes in from their highly trained, professional salespeople or "word-of-mouth". However, they know that with 95% of the population driving, or soon to be, they need to reach the maximum number of people possible, as fast as possible.

To keep track of the responses and questions that will come in from the ad they're putting out, they set up a special toll-free number (very inexpensive), and maybe even use a special ring (Most phone companies offer this nowadays at a reasonable fee).

Use the internet to track radio advertising results.

"Sally's Equestrian Supply" needs an effective, affordable way to get her message out to the masses. And of course they want to know, to the penny, just how much good their advertising investment is doing. One of the more popular options today is to direct listeners who love horses (and who doesn't, right?) to a website. They find that an attractive, appealing website and domain name can be established within minutes and for less than $100 on the high-end. On the website, her customers can learn about her shop, read trivia about horses, ask questions, set appointments for special services, find a map for directions, and of course place orders for products.

Are there other ways to track results from radio advertising?

These are but a few options for tracking responses from radio advertising. With some thought and that natural creativity that dwells within the minds of most entrepreneurs, other methods can be devised that will aid you in your company's (and your profit's)growth. Put your mind to it and you'll probably come up with several tracking methods that will work for you.

Your account representative from your favorite station could help with this too. They've been in the business for some time now and probably have some decent ideas that they'd love to share and since they've seen a few campaigns already, they just might have a good sense of what might work for your category and in your community.

Source:

Personal experience
http://foreverradio.com/