“We have a special this month,” said the sales manager. “Anyone who takes our Mega Monster Package before the end of the month will get 20% off.”<\/p>\n
There is a buzz among the sales reps. This is a good deal!<\/p>\n
“And it’s good only for new<\/em> advertisers.”<\/p>\n You’ve probably heard this many times before; a station will bend over backwards to attract new advertisers, while ignoring<\/em> existing, loyal customers.<\/p>\n Why?<\/p>\n I know, there’s always the fear that: “If we give them a 20% discount, they’ll cut their schedule back by 20%!” That won’t happen if the discount is presented as a bonus<\/em>\u2014a reward for the customer’s loyalty over the years.<\/p>\n If anyone is worthy of a reward, isn’t it the customer who’s been a regular advertiser on your stations for two, five, ten years? A customer who is appreciated (and who knows it) is less likely to abandon you during tough times. Yet our often short-sighted approach is to reward new customers while ignoring those we have worked with for years.<\/p>\n Everyone appreciates a reward\u2014think back to your last pay increase or promotion\u2014and advertisers are no different. Don’t give them a reason to go elsewhere with their business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"