You are having a sale, an anniversary or the grand opening of a new store and you’ve been thinking about creating an event around it. Having a radio station broadcast LIVE from your location can add an element of fun as well potentially drive sales.
So, what are the keys to success when it comes to live broadcast events? According to Roy Williams you must have 7 elements in order to have the best chance at a successful event.
The first 6 are:
- Urgency
- Theme
- Offer
- Price
- Intrusiveness
- Action
Let’s look a little closer at one of these elements – Offer.
Remember that a broadcast is short lived; even the campaign you run prior to your event is short term.
Ask yourself: What would make me go out of my way and visit a business, particularly when I wasn’t planning on doing so a few days or even hours ago?
Very likely, it would have to be a very good deal on something you want or need. The ‘offer’ needs to be tempting enough for people to drop what they were doing and ‘buy now’ rather than later.
Now let’s look at the 7th element – Dominance
When planning an event you want to reach as many people as possible in the shortest timeframe possible. The schedule will look very different than a long-term branding campaign. Rather than a ‘slow & steady drip’ you attack and dominate your media of choice for a short period of time; 3-5 days leading up to your event. Run the most commercials you can per day, ideally 10-12.
An intrusive message with a strong and appealing offer running every hour will give you the best chance for success.
Does your staff know all the details?
Have you ever gone into a business because of an ad you heard or saw only to be met by an employee that had no idea what you were talking about?
Your employees are the usually the first ones who will meet and greet your customers. Avoid frustrating your customers by making sure that each and every one of your employees know all the details of your event. Not only will this prepare them for any questions and inquiries they will get, they will feel empowered to better serve your customers.
Tip: Hold a brief meeting with all your employees going over details and answering any questions prior to your event, sale or grand opening.