Creating a Media Product that People Want to Eat

The very best radio stations, newspapers, and local TV facilities are like fine restaurants. They have a warm ambiance, great storefronts, fabulous waiters, creative food, mouth watering specials of the day, food quality beyond your expectations, and an overall experience that you can’t wait to tell your friends about.

Then why is it that many media interactions with an audience end up like this? 
Let’s break this down so as to avoid any confusion. Think of this as a check list the next time you evaluate your own media product.

Media Brand – Is there a clearly defined “promise” that is made between you and the audience? Meaning do they clearly know what you stand for? Do you know what the name Smith and Wollenski’s stands for? How about Hooters or Chilies, or Le Cirque in NYC? Better yet…give me the name of your own all time favorite local eating establishment. Do you know what they stand for?

Service – How do you respond to a listener/viewer request for information? Is it quick, informative, personable and polite? Or is it like the waiter in the comic strip above? Each audience member has a lot of media choice. Do you treat them like a special customer, or as an annoyance to your ability to make money?

Special of the Day – Are you enticing your audience with new features, and special programming on a daily basis? Your favorite restaurant has a special everyday. Why don’t you? The best run local TV stations have a feature news investigation on a weekly basis. The poorest rated news programs don’t bother. Great radio stations are packed with special features that encourage appointment listening. That’s why a restaurant markets their specials up by 25%. Why? Because they sell.

Word of Mouth – Does your programming create stories that inspire your audience to tell their family and friends about it? Great restaurants literally survive on word of mouth. It is the most powerful form of marketing in the world. Are you generating great word of mouth advertising?

Personalized – Do any of the waiters or owners know you at your favorite restaurant? Ok…do you know your best customers? Do you tailor a special menu or experience just for them? Do you make them feel special in any way with targeted emails, Facebook, or direct mail campaigns? 20 percent of your audience probably accounts for 80 percent of your ratings. Do these important people feel like they are being treated as VIP’s? You might want to ask that sometime soon.

So all in all…how do you create the total media audience dining experience? Begin with a promise. Deliver on the promise. Exceed the promise. Say thank you. And then keep inviting them back in the door.