Conversing With Listeners: Three Things to Talk Over Now

Tastes, opinions and alternatives are anything but static. So if you haven’t had a conversation with your listeners recently, you should. 

Here are three fertile and actionable talking points for your next listener panel or focus group:

Music Satisfaction.  “Playing the best music” is always a top reason for picking one country station over another.

How is “best” defined by your listeners? If you’re a mainstream station competing for a leadership position in the market, “best” probably includes millennial music. But there are multiple segments within the millennial cluster and the appeal of each varies. What combination is optimal for your station? What music combinations would make you the best second choice (good if that’s your goal, bad if you’re shooting for leadership)?

Your brand. What do listeners say are the tangible and intangible attributes of your station that differentiate you from a competitor? Which of these are significant enough to influence listening behavior? What assets do your competitors own? Overall, how do you stack up in what matters?

Synchronization. Are the things that are getting substantial air time the same things that listeners want us to devote a lot of time to? How is the alignment between your music and talent? What’s your level of relevancy on a daily basis?

“The more you engage with customers the clearer things become and the easier it is to determine what you should be doing” is an oft-quoted line attributed to John Russell, President, Harley Davidson.

If you need a hand getting a dialogue going with your listeners, give a call, text or email.

And if you’d like to leave a comment sharing something that you learned from interacting with your listeners, you’ll be enriching us all.