Bill O’Shaughnessy is one of the finest broadcasters to grace our industry, having established a small-market-radio version of the Algonquin Round Table in tony Westchester County, NY—not to mention having the heaviest Rolodex in the business.
But I respectfully disagree with his characterization of broadcast ratings as “tribute.”
Ratings are like chainsaws: in the right hands, they are valuable tools. . .but in the wrong hands, they can hurt you. The Arbitron County Studies are out, and from all the chatter I see from clients and readers, ratings misuse continues to abound.
Ratings, especially in small markets, should not be used to aggrandize your station.
First, despite the introduced and proposed advances in accuracy, the potential for bounce is simply too great to ignore. If you brag about your ratings, you are giving the ratings a disproportional role in your sales/service arsenal. You paint yourself into a corner should you experience a ratings downturn—which, over time, you surely will.
Second, improper presentation of ratings information violates Rule One of sales, which says it’s always about the customer, not us.
This is a big topic and I can’t really do it justice as the last Last Word, but here are a couple of ways to use ratings safely and effectively:
First, downplay them when you do well. “Sure,” you can say, “we’re proud of the fact that our community seems to like what we do, but that’s not as important as how we can help you get more business.” Not only do you refocus attention where it belongs, but you protect yourself from the ratings downturn by putting the numbers in perspective.
Second, make use of whatever qualitative data are available to you to help your advertiser’s marketing objectives. That transforms the ratings from station-focused bragging to client-focused service. And that’s what we do.
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