selling a national regional magazine network
TRANSCRIPT
Selling: Best Practices SEA 2009
Consider this brand and the variety and value it brings to its customers.
What does publishing magazines and Internet content have to do with Starbucks?
Starbucks sells a commodity product, at premium prices; that is what we want to do.
Starbucks illustrates the potential of great vision to build a business and to insulate you against price competition.
“We’re not in the coffee business serving people, we’re in the people business serving coffee.”
What business are we in?
You are no longer in the magazine business selling advertising, you are in the media business selling magazine ad pages and…online...and any other content related product or service your coop is creating.
They started with a strong sense of mission that continues
And thatis why people READ your magazines.
What business are we in?
Day-to-day happenings often hinder our ability to see the big picture resulting in missed opportunities to increase or win business
Step back
• What we are dealing with?
• What opportunities exist to modify or redirect our actions to gain more business?
YOUR MEDIA BRAND [statewide, regional & national]
Not a logo; not a name
Perception in the minds of 1. your readers
2. your advertiser decision-makers– Clients– Agencies
Your brand is a recognized value proposition
For readers:“Worthwhile”
Time-saver Relevant Useful & interesting Informative & insightful Solution provider Authoritative & credible A community to belong to Accessible
how & when I want it
For marketers :“Worth the money”• Has relationship with my
customers, prospects• Is a known & respected brand• Can change readers’ minds;
cause actions• Effective & efficient• Good/fair business partner• Wants to help me• Delivers as promised• Single source for range of
marketing solutions
Brand asset – real value
Opens doors (and minds)
Puts you on an advertiser’s short list – ‘must’
Protects your market share when advertising is reduced.
Strengthens your negotiating powerYour publication is not a commodity.
Advertising sales in the extended brand media world
Regional and national can be viewed as online…an up-sell opportunity, leveraging brand trust.
Regional and national [again, like online] ads build reach, frequency.
The National Country Market network leverages unique content and an unduplicated audience.
What distinguishes companies that SELL successfully?
Forward-thinking strategy
Commitment to proven best practices.
Best Practices for Advertising Sales: Internal
Create and maintain a consensus that advertising content is valuable to the reader and to the organization [assuming appropriate advertising categories and companies are solicited and sold].
Create advertising policies/guidelines that are appropriate for the market served. Maintain consistency while enforcing the policies/guidelines.
Set viable expectations for sales and then apply adequate resources to meeting goals.
Best Practices for Advertising Sales: External
Have a game plan.
What categories belong in the magazine [statewide/regional/national] and what are specific companies to prospect for each of the categories?
Take risks – try to bring in new categories
Best Practices for Advertising Sales: External
Use a consultative sales approach: probe and listen
Discover – engage and prospect beyond traditional boundaries
Diagnose – consensus on your advertiser’s challenge and objective
Design – collaborative understanding and creation of solution
Deliver – implement and measure the advertiser’s return on investment
Best Practices for Advertising Sales: External
Create a hypothesis with each advertising prospect/customer about how they can sell more product or services
Understand and be able to communicate the dynamics of your brand to your clients, i.e. competitive factors, trends, best practices
Best Practices for Advertising Sales: External
Be aware of what media or combination of media works best for specific client objectives so they can leverage their ad spend [print/online…statewide/regional/national]
Understand how ads and campaigns are being evaluated by the client (success) is critical
Best Practices for Advertising Sales: External
Collect market research for readers and advertisers
Set rates according to market opportunity and inventory (try to work away from a value added approach to print when selling online)
Stay on rate card. Price is often viewed as an indication of quality; offering deep discounts can affect your brand image over the long run.
Best Practices for Advertising Sales: External
Create and use media promotion materials that define positioning of brand, audience, stats, pricing, ad programs and integrated options
Always provide context. For statements made think: as compared to what?
Think like advertisers; they want to reach all of their market, which is your market.
Know and trust your
brand
Your annua
l readership
Your issue readership
Your circulatio
n
Your market size.
Your Web site
And the National/Regional network gives you the chance to reach a much larger part of your market with regularity for advertisers.
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Summary
Opens doors Protects market share Strengthens negotiating
power
A Strong Brand
Are built on forward thinking
Follow best practices
Involve taking some risks
Successful Sales
Leverage state brand and successful selling to sell more regional & national
Step up the committment and partnership with NCM
Common content – one page per pub per issue
Bring advertising into the awards program
Selling Regional & National
Increasing sales for your publication by…
Questions?
